biography of Wallace NUTTING (1861-1941)

Birth place: Marlboro, MA.

Addresses: Cranston, RI, 1894-1904; NYC, 1904; Southbury, CT, 1905-12; Framingham, MA, 1912-on

Profession: Craftsperson, photographer, writer, lecturer

Member: Phila. ACG; MMA; Wadsworth Atheneum, Hartford.

Comments: Between 1900 and his death in 1941, he sold millions of his hand-colored platinum prints depicting pictorialist New England scenes. In 1904, he retired as a Congregational minister. Of the hundreds of professional photographers who were active in the pictorialist genre and competing for the tourist trade, Nutting developed what was by far the largest and most prominent operation, employing nearly 200 colorists, framers, and salemen. His closest rivals were David Davidson, Fred Thompson, and Charles Sawyer (see entries). Nutting was also widely known for his exact reproductions of early American furniture, chairs, cabinets, and wrought iron. From 1912-36, he wrote 20 books, including Old New England Pictures; Furniture of the Pilgrim Century; Furniture Treasury; England Beautiful; and Virginia Beautiful.

Sources: WW40; Ivankovitch, 152