Alexander Helwig Wyant
(1836-1892)

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Wyant was an Ohio born, American landscape painter who spent most of his career in New York and Europe. He started out as a sign painter in Port Washington, Ohio and would paint the nearby Ohio River in his spare time. Wyant was exposed to the work of Hudson River painter, George Inness, who exhibited in Cincinnati, Ohio. He decided to travel to New York to study and meet Inness, his source of inspiration.

In New York, Wyant painted in a similar fashion to the Hudson River School painters. He exhibited at the National Academy of Design, where he was elected Associate and Academician. Wyant was able to spend some time in Europe studying in Dusseldorf, Germany with the Norwegian painter Hans Gude. Wyant took additional time to visit France, England and Ireland. In Europe, the artist was further inspired by the landscapes of Corot and Dupré.

In 1866, Wyant returned to his studio in New York where he shifted his medium to watercolor painting. He began to build a strong reputation in this medium and founded the American Watercolor Society in 1878.

Unfortunately, Wyant suffered a partial stroke, which impaired his right arm. He did not give up painting but switched to painting with his left hand. In Wyant's later life, he painted Keene Valley and Arkville, New York in the Catskills.

Wyant's work belongs to the National Museum of American Art, Brooklyn Museum, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Toledo Museum of Art, Tennessee State Museum, Kentucky Art Museum and numerous private collections.

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