William Verplanck Birney

(American, 1858-1909)

William Verplanck Birney was born in Cincinnati, Ohio in 1858.  He was one of only two Americans who sold paintings at the International Expo in Munich, 1883.  Birney traveled extensively in Europe and the United States, painting narrative genre scenes, often on the spot and including authentic details.  

Studied

Mass. Normal A. Sch., Boston; PAFA, with Eakins; Royal Acad, Munich with Julius Benzer and Wilhelm Lindenschmidt

Member

ANA, 1900; NYWCC; Brooklyn AC; SC, 1888; Phila Sketch C; A Fund S.; Lotos Cl, 1901

Exhibited

PAFA, 1880, 1885-1906; Intl. Expo, Munich, 1883; Brooklyn AA, 1885-86; Boston AC, 1880-1908; NAD, 1885-1900; Paris Expo., 1889; Worlds Columbian Expo, Chicago 1893; Pan-Am. Expo, Buffalo, 1901; St. Louis Expo, 1904 (med.); AIC

Resources

WW08; 300 Years of American Art, 519; Edwards, Domestic Bliss; Family Life in American Painting, cat. no.12; Falk, Exh. Record Series