Carleton Wiggins

American (1848 – 1932)

Carleton Wiggins was born in Harriman, New York. After studying with American landscape painter George Inness at the National Academy of Design in New York City, he left the country to continue his artistic education in France in the late 1800s. While in France, he exhibited with the Paris Salon beginning in 1881, and won a gold medal in 1894. In addition to his exhibits in France, Wiggins exhibited in London at the Royal Academy where he proceeded to show his work throughout his career. 

The influence of Wiggins’ time in France and his immersion into the Barbizon School movement is evident in the attention he pays to the pastoral landscape. In capturing the landscape, Wiggins makes the natural landscape the focus of his painting, often including flocks of sheep and herds of cattle. Upon his return to the United States, Wiggins drew much inspiration from the countryside in Old Lyme, Connecticut, and was one of the original founders of the Old Lyme Art Colony.

Wiggins’ work is held in many of the top galleries and museums around the country including the National Gallery of Art, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Art Institute of Chicago.