biography of Albert Wyndon MERCHANT (1881-1936)

Birth place: Rockland, ME

Death place: Rockland, ME

Profession: Marine painter, illustrator, miniature painter

Studied: Charlestown Evening Indust. Drawing Sch., Boston, 1900-04; Thomas Sch. Art, NYC, with C.D. Gibson, 1910; ASL with G.B. Bridgman and E. Dufner, 1912; New York Sch. Indust. Art, 1917-18

Exhibited: Knox Acad. Arts (ME), 1924 (1st prize); Kaja Veilleux Gal, Newcastle, ME, 1998 (retrospective)

Work: Rockland Pub. Lib.; Dept. Education, Rockland, ME

Comments: After studying and working in NYC as an illustrator and portrait painter, he returned to Rockland, ME, around 1927. Thereafter, he concentrated on painting Maine coastal scenes, excelling in rendering sailboats in Maine"s foggy atmosphere, or on moon-lit seas. He rented his studio from Lucy Farnsworth, later benefactor of the Farnsworth Museum in Rockland, ME. He also produced covers for Literary Digest.

Sources: courtesy B. Sloatman, his grand-daughter.