Samuel Isham

Samuel Isham (May 12, 1855 – June 12, 1914) was an American portrait and figure painter.

Early life Samuel Isham was born in New York City on May 12, 1855. He was the son of William Bradley Isham (1827–1909) and Julia Burhans (1827–1907). His father was a leather merchant who owned downtown factories and warehouses on Gold and Cliff Streets, and became vice-president of the Bank of the Metropolis and the president of the Bond and Mortgage Guarantee Company. Among his siblings was Charles Bradford Isham, who married Mamie Lincoln (granddaughter of Abraham Lincoln); and Julia Isham, who married historian Henry Osborn Taylor.

After preparing at Phillips Academy, he studied at Yale, where he was a member of the third editorial board of The Yale Record, and graduated in 1875 with a B.F.A. degree. . It received high praise for its adequate treatment, sympathetic usually just appreciations, and pleasing style.

Personal life Isham, who did not marry and lived at 471 Park Avenue in Manhattan, was a member of the Maidstone Club (in East Hampton, New York), Ardsley Club (in Irvington, New York), the Metropolitan Club, the Players' Club, and the University Club of New York. He was buried in Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx. After his death, his estate presented 236 Japanese color prints from his personal collection to the Metropolitan Museum of Art.

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