Florence White Williams - a painter and an illustrator
Florence White Williams (1895-1953) was born in Vermont, died in Massachusetts, but spent most of her life in Illinois. She studied in Chicago at the Academy of Fine Arts and the Art Institute of Chicago. Florence also participated in summer school in Boothbay Harbor, Maine. There is only a small amount of information about her life, so we'll try to say at least a few words about her work.
- She was a trained painter but worked also as an illustrator. Today, most people know her by picture books like Little Black Sambo, a series about Billy Boy, another series about Bunny Rabbit, Little Red Hen, and others. Among her first artistic works were actually poems, which she wrote and illustrated. Even before graduation, she started illustrating for magazines. She also created postcards and other ephemera. Children and animals were her favorite subjects.
- As a painter, Florence White Williams got a reputation a bit later, although, throughout her whole artistic career, she stayed very balanced between painting and illustrating. She especially loved landscapes, which she executed in watercolors, oils, and occasionally in guache. Apart from Chicago, she exhibited in Baltimore, Detroit, Milwaukee, and Washington, DC. Her whole life was very much confined to the East Coast, and her only recorded travel was to Spain and Portugal in 1928.
- We have no idea about Florence White Williams's private life. We can only add she worked hard for most of her life. She worked as a writer, teacher, painter, and illustrator until about the end of World War 2, when she moved to Massachusetts, where she spent the rest of her life.
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