Born in Rockport, Massachusetts, impressionist painter
William Stevens lived and worked in the area for many years. In
the later part of his life, he moved to Conway, Massachusetts.
He received his initial art training from Parker Perkins, a local
marine painter who charged him fifty cents an hour., and then
he attended the Boston Museum School as a student of Edmund Tarbell,
Frank Benson, Philip Hale and William Paxton. Although influenced
by Tarbell, Stevens' wide range of brushstrokes and impressionist
style prevented him from being classified as a "Tarbellist,"
as many of Tarbell's
followers were labeled.
He taught at Princeton and Boston Universities, and by 1964 had
won more awards than any other living artist. Stevens joined the
Army in 1917 and was sent to Europe where he continued to paint
and sketch. Upon his return to the United States, he was pleased
to discover that Rockport had become a popular haven for artists.
Though he was the only native son among them, such well-known
painters as Frank Duveneck, Childe Hassam, Leon Kroll and Jonas
Lie also recorded the scenery of Rockport, Cape Ann and Gloucester.
In 1921, together with fifty other artists, Stevens founded
the Rockport Art Association, primarily to plan exhibitions of
the work of outstanding area artists. Throughout the course of
his long career, Stevens taught, first in Rockport, then at Boston
University (1925-1926) and Princeton (1927-1929). He later gave
lessons and held one-man shows in Charlotte and Asheville, North
Carolina, where his work was well-received. Southerners particularly
enjoyed his views of famous Southern gardens and cities.In 1943
he was elected by his peers to the National Academy of Design.
Shortly there after he purchased a summer home on Vinalhaven,
Maine , where he spent many summers. He taught his students "Don't
paint to sell. Paint because you can't help it."
Though the Depression years were difficult for both the artist
and his family, the 1930s did bring Stevens some measure of commercial
and personal success. He did a number of covers for "The
American Legion Magazine" and won prizes in New Haven, Springfield
and Rockport. In 1934, he abandoned Rockport to the growing tourist
population and moved to Springfield, and then to Conway, Massachusetts,
where he remodeled an old farmhouse and constructed a studio which
looked north towards Mount Monadnock. Except for summer trips
made in the 1960s toLubec, Maine, Campobello Island and Grand
Manan Island, Stevens lived and painted in Conway for the rest
of his life.
Primarily an oil painter, Stevens also used watercolor and
acrylics. Although he was proficient in all three, oils allowed
him greater versatility; more
significantly, Stevens simply liked oils better. A superb craftsman,
Stevens painted rapidly and withassurance, but always took time
to find the best vantage point. He understood the importance of
placing himself where he could create the best composition and
"took the liberty of moving objects so that the composition
would meet his desires." This is perhaps why Stevens would
later conclude that "fine pictures are the resufine minds
(Greenfield, p. 13).
in 1921 with the goal of making art more accessible to common
people. Later in his life Stevens also organized the Conway Festival
of the Hills and the Berkshire Arts Festival. Except for summer
trips made in the 1960s to Lubec, Maine, Campobello Island and
Grand Manan Island, Stevens lived and painted in Conway for the
rest of his life.
Stevens was a member of the Boston School, traditionalists
and impressionists, opposed to abstraction in art. The subject
matter was usually
landscape, views of everyday life, and portraits. Stevens continued
to create views of New England until
almost the final day of his life, June 10, 1969.
