Thomas Willis (Denmark, NY, 1850 – 1925) “Corona”. Signed and dated (1905) lower right. Oil on Canvas with applied silk accents to boat and sail. Thomas Willis was born in Denmark in 1850 and sailed to New York in 1870 where he settled in Brooklyn, NY. There, for a time, he worked for a manufacturer of silk embroidery thread (and this very likely influenced his choice to incorporate textiles into his paintings). Willis became a marine artist advertising himself as Inventor & sole maker of silk ware pictures and Inventor and for over 30 years the only maker of silk marine pictures (words written on original studio labels on the backsides of examples of the artists works). In 1880, Thomas Willis was listed as a silk goods maker in New York: Willis, Thomas. Marine Pictures in Silk. 91 Degraw Street, Brooklyn. Several original Willis studio labels identify other studio locations for the artist, including Telephone 1615 Bedford, and 3 Sumpter St., at Fulton St, Brooklyn, NY, and 426 Stuyvesant Ave., Brooklyn, N.Y.”. The 3 Sumpter St. address is noted in pencil on the label on the verso of this piece.
Sight Size: 20 x 36 in.
Overall Framed Size: 26.5 x 42.5 in.
Framed behind glass.