Irving Ramsey Wiles | |
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Born | |
Died | July 29, 1948 | (aged 87)
Education | Sedgwick Institute; Art Students League of New York |
Awards | Third Hallgarten Prize (1886) |
Irving Ramsey Wiles (April 8, 1861 – July 29, 1948) was an American artist, born in Utica, New York.
In the early 20th century, Wiles was a popular exponent of American grand manner portraiture as redefined by the work of John Singer Sargent, Giovanni Boldini, and James Whistler in late 19th century Europe. During his peak, he was one of the leading portraitists in America,[1] working alongside his compatriots John White Alexander and Cecilia Beaux to paint the American leisure class.[2]
Despite the decline of interest in his work (in part due to the general declining status of grand manner portraiture during the 21st century), Wiles' paintings today continue to reside and remain on display in institutions such as the de Young Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the National Gallery, Washington D.C., and the Smithsonian American Art Museum.
In his heyday—the first quarter of the twentieth century—Irving Wiles was one of the most successful portrait painters in the United States.