William J. Baer
In these characteristics there is no more proficient exponent than William J. Baer, although his earlier efforts in art were devoted to magazine illustrating, painting in oil and teaching drawing at the School of Applied Design for Women, Cooper Institute and Chatauqua. It may be interesting to note here how circumstances often cause the door of opportunity to open for a man, in fields quite different from those to which he dedicated himself. For example, S. F. B. Morse (1791-1872) who was the most able portrait painter in the United States in his time, found his place in the Hall of Fame as the inventor of the telegraphic code.
BETTY, BY W. J. BAER
(copyright) Doubleday, Page & Co.
JEANETTE, BY W. J. BAER
So Mr. Baer's activities as a portrait painter were turned into another field of art. Having painted a successful portrait of the late Alfred Corning Clark, of New York City, in 1892, and afterwards a replica in a miniature, Mr. Baer began his career as a miniature painter, showing unrivalled skill and an acknowledged excellence of conception, character, color and suggestion of detail. In 1896 he painted his first ideal subject,—"The Golden Hour," and in 1908 what he considers his most important and ambitious endeavor, "Primavera," representing "Flora," the handmaiden of spring, in which the color scheme is rendered in delicate pinks, blues, greens and grays. "Aurora," owned by Mr. Henry Walters of Baltimore; "Daphne," a charming conception of the nude; "Summer"; "Mildred," a fancy head representing spring; "Doris," another female nude, and "Young Diana," are also among the ideal subjects for which Mr. Baer has become famous, while the portrait miniatures of many prominent persons can be numbered as the result of his able brush.
THE GOLDFISH, BY LAURA COOMBS HILLS
Courtesy of Mr. George D. Pratt