Glackens, William James

Glackens, William James (1870–1938). American painter and draughtsman, born in Philadelphia, where he studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. His early career was spent mainly as a newspaper illustrator, but he was encouraged to take up painting by Robert Henri, whom he met in 1891. In 1895 he visited Paris and in 1896 he settled in New York. There he initially continued to work for newspapers and magazines, but he devoted more time to painting and did little illustration after about 1905. In 1908 he was one of the group of painters who exhibited together as The Eight. His work as a newspaperman led him to depict scenes of contemporary life, and he is considered one of the central figures of the Ashcan School. However, he was less concerned with Social Realism than with representing the life of the people as a colourful spectacle, and he was heavily influenced by the Impressionists. Chez Mouquin (Art Institute of Chicago, 1905), a high-keyed depiction of a restaurant that was a favourite resort of artists in his circle, was inspired by Manet's famous A Bar at the Folies-Bergère. By the time of the Armory Show (1913), which he helped to organize, Glackens was painting in a style reminiscent of the early Renoir. From 1912 he was employed as art consultant by Dr Albert C. Barnes and toured Europe buying paintings that formed the nucleus of the celebrated Barnes Foundation at Merion, Pennsylvania. In 1917 he was elected first president of the Society of Independent Artists.