Just In: SCHOFIELD Celebrating the Art of Uncle Elmer

Woodmere celebrates the generous gift of paintings by Walter Elmer Schofield from the artist’s niece Margaret Phillips and the extended Schofield Phillips family. A leader of the Pennsylvania Impressionists and a central figure in the broader phenomenon of American Impressionism, Schofield worked in Philadelphia and abroad in Cornwall, England, where he made his home. This exhibition will showcase masterpieces such as Montmartre (c. 1896) and Early Winter Morning (1908–9), as well as the recent gift of The Steam Trawlers, Boulogne (1909).

Born in Philadelphia in 1866, Schofield was the son of a prominent businessman, Benjamin Schofield. He attended Swarthmore Preparatory School for a year and graduated from Central High School. His adoption of painting as a profession derived from a visit to a ranch in Texas, where ranch hands saw his sketches and proclaimed him a budding artist, an observation he took to heart. From 1889 to 1892, Schofield studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts alongside William Glackens and Hugh Henry Breckenridge, with whom he maintained a lifelong friendship, and worked with acclaimed artist Thomas Anshutz.

From 1892 to 1894, Schofield attended the Académie Julian in Paris. He spent two more years in France where, despite his academic training, he became heavily influenced by the works of French impressionists. In 1886, the artist married Muriel Charlotta Redmayne and took up residency in the United Kingdom. He traveled annually to the United States during the winter months and painted masterful renditions of the Pennsylvania countryside. During warmer seasons spent in England, he produced his popular scenes along Cornwell’s rocky coastline.

Schofield’s legacy has been carefully preserved at Woodmere. Stemming from the artist’s close friendship with former director Edith Emerson, a memorial exhibition was held a year after Schofield’s death. A major presentation in 2014–15, International Impressionist, broadened the view of the artist’s work to highlight the scope of his transatlantic career.

Exhibition-related Events 
Click links to register

November 19 | 7 pm | Online Opening Reception (via Zoom)

January 20 | 7 pm | Artist's Talk: On Schofield  (via Zoom)

 

Digital Catalogue