The son of Captain William, a shipmaster, and Sarah Bryant Prior, William Matthew Prior was born in Bath, Maine, on May 16, 1806. Prior completed his first portrait in 1823, at the age of 17 after training under Charles Codman, another Maine-based painter.[1]
In 1840, Prior moved to East Boston, Massachusetts, from his native Bath with his in-laws, notably fellow painter Sturtevant J. Hamblin, to invigorate his career as an artist.[2] The paintings of Prior and Hamblin, when unsigned, are so similar in style as to be indistinguishable, and are commonly attributed to the "Prior-Hamblin School".[3][4] According to the 1852 directory of Boston, Prior lived at 36 Trenton Street in East Boston.[5]
He was a follower of the preacher William Miller, who prophesied that the end of the world was imminent.[6] Prior wrote two books about Miller's teachings, The King's Vesture (1862) and The Empyrean Canopy (1868).
Prior is the subject of an exhibition, Artist and Visionary: William Matthew Prior Revealed, shown at the Fenimore Art Museum, Cooperstown, New York (May 26 – December 31, 2012) and subsequently at the American Folk Art Museum in New York City (January 24 – May 26, 2013).
Worksedit
George Washington, c. 1860
Mrs. Nancy Lawson, 1843
Portrait of a Young Boy with Flounced Collar and Brown Suit Holding a Bow and Arrow
^"Artist Info". www.nga.gov. Retrieved September 14, 2019.
^Chotner, Deborah (1992). American Naive Paintings. Oxford University Press. p. 308. ISBN0521443016.
^The Boston Directory for the Year 1852: Embracing the City Record, a General Directory of the Citizens, and a Business Directory, with an Almanac from July, 1852, to July, 1853. George Adams. 1852. Retrieved 2015-06-19.
^ abSchwartz, Sanford (May 9, 2013). "Making a Long-Gone World Alive". The New York Review of Books60 (8): 53.
External linksedit
Media related to William Matthew Prior at Wikimedia Commons
william, matthew, prior, 1806, january, 1873, american, folk, artist, known, portraits, particularly, families, children, self, portrait, 1825, bornmay, 1806bath, mainediedjanuary, 1873, 1873, aged, east, boston, massachusettsnationalityamericanknown, forfolk,. William Matthew Prior May 16 1806 January 21 1873 was an American folk artist known for his portraits particularly of families and children William Matthew PriorSelf portrait 1825 BornWilliam Matthew PriorMay 16 1806Bath MaineDiedJanuary 21 1873 1873 01 21 aged 66 East Boston MassachusettsNationalityAmericanKnown forFolk artSpouseRosamund Clark Hamblin Contents 1 Biography 2 Works 3 References 4 External linksBiography editThe son of Captain William a shipmaster and Sarah Bryant Prior William Matthew Prior was born in Bath Maine on May 16 1806 Prior completed his first portrait in 1823 at the age of 17 after training under Charles Codman another Maine based painter 1 In 1840 Prior moved to East Boston Massachusetts from his native Bath with his in laws notably fellow painter Sturtevant J Hamblin to invigorate his career as an artist 2 The paintings of Prior and Hamblin when unsigned are so similar in style as to be indistinguishable and are commonly attributed to the Prior Hamblin School 3 4 According to the 1852 directory of Boston Prior lived at 36 Trenton Street in East Boston 5 He was a follower of the preacher William Miller who prophesied that the end of the world was imminent 6 Prior wrote two books about Miller s teachings The King s Vesture 1862 and The Empyrean Canopy 1868 Prior died on January 21 1873 and was interred at Woodlawn Cemetery in Everett Massachusetts About 1 500 portraits are attributed to Prior 6 His works are in many museums and institutions around the United States including the Harvard Art Museums Museum of Fine Arts Boston and the National Gallery of Art Prior is the subject of an exhibition Artist and Visionary William Matthew Prior Revealed shown at the Fenimore Art Museum Cooperstown New York May 26 December 31 2012 and subsequently at the American Folk Art Museum in New York City January 24 May 26 2013 Works edit nbsp George Washington c 1860 nbsp Mrs Nancy Lawson 1843 nbsp Portrait of a Young Boy with Flounced Collar and Brown Suit Holding a Bow and Arrow nbsp Boy with Toy Horse and WagonReferences edit http www nga gov cgi bin tbio tperson 1806 amp type a dead link http www davidwheatcroft com artists cfm artistid 875 dead link Artist Info www nga gov Retrieved September 14 2019 Chotner Deborah 1992 American Naive Paintings Oxford University Press p 308 ISBN 0521443016 The Boston Directory for the Year 1852 Embracing the City Record a General Directory of the Citizens and a Business Directory with an Almanac from July 1852 to July 1853 George Adams 1852 Retrieved 2015 06 19 a b Schwartz Sanford May 9 2013 Making a Long Gone World Alive The New York Review of Books 60 8 53 External links edit nbsp Media related to William Matthew Prior at Wikimedia Commons 1 at National Gallery of Art Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title William Matthew Prior amp oldid 1209131982, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,
