William Henry Clapp, Californi |
As an etcher and painter, Will
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| This native Canadian first came to California in 1885 at the age of six. His formal education as an artist included four years of study in Canada with William Brymner. The respect he earned as a Canadian artist eventually earned him recognition as an associate member of the Royal Canadian Art Academy. |
| In 1904 William Henry Clapp traveled to Paris with his friend Clarence Gagnon. Their arrival was timely, as the city was alive with the work of the great impressionists. According to Nancy Boad in her book Society of Six: California Colorists, the young Picasso had recently arrived and "works by Cezanne, Gauguin, Bonnard, Vuillard and Signac were being exhibited and talked about." Gagnon remained in Paris and became a significant expatriate painter. Clapp was strongly influenced by the work of Claude Monet. |
| By 1917 Clapp had exhibited at the National Academy of Design in New York, the Carnegie Institute and the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. In 1918 he established the Oakland Art Gallery, in Oakland, California. William Henry Clapp was the curator and director until 1949, when he was seventy years old. |
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