William Glackens (1870 � 1938) was born in Philadelphia in 1870. After he completed high school (where John Sloan and Albert C. Barnes were his classmates) he became an artist-reporter for Philadelphia newspapers. He attended night classes at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, studying with Thomas Anshutz. Glackens shared a studio with Robert Henri; in 1895 they worked their way to Europe on a cattle boat. In Holland and Paris they studied the Dutch masters, Diego Vel�zquez, and Francisco Goya. On his return to New York in 1896, Glackens worked for newspapers and commenced a long career as a magazine illustrator. McClure's Magazine sent him to Cuba in 1898 to cover the Spanish-American War.

Glackens began exhibiting his paintings in 1901, attracting attention among critics and patrons who were turning away from the conventional standards of the academy. His subjects were caf� scenes, crowds on city streets, in parks, and on beaches, and people at play in outdoor settings. The influence of Pierre Auguste Renoir and other French impressionists is apparent.

In 1904 Glackens married, and two years later he travelled in France and Spain. His work was rejected by the National Academy of Design in 1907. He was one of the group of painters called "The Eight" who exhibited at the Macbeth Gallery in 1908. This show marked the end of the ascendancy of academic painting in the United States. Some of the painters in this group specialized in realistic social comment; Glackens remained fundamentally a romantic, his work reflecting a healthy and joyous view of life.

Glackens was influential in helping Albert C. Barnes form his great collection of modern art; the two travelled to Europe in 1912, returning with canvases by �douard Manet, Edgar Degas, Paul C�zanne, Paul Gauguin, Vincent Van Gogh, Henri Matisse, and Renoir. Glackens was one of the organizers of the famous Armory Show of 1913, and he served as chairman of the committee that selected the American entries. Three of his own paintings were shown. He was one of the organisers of the Society of Independent Artists in 1916, which presented exhibitions without juries or prizes.

Throughout the 1920s and 1930s Glackens's work received wide recognition. The late paintings include imposing nudes, flower pieces, and portraits of members of his family. Basically impressionistic but with a strong sense of structure, these paintings combine sumptuous color, spontaneity of handling, and an increasingly architectural sense of compositional organization in a decidedly contemporary manner. His illustrations, particularly those involving animated crowds of people, exhibit brilliant and expressive draftsmanship, as do a smaller series of etchings of urban subjects. Glackens died suddenly in May 1938.

This is part 1 of a 5-part post on the works of William Glackens:

1893 Philadelphia Landscape oil on canvas 45.1 x 61 cm

c1893-95 Autumn Landscape oil on canvas 63.5 x 76.2 cm

1894 Lippincott's Poster lithograph 44.5 x 31.8 cm

c1894 Girl with White Shawl Collar oil on canvas 81.3 x 64.8 cm

1895 Figures in a Park, Paris 64 x 81 cm

1895 La Villette oil on canvas 63.5 x 76.2 cm

1895-6 The Country Fair oil on canvas 66 x 82 cm

1895-96 On the Quai oil on canvas 60.6 x 81.3 cm

1895-96 Quatorze Juillet oil on canvas 64.1 x 76.8 cm

c1895 Bal Bullier oil on canvas 60.6 x 81.3 cm

c1895 Factory Scene oil on canvas 45.7 x 61 cm

c1895 Outdoor Theater, Paris oil on canvas 65.4 x 80.6 cm

c1895 Sailboats, Luxembourg Gardens 65.4 x 81.3 cm

c1895 Sailing Boats, Paris oil on canvas 65.4 x 81.3 cm

c1896 In the Luxembourg oil on canvas 40.6 x 48.3 cm

1897 Girl in a Black Cape oil on canvas 81.3 x 64.8 cm

1897 Outside the Guttenberg Race Track oil on canvas 64.8 x 81.3 cm

1898 El Pozo, Spanish American War pen & ink wash on paper

1898 Loading Horses at Port Tampa, Spanish American War pen & ink wash on paper

1898 The Night after San Juan watercolour, pen & ink on paper 40.6 x 33 cm

1898 Fruit Stand, Coney Island oil on canvas 64.8 x 78.7 cm

1900 A Young Doctor, Especially during the Growth of His First Beard, Is Invariably a Music Lover gouache on paper 21.6 x 29.2 cm

c1900 Shop Girls pastel & watercolour on illustration board 34.6 x 36.5 cm

c1901 Hammerstein's Roof Garden oil on canvas 76.2 x 63.5 cm

1902 Dancer in Pink Dress oil on canvas 102.8 x 61 cm

1902 East River from Brooklyn oil on canvas 63.8 x 76.2 cm

c1902-04 Battery Park oil on canvas 66 x 81.3 cm

c1902 Park on the River oil on canvas 65.7 x 81.3 cm

1903 Cap Noir, Saint Pierre oil on canvas 63.5 x 76.2 cm

1903 Graft pastel on paper 25.4 x 20.3 cm

1903 He piles himself on Gothecore's back then he crooks his right arm about Gothecore's neck-the regular garotte hug. pen, brush, & ink 28.6 x 27.2 cm

1903 Portrait of Charles FitzGerald oil on canvas 190.5 x 101.6 cm

1903 Seated Actress with Mirror oil on canvas

1903 Theater Scene oil on canvas 32.4 x 39.4 cm

c1903-04 A Headache in Every Glass charcoal & gouache on paper 33.7 x 49.5 cm

c1903 The Ermine Muff oil on canvas 36.2 x 44.13 cm

before 1904 Here Is Our Music, and I Imagine It Will Be First-Class etching 9.8 x 14 cm

before 1904 Monsieur and Madame Mollet etching 13.3 x 10.2 cm