Artist

Paul F. Whitten

born North Easton, MA 1908-died Nantucket, MA 1997
Also known as
  • Paul Whitten
Born
North Easton, Massachusetts, United States
Died
Nantucket, Massachusetts, United States
Biography

Paul Whitten retired to Nantucket in 1965 after a long career as an elementary school principal. The artist gave talks about the island to tourists, highlighting the unique crafts being produced there, and always mentioned the baskets made by Jose Formoso Reyes, a Filipino artist working on the island. Reyes was so grateful for the recognition that he taught Whitten his craft. Whitten referred to his work as "friendship baskets," because of the relationship that evolved between the artist and his customers. He worked until he was seventy-eight years old, making more than two thousand baskets over a thirty-year period.

Works by this artist (18 items)

View all artworks
William Merritt Chase, Shinnecock Hills, ca. 1895, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of William T. Evans, 1909.7.11
Shinnecock Hills
Artist
Dateca. 1895
oil on canvas
On view
Henry Wolf, William Merritt Chase, Alice, 1892, photomechanical wood engraving on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, 1973.130.72
Alice
Artist
Date1892
photomechanical wood engraving on paper
Not on view
Henry Wolf, William Merritt Chase, Portrait of a Woman, 1906, photomechanical wood engraving on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Transfer from the Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, 1973.130.224
Portrait of a Woman
Artist
Date1906
photomechanical wood engraving on paper
Not on view
William Merritt Chase, Roses, ca. 1883, pastel on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Raymond J. and Margaret Horowitz, 2014.68.1
Roses
Artist
Dateca. 1883
pastel on paper
Not on view