Clifton Wheeler

American (1883-1953)

Born in Indiana, Wheeler studied art initially with William Forsyth, and in 1902, moved to New York City, where he studied with Robert Henri, William Merritt Chase. Among his classmates were Wayman Adams, George Bellows, Rockwell Kent, Edward Hopper and Guy Pene DuBois. Wheeler also traveled to Europe in the early 1900s, participating in a painting class in Italy with William Merritt Chase, and studying in Paris, where he met Picasso and Gertrude Stein.

Upon his return to the United States, Wheeler settled in Indiana, here he taught for many years at the Herron Art Institute and Butler University, while teaching summers at the University of Colorado in Boulder. Wheeler was a member of the Indiana Art Club, and exhibited extensively throughout his career, including at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art, American Watercolor Society, Indian Art Club and the Herron Art Institute, winning many prizes for his submissions.