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William Bradford (1823-1892) 
Aliases: William (1823) Bradford
Professions: Photographer; Painter
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Locked in Ice
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Property from the estate of glen s. foster WILLIAM BRADFORD (1823-1892) Ships in Boston Harbor at
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William Bradford (1823-1892)
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William Bradford (1823-1892)
Biography: Bradford
(b Fairhaven, MA, 30 April 1823; d New York, 25 April 1892). American painter and photographer. He became a full-time artist about 1853, after spending a few years in the wholesale clothing business. In 1855 he set up a studio in Fairhaven, MA, and made a living by painting ship portraits. At the same time he studied with the slightly more experienced marine painter Albert van Beest (1820–60), and they collaborated on several works. By 1860 Bradford had moved to New York and was starting to gain a reputation for such paintings of the coast of Labrador as Ice Dwellers Watching the Invaders (c. 1870; New Bedford, MA, Whaling Mus.), which were based on his own photographs and drawings. From 1872 to 1874 he was in London, lecturing on the Arctic and publishing his book The Arctic Regions (1873). Queen Victoria commissioned him to paint an Arctic scene that was shown at the Royal Academy in 1875. On his return to the USA, Bradford was elected an associate member of the National Academy of Design. In later years his tight, realistic style went out of favour as French Impressionism became increasingly popular.
Grove Art excerpts - Electronic ©2003, Oxford Art Online
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