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| Obituary, 17 February 1938, New York Times, p. 21, col. 6 |
W. Scott Pyle, Artist and Paint Originator
American Who Experimented With Plant Colors in Europe Is Dead at The HagueW. Scott Pyle, American artist, died in The Hague, The Netherlands, on Sunday [February 13, 1938] after an operation, according to word received here yesterday. He had gone abroad in June, taking some of his paintings with him for exhibitions in Switzerland and The Hague.
Mr. Pyle left Princeton in his sophomore year to study painting, first under William Chase, then at the Academy of Munich and with Frank Brangwyn. He had exhibited at the academy shows in Philadelphia, Chicago, New York, Washington and also in the art museums of Detroit and Toledo.
Until the last few years he was living in Europe, where he took a leading part in lengthy experiments with paints made from plant colors, which were finally manufactured by the Goetheanum in Switzerland.
His clubs included the Princeton, University and Racquet and Tennis.
Surviving are his widow, Mrs. Mietra [sic: should be Maria] Waller Pyle; a daughter, Joan; his mother, Mrs. William Scott Pyle, and a sister, Mrs. Albert Spalding.
William Scott Pyle, Jr. was born on June 22, 1888, in Monmouth, New Jersey, to William Scott Pyle (photo here) and Mary Ann Vanderhoef. He was their third child. The oldest, James Vanderhoef Pyle, died in 1887 of Diphtheria.
His older sister, Mary Vanderhoef Pyle, married famed violinist Albert Spalding. Because their father had died by the time they wed in July 1919, William Junior gave his sister away.
He was the first cousin of my grandfather, Charles McAlpin Pyle, making him my first cousin twice removed.
William Scott Pyle reported his occupation as Artist in the 1915 New Jersey state census, when he was living with his mother and sister in Mendham, New Jersey. In the 1920 U.S. census, where he was enumerated twice (once in Mendham and once in Manhattan), he also reported his occupation as Artist.
The earliest newspaper mention I found was in a long, two-column article from the Springfield [Massachusetts] Republican in August 1917 about The Stockbridge Artists, describing several artists and their work.
In October 1918, he was showing his oils paintings at the Kraushaar Gallery as W. Scott Pyle. According to the article, the display included portraits (including one of his mother) and landscapes.
Again in early 1920, he was showing his works at the Kraushaar Gallery. This sub-headline is from The Sun and New York Herald of Sunday, February 8, 1920, below the title: "Views and Reviews of a Week in the World of Art." The reviewer stated that he "is not afraid of big canvases nor of daring compositions."
One of his works was printed on the page of this article: Portrait of Miss T. H. (I don't know who Miss T. H. is.)
In 1921, William Scott Pyle acquired a passport. Although he reported that he had never previously had a passport, I know that he had previously traveled abroad because I found his name on several earlier passenger lists. The 1921 passport reports that his occupation was "painter artist" and he planned to study and travel to France, Switzerland, England, Holland, Belgium, Spain, Italy and Gibraltar. His departure was planned for June 18 of that year. He was tall, at just over six feet, with a high forehead, grey eyes, and an aquiline nose.
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| Photograph from William Scott Pyle's 1921 passport application |
During his travels abroad, he met and married (in August 1924) Maria Elizabeth Waller, originally from Amsterdam, who was also an artist.
Their only child, Joan Tadea Pyle, was born in Switzerland in November 1925, and the family returned to New York City in September 1933.
I have found only a few images of his works online. The Metropolitan Museum of Art holds at least one of his paintings (see Portrait of Ellen here) and it looks like one of his works was auctioned: Unter Baum [Under Tree] at Mutual Art.
The Ancestry.com database U.S., Reports of Deaths of American Citizens Abroad, 1835-1974 includes a death record for William Scott Pyle reporting appendicitis as the cause of death. His remains were cremated and given to his wife, M. E. Waller Pyle. There is a FindAGrave Memorial for him in Woodlawn Cemetery, but I have not confirmed whether his cremated remains were deposited there.
Our common ancestors are my second great grandparents and W. Scott's grandparents:
This week's theme is Creativity.
Creative indeed! And exciting to see his paintings are in major museums too.
ReplyDeleteI was pleasantly surprised to see how much I could find on this relative. Thanks for commenting!
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