Walter Launt Palmer
Walter Launt Palmer was an American landscape artist who generally worked in three series throughout his life. In 1854, Walter "Wallie" Palmer was born into a family who was well connected to the art scene. His father, Erastus Dow Palmer, was a famous sculptor in Albany, New York whose connections helped Walter launch his art career. In his early teens, he was tutored by Frederic Edwin Church (1825-1900) and began exhibiting his paintings in the early 1870s. It wasn’t until his visit to Europe in 1873 that he started to develop more depth and a bolder style to his paintings, which is attributed to artist John Singer Sargent who was working in Italy at the time. He returned home to the United States, only to return back to Europe multiple times over the next ten years, each time coming back to New York with a different series of paintings to complete.
Palmer’s first series of paintings consisted of building interiors, illustrating exquisite details in parlors, libraries, and other interior rooms. His next series, from 1881 and on, began after a visit to Venice and consisted of an assortment of Italian landscapes and exterior buildings in oil and watercolor. Walter Launt Palmer’s final and most recognizable series began in the mid-1880's which consisted of winter scenes. These landscapes evoke a sense of serenity with masterful tonal subtleties. Many of these popular landscapes he produced from memory and continued to do so until his death in 1932.