1911 Encyclopædia Britannica/Bradford, William (painter)

BRADFORD, WILLIAM (1827–1892), American marine painter, was born at New Bedford, Massachusetts. He was a Quaker, and was self-taught, painting the ships and the marine views he saw along the coast of Massachusetts, Labrador and Nova Scotia; he went on several Arctic expeditions with Dr Hayes, and was the first American painter to portray the frozen regions of the north. His pictures attracted much attention by reason of their novelty and gorgeous colour effects. His “Steamer 'Panther' in Melville Bay, under the Light of the Midnight Sun” was exhibited at the Royal Academy in London in 1875. Bradford was a member of the National Academy of Design, New York, and died in that city on the 25th of April 1892. His style was somewhat influenced by Albert van Beest, who worked with Bradford at Fairhaven for a time; but Bradford is minute and observant of detail where van Beest’s aim is general effect.