William Bliss Baker (October or November 1859[3] – November 20, 1886)[1][4] was an American artist born in New York City[2] who was just beginning to hit his stride as a landscape painter in the Realism movement[5] when he died at his father's house at Hoosick Falls, New York at about the age of 27[n 1] due to a back injury received while ice skating several months earlier.[1][4]

"Fallen Monarchs", considered to be Baker's masterpiece, was painted in the Ballston Lake area. The original is owned by Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah, where it hangs in the BYU Museum of Art. A small copy of this painting hangs in the public library in the town of Ballston. His painting, "A Pleasant Day at Lake George" hangs in the Adirondack Museum at Blue Mountain Lake, New York. Baker also had a studio in the Knickerbocker Building in New York City. His paintings were created using oils and watercolors, including several works done in black and white.[1]

One of his masterpiece paintings, Morning After the Snow, sold for $5000 in 1887[5] (the equivalent of about $109,000 in 2006 dollars).[6] Morning and an additional 129 of his paintings sold at that auction for a combined total of nearly $15,000[5] (almost $360,000 in 2010 dollars).[6]

Early life and training

Baker was born in 1859 in New York City, the son of Yale alumni Benjamin F. Baker.[7] His brother was Captian Guy Baker, who married Louisa Irene Palma Di Cesnola,[7] daughter of Civil War Medal of Honor recipient General Louis Palma di Cesnola. Baker spent much of his boyhood in the town of Ballston Spa, and he discovered the property where he would build his summer studio while fishing with a friend on Ballston Lake. The home is now a private residence, and it is not open to the public.

Baker studied at the National Academy of Design for four years beginning in 1876,[1] where he won the Elliott prize during his first exhibit in 1879.[2] He studied with artist such as Albert Bierstadt and Mauritz F. H. de Haas during this time,[2] and by 1881, Baker had built a summer studio named "The Castle"[7][n 2] on the east side of Ballston Lake in the town of Clifton Park, north of Albany, New York. The studio was designed to have excellent views of the Catskill and Berkshire Mountains, and had excellent natural lighting.[7] The Clifton Park Historic Preservation Commission awarded "The Castle" its Historic Designation plaque.[8] A "Clifton Park Register of Historic Places" sign also marks the studio property.

Death

Baker injured his back while ice skating,[7] and subsequently died at his father's house at Hoosick Falls, New York at about the age of 27. A contemporary art critic noted that his death was "a distinct loss to American art."[9] A New York Times obituary stated that his death "deprived America of one of its most promising artists."[5]

He is buried in a family plot in Albany Rural Cemetery in Menands, New York (see image, right).

Works

Black and white

·           The Brook (unknown)

Color

·           Hiding in the Haycocks (1881, housed in the Memphis Brooks Museum of Art)

·           Landscape: Grez (ca.1882, housed as part of the Horace C. Henry Collection at the Henry Art Gallery at University of Washington)[10]

·           A Pleasant Day at Lake George (1883, housed in the Adirondack Museum, Blue Mountain Lake, New York)

·           View of New York Harbor, with Brooklyn Bridge in the Distance (1883)

·           October Morning (1884)

·           First Fall of Snow (1884)

·           First Snow of Winter (1884)

·           Woodland Brook (ca.1884-1885, housed at the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts in Montréal)

·           Lake Luzerne (ca.1885)

·           Morning After the Snow (1885, housed in the Regina A. Quick Center for the Arts, St. Bonaventure University)

·           Fallen Monarchs (1886, housed in the Museum of Art at Brigham Young University)

·           Under the Apple-Trees (1886)

·           A Cool Retreat (unknown)

·           April Day (unknown)

·           April Snow (unknown)

·           Autumn in Woods (unknown)

·           Autumn Woods (unknown)

·           Branches of Elm (unknown)

·           Cattle Grazing Near a Stream Through the Pasture (unknown)

·           Church Beyond a Meadow (unknown)

·           Clover Field (unknown)

·           Corn Fields and Pasture (unknown)

·           Dead Leaves (unknown)

·           Dried Up (unknown)

·           Early Autumn (unknown)

·           Edge of the Woods (unknown)

·           Fallen (a study) (unknown)

·           A Forest Glade (unknown)

·           Forest Sunshine (unknown)

·           A Haze (unknown)

·           In the Old Pasture (unknown)

·           June Pastures (unknown)

·           June Sunshine (unknown)

·           Landscape with Cattle (unknown)

·           Meadow Brook (unknown)

·           Morning in the Meadows (unknown)

·           The Old Orchard (unknown)

·           Orchard in June (unknown)

·           A Quiet Pond, Connecticut (unknown, reviewed in An Alluring Path III)[2]

·           Schoharie Creek (unknown)

·           Second Growth Timber (unknown)

·           Shadows in the Pool (unknown)

·           Shady Pool (unknown)

·           Snow Scene (unknown)

·           Solitude (unknown)

·           Spring Pasture (unknown)

·           Still Pool in the Woods (unknown)

·           Study of Snow (unknown)

·           Summer Afternoon (unknown)

·           Summer Evening (unknown)

·           Sunny Brook (unknown)

·           Sunrise on New York Harbor (unknown)

·           Under the Apple Trees (unknown)

·           Wood Interior (unknown)

·           Wood Interior (#2) (unknown)

·           Wood Interior (#3) (unknown)

·           Woodland Scene (unknown)

References

1.    ^ ^{a b c d e f g h} Bentley, Edward P.. "BAKER, WILLIAM BLISS American 1859 - 1886". Retrieved 2007-04-20.

2.    ^ ^{a b c d e} Godel, Howard, ed (2005). An Alluring Path III. New York, New York, USA: Godel & Co. Fine Art. pp. 34–35. LCCN 2003-110778.

3.    ^ Eighth Census of the United States, 1860; New York, New York; roll M653 821, page 92, line 4, enumeration district New York Ward 22 District 1. Family History film 803821 . Retrieved on September 4, 2011.

4.    ^ ^a b "Died". The New York Times. November 22, 1886. p. 5. "BAKER.—At Hoosic Falls, N.Y., Nov. 20, in the 27th year of his age, William Bliss Baker, artist, late of this city, son of Col. B.F. Baker. Funeral at St. Mark's Church, Hoosic Falls, Tuesday, 23rd inst., at 12:30."

5.    ^ ^{a b c d e} "Selling works of art: Pictures of Baker, Sprague's collection, and the Baker Statues.". The New York Times. 1887-03-18. p. 5. "...William Bliss Baker, the lately deceased landscape painter, whose death by accident at the early age of 27 deprived America of one of its most promising artists..."

6.    ^ ^a b Friedman, S. Morgan. "The Inflation Calculator". Retrieved 2007-04-20.

7.    ^ ^{a b c d e} Briaddy, Katherine Q. (1974). "The Railroads". Ye Olde Days: A History of Burnt Hills-Ballston Lake. Ballston Spa, New York: Journal Press. pp. 89-92.

8.    ^ "Register of Historic Places (page 2)". Town of Clifton Park - Historic Preservation Commission. Archived from the original on June 4, 2011. Retrieved June 4, 2011.

9.    ^ "Art Notes". The Art Review 1 (2): 19. December 1886.

10.  ^ "Collections Search: Henry Art". University of Washington. Retrieved July 17, 2010.

Notes

1.    ^ Regarding his death, some sources state he was in his 27th year (which means he was 26), and others state he was 27 years old.

2.    ^ The home/studio built by Baker has had multiple names over the years, including "The Castle", "Smith's Castle", and "The Haunted Castle". See Ye Olde Days by Briaddy.

External links

 Media related to William Bliss Baker at Wikimedia Commons