Henry Salem Hubbell

Henry Salem Hubbell (December 25, 1870 – 1949) was an American Impressionist painter who studied under William-Adolphe Bouguereau and James Abbott McNeill Whistler. In France, he became known for his figural works His paintings can be found in museums around the world, including the National Portrait Gallery, the Harvard Art Museums, and the Smithsonian American Art Museum.

Life and career

Formative years

Henry Salem Hubbell was born on Christmas Day in Paola, Kansas. He moved with his family to Lawrence, Kansas at the age of four. In 1886, at just sixteen-year-old, he graduated from Lawrence High School.

Upon graduating, Hubbell moved to Chicago, where he began work as sign painter. A year later, he began studying at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago. While in Chicago, Hubbell learned under William Merrit Chase, Dennet Grover, and John Vanderpoel. "Mother and Child after W. Bouguereau" was exhibited at Académie Julian to much fanfare, Whistler's influence, and especially his use of color can be seen in the first paintings that brought Hubbell international acclaim. Hubbell's subsequent works, "The Long Seam" and "The Coachman (Paris Cabman)" were reviewed favorably in the Paris press, with d'Arcy Moreil writing in the Paris American that: "This vigorous attempt to copy nature line by line seems an attempt to follow the example of the French master, Jules Bastien-Lepage." Hubbell exhibited paintings at the Paris Salon throughout the 1910s. In 1908, Hubbell joined the American Impressionists colony in Giverny, France, where he became friends with Claude Monet. In 1908-1909 he painted two of his masterworks, "By the Fireside" and "The Orange Robe" which were both exhibited in the 1909 Paris Salon to much fanfare, solidifying his place as a leading American Impressionist.

In December 1909, Hubbell had five new paintings unveiled to the International Society of Painters, Sculptors and Gravers. He sold four paintings the afternoon the show opened. The French government purchased the fifth painting the following week. He died a year later, in 1949.

Notable works