The New Hope Artists Colony: Walter Elmer Schofield

"Hill Country" by Walter E. Schofield

"Although Walter Elmer Schofield did not live in Bucks County, he was nevertheless considered a leading exponent of the Pennsylvania School. He was born in Philadelphia and attended local elementary and high schools there and entered classes at Swarthmore College for about a year. After leaving the college he spent eighteen months on a ranch in San Antonio, Texas, living the life of a cowboy. While there he produced a number of drawings of life in the West. They depicted rugged western types and even a covered wagon. In describing these works, the artist himself noted that 'the drawings were awful but the cowboys used to say, 'Gee, that's great.' It may have been due to their encouragement that he decided to pursue painting as a career. 

After attending classes at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia, he left for France in late 1892 to study at the Academie Julian under William Adolphe Bouguereau, Gabriel Ferrier and Henri Doucet. Thus he began a career half lived in the States and half lived abroad.

After marrying a British citizen, Muriel Redmayne, who had been visiting Philadelphia with her parents, he was persuaded to settle in England. Although he established residence there, he made annual trips to the States without his wife, usually remaining from October through April. He would devote most of his energy to painting rural snow scenes when not attending to his obligations among galleries and art institutions. Usually by late spring, he would return to his wife in Cornwall, where he would remain for the height of the summer season. Beginning in 1902 he wrote often to his wife, and his letters give insight into his philosophy and painting methods."

To be continued

(Excerpts from "The Philadelphia Impressionists" by Thomas Folk.)