Information needed on American Portrait artist W. R. Wheeler, born
1832 in Michigan.  Moved to Hartford CT in 1855.  We recently acquired
a large (estimated) 30 x 40 portrait of a brown Chesapeake retriever
in sitting position with a blue ribbon bow on his collar. It was
purchased in the 1970's by Lowell Carr in Connecticut, now living in
Southport CT. An art restorer and cleaner here found the above
information attached to the frame, and said this artist was well-known
for his portrait painting and that his work rarely came on the market.
 We have no intention of selling it.  We simply want all the
information available.  We think it is in it's original gilt frame,
rather banged up.  The painting has been carefully restored in two
spots sometime in the past.  Can you get us as much information as yu
can about the artist, and about the painting?

Dear ralaw,

Although I have not been able to find information about your
particular painting - which is not surprising if it has always been in
private hands - I managed to identify the artist and found biographic
information about him:

"W. R. Wheeler" is actually William Ruthven Wheeler, a then well-known
Connecticut portrait painter in the second half of the 19th century.

William Ruthven Wheeler was born on 4 July 1832 in Scio, Michigan. His
parents were Prosper Johnson Wheeler (1807-1877) and Zadia Benham
(b.1807), and he was one of nine children they had.

Wheeler recieved early artistic instruction from a itinerant miniature
painter, and at the age of 15, he began his profession as an artist.

When he was 28, Wheeler studied for a short time in Detroit under
Alvah Bradish (1806-1901), a painter specialized in portraits and in
depiction of animals.

About 1861 - an exact date is not available - he moved to Hartford,
Connecticut, where he maintained a studio until the time of his death
in 1893.

Mainly known as a painter of portraits of the expanding commercial
community of Connecticut, Wheeler was also active in numerous other
genres, such as illustrations and landscapes. In 1872, his painting of
Mt. Washington was exhibited at the first annual exhibition of the
Hartford Art Association

The 1880 Federal Census lists William R. Wheeler as a "Landscape
Artist", resident in Hartford, Connecticut, married, and with two sons
and two daughters. He died on 13 July 1893 in Salisbury, Connecticut.

For a 1974 exhibition of his works, Connecticut Historical Society
published a catalog devoted to his work, written by Margaret Brockway
Ofslager, "William Ruthven Wheeler 1832-1893" (48 pages, softcover).
It is still available from the CHS, for $3.00 plus shipping:
http://www.chs.org/bulletin.htm

Wheeler's painting enjoy a certain amount of appreciation among art
collectors. His "Portrait of Martha Very in her Wedding Dress" (1883,
signed W.R.Wheeler), for example, sold for $1400 at a 2004 auction.


Here are some examples of William Ruthven Wheeler's work:

Portrait of Martha Very in her Wedding Dress (1883)[1]
http://www.quinnsauction.com/053104/images/287_1.jpg

Mount Chocorua from Tamworth, New Hampshire[2]
http://whitemountainart.com/images/wrw001.jpg

Portrait of a Young Lady (1854)[3]
http://www.askart.com/AskART/photos/KEN12122004/1522.jpg

Woodland Scene (undated)[3]
http://www.askart.com/AskART/photos/NAD1022004/108.jpg

Portrait of James Loomis Nichols (1870)[3]
http://www.askart.com/AskART/photos/SKN232000/310.jpg



Hope this is what you were looking for!
Regards,
Scriptor




Sources:

AskArt: William Ruthven Wheeler (1832 - 1894)
http://www.askart.com/askart/artist.aspx?artist=19391

White Mountain Art & Artists: William Ruthven Wheeler
http://whitemountainart.com/Biographies/bio_wrw.htm

Rootsweb Worldconnect Genealogy Database
http://worldconnect.rootsweb.com/cgi-bin/igm.cgi

AskArt: Alvah Bradish
http://www.askart.com/askart/artist.aspx?artist=27361

AskArt: Auction Records for William Wheeler
http://www.askart.com/AskART/artists/search/Search_Repeat.aspx?searchtype=AUCTION_RECORDS&artist=19391

[1]Quinn's Auction Galleries: Memorial Day 2004 Auction Result
http://www.quinnsauction.com/053104/catalog.asp?rowid=275

[2]White Mountain Art & Artists: William Ruthven Wheeler Gallery
http://whitemountainart.com/ArtistGalleries/gal_wrw.htm

[3]AskArt: Image Examples for William Wheeler
http://www.askart.com/AskART/artists/search/Search_Repeat.aspx?searchtype=IMAGES&artist=19391

Search terms used:
William Ruthven Wheeler
://www.google.de/search?hl=de&q=William+Ruthven+Wheeler&btnG=Google-Suche&meta=
"alvan bradish"
://www.google.de/search?hl=de&q=%22alvan+bradish%22&btnG=Google-Suche&meta=
"alvah bradish"
://www.google.de/search?num=20&hl=de&newwindow=1&safe=off&c2coff=1&q=%22alvah+bradish%22&btnG=Suche&meta=
"william ruthven" wheeler
://www.google.de/search?num=20&hl=de&newwindow=1&safe=off&c2coff=1&q=%22william+ruthven%22+wheeler&btnG=Suche&meta=

absolutely amazing!  "Scriptor" returned more information in 24 hours
than I ever could have found elsewhere in a year or more.  Thanks so
much!  Years of wondering about the history of our painting have been
answered.