Lot 51: William Charles Baker (American, 1872-1958)

Sunset. Oil on Beaverboard, signed in the lower right corner, approx. 12-1/4" x 15-3/4", framed in a vintage frame overall approx. 15" x 18-1/2". Born on November 17, 1872, in Buffalo, NY, Mr. Baker went to Cornell University as a student in 1894 and as an underclassman, his drawing ability was so outstanding in biological courses that various professors called upon him for illustrations for their publications. Graduating from Cornell University in 1898, Baker stayed on to teach drawing for several years. In 1904 he traveled to Paris where he studied with J.P. Laurens at the Academie Julian. Returning to Ithaca, Baker became professor of drawing in the College of Agriculture at Cornell, a position he held until retiring in 1938. He was survived by a daughter, Mrs. John W. Wells, who inherited his studio and kept his collection together until the 1980s. With the assistance of Mr. Richard Baron, Appraiser, of David W. Mapes, Inc., many of the paintings were then placed in art museums including the Herbert Johnson Museum of Art in Ithaca.

Recently cleaned. A large but stable fissure in the pigment from the bottom edge up 5".