Prior, William Matthew (1806-1873)

Name:

Prior, William Matthew (1806-1873)

Title:

Established Prior-Hamblen school with three brother-in-laws; group of painters with indistinguishably similar styles.
Established "The Painting Garret" studio.

Other Names:

Prior, William M.

Born:

05/16/1806

Birthplace:

Bath, ME

Died:

01/21/1873

Death Location:

Boston, MA

Residence:

Bath, ME 1806-1824, 1827-1830
Boston, MA, 1830-1831, 1840, (36 Trenton Street, 1846), 1850, 1860, 1870
Portland, ME 1824-1827, 1832-1840

Nationality:

American

Occupation:

Artist
Portrait Painter

Father:

Prior, Matthew (1774-1815)

Mother:

Bryant, Esther (1778-1842)

Relations:

Hamblen, Sturtevant J.: brother-in-law.
Hamblen, Nathaniel: brother-in-law.
Hamblen, Joseph: brother-in-law.

Spouse:

(1) Rosamund C. Hamblin, March 29,1828
(1) Hannah F. Walworth, April 27, 1850

Children:

Rosamond Clark, born 1829; died 1912
Gilbert Stuart, born 1831; died 1911
Balona Miller, born 1841; died 1916
Matthew, born 1848; died 1942
William Wallwork, born 1859
Thomas Wallwork, born 1861

Notes:

Hobbies Magazine, Feb. 1951. (748 B293)
Antiques Magazine, Jan. 1934, p 78, Nov. 1934, p 180, and October 1938.

John Ebert and Katherine Ebert, American Folk Painters. (New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1975), 80.

Nina Fletcher Little, "William M. Prior, Traveling Artist and His In-Laws, The Painting Hamblins," Antiques, January 1948, 44-48.

Jacquelyn Oak and Gwendolyn D. Shaw, Artist and Visionary William Matthew Prior Revealed. (Cooperstown, New York: Fenimore Art Museum, 2012)

Jacquelyn Oak, "William Matthew Prior: Artist, Businessman, & Visionary," Antiques and Fine Art, Autumn/Winter 2012, 158-165.

Marriage Notice, Boston Traveler, Boston, MA, April 29, 1828.

"Wm. M. Prior-Portrait Painter," The Jeffersonian, Portland, ME, May 23, 1836.

Marriage Notice, Trumpet and Universalist Magazine, Boston, MA, May 4, 1850.

Death Notice, The Boston Herald, Boston, MA, January 23, 1873.

Woodlawn Cemetery, Everett, MA