Charles Henry Gifford

Known for his marine paintings and landscapes, Charles Henry Gifford was part of the Luminist movement that had a profound impact on nineteenth-century American art. Born in Fairhaven, Massachusetts, Gifford devised his painting technique in response to the art of Albert Bierstadt, William Bradford, and Robert Swain Gifford, all of whom worked in the popular whaling town. After serving in the Civil War, he returned to New Bedford to establish his studio, painting luminous views along the New England shoreline, Lake George, and the White Mountains. He exhibited at the Palette Club in New York City, the Utica Art Association, the Buffalo Fine Art Academy, and in galleries throughout Boston and New Bedford. His work is now in the Addison Gallery of American Art, the Peabody Essex Museum, the Yale University Art Gallery, and the New Bedford Whaling Museum.