Willis A. Adams
UAP Biography
Willis Adams was born in Goshen, Indiana in 1854. He was a
pioneer generation photographer, painter, and printmaker.
He died in Salt Lake City, Utah in 1932. Adams became a
photographic assistant who performed manual touch-ups at a
photographic business in Goshen. He became interested in painting
and enrolled at the Chicago Art Institute. In 1870, Adams decided
to go west to Utah.
Adams befriended local artists H. L. A. Culmer, J. T.
Harwood, Lee Richards, A. B. Wright, Edwin Evans, and LeConte
Stewart. Adams and John Hafen frequently painted
together. Hafen's Barbizon-inspired approach to landscapes
had the most influence on Adams's painting.
Evening (1903) shows his approach to landscape
painting.
Adams worked in oils, watercolors, pastels, charcoal,
crayon, and pencil drawings. Although the quality and worth of
his works were not generally accepted until after his death, the
painter did exhibit three paintings in the World's Fair of 1904.
He was also recognized for his portraits of Senator and Mrs.
Thomas F. Kearns.
Biographical information on this page was adapted from the Springville Museum of Art.
Bibliography
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