William Partridge Burpee American, 1846-1940

The long and rich tradition of marine painting in the United States manifested itself especially in northern New England, along the coasts of Massachusetts and Maine.  William Partridge Burpee, a master of marine painting, held a long career which encompassed a stylistic and thematic development which first reflected the early Luminist traditions of Lane and the more heroic Naturalism of Winslow Homer’s Prout’s Neck paintings.  Far more than a follower of these celebrated artists, Burpee was a painter who went on to explore both Tonalism and Impressionism at the end of the 19^th century, responding to the impact of the work of James McNeill Whistler and to the strong presence and interest of French and American Impressionist paintings in Boston. Burpee was a member of the Lynn Beach Painters, a group working en plein air along Boston’s North Shore from 1882-1890s. While depicting nearby scenes of beaches, marshes and fisherman, he became particularly successful and won widespread praise for capturing the moods of the sea in paintings and pastels.