Old Man and Sleeping Child
Wilbur A. Reaser
Wilbur A. Reaser
1860-1942
- Birthplace
- Antwerp, Ohio
- Died
- Minneapolis, MN
- Titles & Honors:
- Gold and Silver Medals, California Exposition, San Francisco, CA (1894); Hallgarten Award, "Mother and Child," National Academy of Design, New York City, NY (1897). Exhibitions at the Paris Salon (1890-1893), Art Institute of Chicago (1897), Pennsylvania Academy (1898 and 1900), Babcock Gallery (New York), one-man show at Macbeth Gallery (New York, 1899), and one-man show at the Des Moines Women's Club (1901).
- Occupation:
- Painter, Illustrator
Reaser was a well-known landscape and portrait painter during the late 19th century and early 20th century. Raised in Fort Dodge, Iowa, he moved with his family to Oakland, California, in 1880.
Quickly enrolling in the Hopkins Institute of Art in San Francisco, he found work as an illustrator for various California publications. In 1888, the Adventist Pacific Press sent him to Europe with a stipend of $40 a month to look for artists to illustrate Pacific Press publications and gain further training.
He would stay in Paris for seven years, attending multiple academies and exhibiting at the Paris Salon. He also spent significant time in Holland and would see his first successes painting Dutch landscapes.
Settling in New York in 1899, he would exhibit at many local galleries, but sales were subpar as the interest in Dutch themes waned.
Pivoting, he moved to Washington, D.C., and began producing portraits. Through his connections with prominent Iowans, he produced high-profile commissions for government members, including two Iowa Senators. During this time, he became involved in many Iowa art circles, including exhibitions at the Des Moines Women’s Club.
He would continue painting portraits until 1919, when he and his wife moved to Florence, Italy. There, he once again picked up landscape painting and continued to exhibit in Europe until his death in 1942.