Julian Alden Weir
Julian Alden Weir was an American Impressionist painter who played an integral part in establishing many art societies that are present today. Born in West Point, New York in 1852, Weir began his art training with classes at the National Academy of Design before continuing on to Paris to receive private lessons. He also attended classes at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris. He traveled around Europe, seeing sights, buying paintings and painting, for a little under a decade. He then returned to New York in 1877 to establish a studio near Washington Square, a popular area for budding artists.
As his painting matured, Weir developed a more casual style and gradually added in cropping techniques from oriental design. He highly favored painting landscapes, especially once he purchased a farm in Branchville, Connecticut in 1883 but also produced portraits and a few still-lifes. He received many honors and helped establish multiple art societies, such as the Society of American Artists, the Tile Club, and The Ten before his death on December 8, 1919 in New York.