Artist

George Seeley

born Stockbridge, MA 1880-died Stockbridge, MA 1955
Also known as
  • George H. Seeley
Born
Stockbridge, Massachusetts, United States
Died
Stockbridge, Massachusetts, United States
Nationalities
  • American
Biography

As a student at the Massachusetts Normal School (later known as Massachusetts College of Art), Seeley was encouraged by his teacher, Boston School painter Joseph DeCamp, to explore the effects of natural light. Upon being introduced to photography by F. Holland Day, Seeley discovered a medium that well suited his commitment to Impressionism. Compositional arrangement was equally important to him, both as a teacher of drawing in the public schools of Stockbridge, Massachusetts, and as a photographer. Not surprisingly, he favored still-life arrangements.

Like other members of the Photo-Secession (Seeley became a member in 1904), he frequently produced his photographs as gum bichromate prints. This process involved the brushed application of a pigmented solution onto a paper support, which gave photographers the opportunity for hand manipulation and produced a richly toned, impressionistic effect.

Merry A. Foresta American Photographs: The First Century (Washington, D.C.: National Museum of American Art with the Smithsonian Institution Press, 1996)