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Ad Code: 3
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from Auction House Records.
The Falls in Autumn-Pennsyl
Artwork images are copyright of the artist or assignee
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Biography from AskART:
| The following biography is based on information sent to AskART.com by Frank J. Kurtik, who co-authored the essay for "Wall to Wall to Wall," 1998 museum exhibition featuring the artist by the Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art:
William Coventry Wall was born in England in 1810, and in 1821, emigrated with his parents, William and Lucy, to the United States. The family settled in Mount Pleasant, Pennsylvania, a small town in the southwestern corner of the state. Not much is known about his youth, especially anything conclusive about any form of education in the arts. It is known that he married Catherine Westervelt in the 1830s and that they resided in Louisville, Kentucky where William established a business as a looking glass manufacturer.
In 1841, the young couple moved up the Ohio River to Pittsburgh, where William opened a shop for "Plain and Fancy Portrait and Picture Frames" and also sold art supplies such as brushes, canvas and varnish. Four years later, much of Pittsburgh was destroyed by fire, including William's shop. Fortunately for him and his family, their home was spared and William was able to save some materials from his shop. He painted views of what became known as the Great Fire of 1845 and sent them to Philadelphia to have lithographs made from them. The prints were widely circulated and brought William much acclaim.
Soon after the success of his lithographs, William received a commission to paint a scene of the Ohio river below Pittsburgh for "Arthur's Magazine." An engraving made from this scene was published in the February 1846 issue. During this period, William also engaged in decorative banner painting and theatrical scene painting, and in 1847, he and fellow Pittsburgh artist, Jasper Lawman, accompanied a theatrical troupe down the Ohio and the Mississippi all the way to Vicksburg.
In the 1850s, William took up photography, still in its infancy, and entered photographs in local exhibitions. He continued to paint, giving much attention to the depiction of historical events, commissioned views of homes and landscapes. He traveled far afield in the pursuit of the last category to paint directly from nature throughout western and central Pennsylvania.
He also went with a small group of fellow artists, including George Hetzel, on summer trips to Scalp Level, a rural area near Johnstown, Pennsylvania that became identified as a small, seasonal, portable colony of Pittsburgh artists who painted en plein air.
William Coventry Wall lived in or near Pittsburgh the rest of his life. He and his wife raised a rather large family, and he was apparently successful as a full-time artist. He fully engaged himself in his community, from being active politically, such as serving as president of the Buchanan and Breckenridge Club in the 1850s, to frequently entering regional art exhibitions. Much of his work was sold through two Pittsburgh galleries, Boyd's and J. J. Gillespie. He painted up to the end of his life which came in 1886.
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