Study in White

Clawson Shakespeare Hammitt (1857–1927)

ca. 1890s

Oil on canvas

Gift of Sewell C. Biggs; 1993.6

Born in Wilmington, Delaware, Clawson Shakespeare Hammitt received his early art education and support from Methodist minister Alfred Thompson Scott (1832–1914) and artist and collector Henry Lea Tatnall (1829–1885). In 1882, Hammitt opened the first art school in Delaware, while continuing his own education, studying under Thomas Eakins (1844–1916), Thomas Anshutz (1851–1912), and William Merritt Chase (1849–1916), as well as the Académie Julian in Paris.