{{Short description|American painter}} {{original research|date=March 2010}} {{Infobox artist | name = Adam Emory Albright | image = | image_size = | caption = | birth_name = | birth_date = {{birth date|1862|08|15}} | birth_place = Monroe, Wisconsin, U.S. | death_date = {{death date and age|1957|09|13|1862|08|15}} | death_place = Warrenville, Illinois, U.S. | field = Painting, Landscape art | training = | movement = | works = | patrons = | influenced by = | influenced = | awards = | spouse = Clara Wilson | children = 3, including Ivan }}
'''Adam Emory Albright''' (August 15, 1862 – September 13, 1957) was a painter of figures in landscapes. He was born in Monroe, Wisconsin<ref name="Obit">{{cite news|title=Adam Albright, Chicago Artist, Dies at Age of 95|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/15312936/adam_emory_albright_18621957/|newspaper=Palladium-Item|date=September 15, 1957|page=21|via = Newspapers.com|access-date = November 23, 2017 }} {{Open access}}</ref> and spent his working life in Warrenville and the Chicago area.
==Early years== Albright studied at the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts (later the Art Institute of Chicago) and under Thomas Eakins, but also in Europe during the nineteenth century.<ref name="Obit"/> Albright began as a landscape painter but moved to strongly foregrounding individuals in most of his paintings. A particular interest for his paintings was children. He painted in oils, using almost pastel tones and visible brush-strokes, creating realistic paintings that approached Impressionism in style. Themes portrayed by the man called the James Whitcomb Riley of the brush include country children at quiet play, at rest, and walking. Many country scenes were from the town of Warrenville and then-rural areas of what is now Chicago.
In the early part of the twentieth century, Albright was an established Chicago-area artist, commanding $1,500 for a canvas and often serving on the jury for the annual Chicago and vicinity exhibition at the Chicago Art Institute.<ref>{{Cite journal|title = A Golden Anniversary for Chicago Art|last = Kuh|first = Katharine|date = Apr–May 1946|journal = Bulletin of the Art Institute of Chicago|jstor = 4112312|volume = 40|number=4|pages= 40–46|doi = 10.2307/4112312}}</ref>
==Later life== Albright later married Clara Wilson Albright, and they had three sons, including twins Malvin, who became a sculptor,<ref name="WPA">{{cite web|url=http://www.wpamurals.com/unionclu.htm|title=WPA Art|access-date=22 March 2010}}</ref> and Ivan, who became the most prominent Chicago artist of the time. Ivan was commissioned by MGM to create the portrait from the film, ''The Picture of Dorian Gray''. Malvin also submitted a painting that was not used for the film.
In 1924, Albright acquired a vacant church building on Second Street in Warrenville. He and his two sons operated the Albright Gallery of Painting and Sculpture. In 1981, the building was acquired by the city and after extensive renovations, it was converted into the [https://web.archive.org/web/20121009062327/http://www.warrenville.il.us/v_hist_albright-studio.aspx Albright Studio museum] by the Warrenville Historical Society.
As an elderly man, Albright decided to sell his paintings on monthly installments to be paid as long as he lived, so that he would have an insured retirement income. Many people thought they would get his paintings at a very low price since he was already an old man, but his longevity served him well. He died at age 95 at his home in Warrenville.<ref name="Obit"/>
==Bibliography== * ''My Land. My Country. My Home.'' Albany, N.Y. C. F. Williams & son, 1915. * ''For Art’s Sake.'' Warrenville, Ill. Priv. printed, 1953. * ''[https://web.archive.org/web/20121009062327/http://www.warrenville.il.us/v_hist_albright-studio.aspx Albright Studio museum].'' Warrenville, Illinois. Retrieved 3/13/2012
==References== {{Reflist}}
==External links== * [http://www.fineoldart.com/browse_by_essay.html?essay=130 Adam Emory Albright, 1862-1957 - Lawrence J. Cantor and Company] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20051216045944/http://www.rhlovegalleries.com/site/epage/23502_472.htm Albright, Adam, E at RHLovegalleries.com] * http://cafe.daum.net/pathwithheart
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Albright, Adam Emory}} Category:1862 births Category:1957 deaths Category:19th-century American painters Category:American male painters Category:20th-century American painters Category:School of the Art Institute of Chicago alumni Category:People from Monroe, Wisconsin Category:People from Warrenville, Illinois Adam Emoryt Category:Painters from Wisconsin Category:Painters from Illinois Category:19th-century American male artists Category:20th-century American male artists