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Samuel Colman, Jr.
1832–1920
BirthplacePortland, Maine, United States of America
Death placeNew York, New York, United States of America
BiographyLandscape painter Samuel Colman enjoyed a long and prosperous career in which the geographic breadth of his travels was matched by the diversity of his pursuits. Born in Portland, Maine, the young Colman moved with his family to New York City, where his father, a publisher, opened his home to important artists and writers of the day. Encouraged by his parents in his artistic interests, Colman may have studied with the famed landscape painter Asher B. Durand (1796–1886), a leader of the Hudson River school, America’s first native landscape painting movement; its highly detailed yet idealized manner is reflected in the young artist’s early portrayals of New England, which he began successfully exhibiting at New York’s prestigious National Academy of Design when he was only nineteen years old.
In 1860, Colman went to Europe, where he traveled widely to study the scenery and architecture of such romantic locales as Italy and Spain. He took up the newly popular technique of watercolor painting, in which he became an acknowledged master. Influenced by the English romantic tradition, he combined several drawing and painting media in his complex works on paper. In 1866, Colman was among the founders of the American Watercolor Society, and he served as its first president. In 1870, the artist journeyed west to the Rocky Mountains in search of new subjects, and two years later he embarked on an extended tour of Europe and North Africa. In the 1870s, he followed the developing vogue for etching (a printmaking medium), and he became seriously interested in Asian art, eventually amassing a substantial collection of Japanese prints and decorative objects. Through an association with American designer Louis Comfort Tiffany (1848–1933), Colman participated in the decoration of important interiors.
Colman returned west, visiting California, Mexico, the Pacific Northwest, and the Canadian Rockies on numerous excursions undertaken between the 1880s and the 1900s. Thereafter, the New England coastline became his primary subject. In addition to watercolor, he worked increasingly in the intimate media of drawing and pastel, often on a small scale. Colman’s late style reflects a contemporary trend in landscape art toward introspective emotion achieved through looser paint handling and evocative effects of light and color. In his last years, when his style had been eclipsed by new developments in art, Colman devoted his attention to composing and publishing two theoretical treatises on art as he worked to place his collections in various museums.
In 1860, Colman went to Europe, where he traveled widely to study the scenery and architecture of such romantic locales as Italy and Spain. He took up the newly popular technique of watercolor painting, in which he became an acknowledged master. Influenced by the English romantic tradition, he combined several drawing and painting media in his complex works on paper. In 1866, Colman was among the founders of the American Watercolor Society, and he served as its first president. In 1870, the artist journeyed west to the Rocky Mountains in search of new subjects, and two years later he embarked on an extended tour of Europe and North Africa. In the 1870s, he followed the developing vogue for etching (a printmaking medium), and he became seriously interested in Asian art, eventually amassing a substantial collection of Japanese prints and decorative objects. Through an association with American designer Louis Comfort Tiffany (1848–1933), Colman participated in the decoration of important interiors.
Colman returned west, visiting California, Mexico, the Pacific Northwest, and the Canadian Rockies on numerous excursions undertaken between the 1880s and the 1900s. Thereafter, the New England coastline became his primary subject. In addition to watercolor, he worked increasingly in the intimate media of drawing and pastel, often on a small scale. Colman’s late style reflects a contemporary trend in landscape art toward introspective emotion achieved through looser paint handling and evocative effects of light and color. In his last years, when his style had been eclipsed by new developments in art, Colman devoted his attention to composing and publishing two theoretical treatises on art as he worked to place his collections in various museums.