William H. Clapp (October 29, 1879 - April 21, 1954) was a Canadian-American painter and art curator. He was a member of the Society of Six in Oakland, California, and an Impressionist landscape painter. He was also the curator of the Oakland Art Gallery.
Life
Clapp was born on October 29, 1879, in Montreal, Canada.[1][2] He was born a U.S. citizen as both his parents were American.[2] He moved with his family to Oakland, California in 1885, but returned to Montreal in 1900 to study with William Brymner at the Art Association of Montreal. Fellow students included Clarence Gagnon and Henri Hébert and the three artists moved to Paris in the fall of 1904.[3] In Paris, he spent four years, and attended the Académie Julian, the Académie de la Grande Chaumière and the Académie Colarossi, and was introduced to Fauvism. In 1906, he exhibited his work at the Salon d'Automne.[1][4]
In France, his style was transformed into a personal form of Impressionism, verging on Pointillism, depicting the way in which he experienced and saw the world. He became mostly known for his brilliant, high-keyed, colourful landscapes inspired by Monet and for his interest in painting the figure, mostly academic-influenced and idealized nudes. In 1907, he travelled to Belgium and Spain, where he studied in Madrid with William Laparra and regularly visited the Prado Museum. Returning to Montreal in 1908, Clapp brought with him his innovative interpretation of Impressionism, applying it to Canadian subject matter, which received mixed and uncomprehending reactions from critics and the public[1] but at the Art Association of Montreal's Spring Exhibition in 1908 he shared the Jessie Dow Prize with Helen McNicoll.[3]
Note: the author, Lawrence Jeppson, lived 1926–2019[8] and the publication date given for the book has somehow been misdated at the source (Smithsonian Libraries).
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