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Miller, William Rickarby (b. 1818 d. 1893)

Landscape painter, Watercolorist
New York, , N.Y.,

Diary, 1850-1868 139 p.

Diary mainly recording his painting activities in his studio on South Broadway, and sketching jaunts in and around New York City, April 1850-January 1851 and July 1867-November 1868. He explains why he is quitting landscape painting for portrait and figure painting (a decision he soon reversed,) and writes about such practices as using a pantograph to enlarge pictures, tracing results on tissue paper, grinding colors, shopping for supplies, using the work of other artists as a basis for his own paintings, and making sketching trips in various places. He complains of the difficulty of getting a permit to sketch in Central Park, and describes a trip to Rondout, N.Y., with painter Jervis McEntee. He writes about work on specific paintings (title and size), working habits, books he read, experiments with an encaustic process and other painting processes, preparations for exhibitions (especially at the National Academy of Design), disappointment with his "Yankee" wife (Miller was born in England), Reinhardt's refusal to do a painting "conjointly" with Miller (March 1868 Reinhardt appears regularly after this date), the move from his studio, etc. Miller also writes about Hiram Reynolds Bloomer in 1850, and frequently mentions his friends [] Ernst, [] White, and [] Wing.

Microfilm reel(s): Microfilm reel 801, frames unnumbered.

Location of Originals: Original owned by the New York Historical Society, New York, N.Y.

Forms Part of: William Rickarby Miller diary and writings