William Glackens  (American, 1870-1938) 

William Glackens (American, 1870–1938) was a Realist painter who studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in the evenings beginning in 1892. At this time, he also worked for The Philadelphia Record as an artist reporter. After traveling to Europe in 1895 with other painters, such as John Sloan (American, 1871–1951) and Robert Henri (American, 1865–1929), Glackens moved to New York.

Glackens co-founded what was referred to as the Ashcan School art movement, also referred to as The Eight. Glackens's work consisted of dark-hued street scene paintings and city neighborhoods' daily life. His later work was lighter and influenced by Pierre-Auguste Renoir (French, 1841–1919). In 1896, Glackens began working for New York World as an artist. Along with his other commitments, Glackens also took on illustration projects for McClure's Magazine, sending him to cover the Spanish-American War in Cuba. In 1901, Glackens exhibited his work at the Allen Gallery in New York. In 1904, he married artist Edith Dimock (American, 1876–1955) and continued to live in New York.

Glackens began to change his artistic focus in 1910, and this change took him further from the Ashcan style. He was even considered to be the "American Renoir." During this time, he showed his work in the Exhibition of Independent Artists. In 1916, he took on the role of President of the Society of Independence Artists. Glackens continued to study paintings of the Impressionists in France from 1925 to 1935. The Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts presented him with gold medals for his work in 1933 and 1936. Notable work such as Girl with Apple (1909) and Nude with Apple (1910) hang in the Brooklyn Museum. Glackens was focused on color in his work as illustrated in his painting Portsmouth Harbor, New Hampshire (1909). Although by the time of his death in 1938 Glackens had changed the focus of his work, he was considered to be an important part of the Realist movement.