Born in Baltimore and raised in Newton, Massachusetts, William Paxton became a prominent late 19th, early 20th-century figure painter, especially noted for female subjects, and a key artist in the establishment of American Impressionism. Paxton also painted outdoor views of upper class life such as croquet games and hotel verandah scenes. In Philadelphia where he lived briefly, he received so many commissions for portrait paintings that he was referred to as the "court painter of Philadelphia." Portrait subjects included Presidents Calvin Coolidge and Grover Cleveland. In addition to his canvas painting, Paxton was a muralist whose work was at the Army and Navy Club of New York City and St. Botolph's Club of Boston. He was also a lithographer, and etcher, and his studios were in Boston, East Gloucester, and Provincetown. In 1928, he became a full member of the National Academy of Design.
