Artist

Edward Harrison May

born Croydon, England 1824-died Paris, France 1887
Born
Croydon, England
Died
Paris, France
Active in
  • New York, New York, United States
Biography

Edward Harrison May was born in Croydon, England, but moved to New York City as a child with his father, a Dutch Reformed minister. He started out studying civil engineering, but soon decided to switch to art and took lessons from the painter Daniel Huntington. Many nineteenth-century artists spent time in Europe to perfect their skills, and in 1851, May moved permanently to Paris, where he created portraits of wealthy Europeans and Americans and won a gold medal at the 1855 Paris Exposition.

Works by this artist (6 items)

Charles Walter Stetson, Magnolia, 1895, oil on canvas mounted on fiberglass, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase, 1982.83.3
Magnolia
Date1895
oil on canvas mounted on fiberglass
On view
Charles Walter Stetson, After the Bath, 1910, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase, 1982.83.1
After the Bath
Date1910
oil on canvas
On view
Charles Walter Stetson, Bathers by Moonlight, n.d., charcoal on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, 1983.65.2
Bathers by Moonlight
Daten.d.
charcoal on paper
Not on view
Charles Walter Stetson, Dancer Resting, 1882, pen and ink and watercolor on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Museum purchase, 1983.65.1
Dancer Resting
Date1882
pen and ink and watercolor on paper
Not on view