Attrib. to Charles H. Woodbury

American (1864-1940)

Acclaimed marine painter Charles Herbert Woodbury (1864-1940) showed artistic talent even in his youth, absorbing great influence from the art community in his hometown of Lynn, Massachusetts, and, at the age of seventeen, became the youngest artist ever elected to membership of the Boston Art Club. He graduated with a degree in engineering from MIT in 1886 and later took informal watercolor lessons from Ross S. Turner and attended the Academie Julian in Paris from 1890-1891.

Woodbury first traveled to Ogunquit, Maine in 1888 and subsequently established a studio and house in the area by 1898, marking the formation of the state’s first art colony. While dividing his time between the Maine coast and Boston, Woodbury gained renown as a highly influential and popular teacher and also participated widely in shows and exhibitions across the country. The artist had nearly 60 one-man shows during his lifetime and earned prizes at major exhibitions, such as the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exposition in San Francisco, where he won a gold medal in oil painting and a medal of honor in watercolor.

Woodbury’s paintings are included in the collections of many prestigious institutions, including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Portland Museum of Art.