Edmund C. Messer

Born February 18, 1842, in Skowhegan, Maine. Moved with his family to Minnesota, 1852. Served in the Civil War, 1862. Moved with his family to Washington, D.C., about 1863, where he studied briefly with an unknown artist. During the years 1863–70, studied at the National Academy of Design; the Pennsylvania Academy; the Academy of Design in Chicago; and in Paris with Raphaël Collin and Gustave Courtois. Lived in Washington, D.C., 1870–1918. Shared a studio with Eleazer Hutchinson Miller, about 1870. Was a founder-member of the Washington Art Club, 1876, and an instructor in the club's art school, 1879–85. Had a studio in Vernon Row, 1880s. Visited Europe, 1885. Was a founder-instructor of the Art Students League of Washington, 1886–1902. Served as principal of the Corcoran School of Art, 1902–18. Retired to his son's home in Wisconsin. Died February 9, 1919, in Menomonie, Wisc.

Andrew J. Cosentino and Henry H. Glassie The Capital Image: Painters in Washington, 1800–1915 (Washington, D.C.: Smithsonian Institution Press for the National Museum of American Art, 1983)