Dennis Miller Bunker
(1861-1890)

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Dennis Miller Bunker was an American painter born in New York City. Bunker is known for his impressionistic landscapes and portraits. Growing up in New York City, Bunker was exposed to art at an early age. In 1876 Bunker enrolled at the Art Students League and the National Academy of Design. Within a few years, Bunker was exhibiting in New York City, Brooklyn and Boston. Bunker showed at the National Academy, the American Watercolor Society, the Brooklyn Art Association and the Boston Art Club.

Bunker decided to continue his studies in Paris at the É des Beaux-Arts. While studying in Paris, Bunker had the opportunity to study with the acclaimed painter Jean-Léon Gérome. Bunker travelled around the French countryside, painting in Normandy and Brittany before returning to New York City.

In 1885 Bunker joined the Society of American Artists and moved to Boston to teach at the Cowles Art School. Bunker continued to work on his own paintings and exhibited at Boston’s Noyes and Blakeslee Gallery. In the summer of 1886, he was honored to join the painter, Abbott Handerson Thayer, on a painting trip in South Woodstock, Connecticut.

In 1888 Bunker started to paint portraits at a fast rate, receiving commissions from such celebrities as Samuel Endicott Peabody and J. Montgomery Sears. In addition to painting portraits, Bunker enjoyed painting maritime subjects and landscapes, which included churches and cemeteries. Bunker often went on painting trips with John Singer Sargent, who had a strong impact on his painting technique.

Bunker’s paintings were not as popular during his lifetime, but have since surged in value. Bunker’s paintings now belong to the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York, as well as numerous private collections across the United States. Do you think you own a painting by Dennis Miller Bunker? Contact us. We are the Dennis Miller Bunker experts.