Description:

William E. Reed 1903-1989 Pennsylvania Medium- Print of Original Oil Style- Realism Subject- Steamboat Dock Framed measures 19 1/2 by 24 inches. A maritime artist specializing in river steamers, many of them pen and ink and charcoal drawings, William E Reed likely did about one-hundred thirty river scenes. One of his subjects was the Mississippi cotton carrier, The J.M. White, which Samuel Clemens (Mark Twain) described as finer than anything on shore. In his hometown of Pittsburgh, he became known as the Pittsburgh river artist, according to a clipping from The Pittsburgh Press, March 1953. Reed was an art teacher at Dormont High School in Dormont, a suburb of Pittsburgh, and several of his painting are in the collection of the Pittsburgh public schools. In 1953, at the 43rd Annual Exhibition of the Associated Artists, Reed won the popularity prize with his painting Steamboat Gothic. He exhibited in twelve shows of the Allied Artists and was also an active member of the Watercolor Society of Pittsburgh.