WATTS INDEXThe canonical database of visual culture

Artists›James Wells Champney

James Wells Champney

Artist

WA-00034222

Painting

Representation

None documented

Institutional Exhibitions

Works in Collection

Assets Indexed

Authority-backed Facts

Publications Referenced

60%

Profile Completeness

Cultural Positioning

Influence Graph

No influence edges encoded yet.

Authority Records (1)

MoMA

Source Registry (1)

MoMA bulk 2026-05-04https://www.moma.org/artists/38634
Tier 1 · Institutional92%

About

Why this artist matters now

James Wells Champney was an American painter and illustrator active during the Gilded Age, working primarily in portraiture and narrative painting. Born in 1843 and based in New York, he maintained a prolific studio practice through the late nineteenth century until his death in 1903. His work bridges academic tradition and commercial illustration, reflecting the cultural tastes of industrial-era American wealth and society.

Source: Moma Bulk 2026 05 04 · Trust score: 92% · Updated 28d ago

Graph relationships

Taste overlap and adjacency

Movement

—

Medium

Painting

Related Artists

6 in graph

Institutional

Museum Collections

The Metropolitan Museum of Art Smithsonian American Art Museum Museum of Modern ArtNew York National Gallery of Art National Portrait Gallery

Canonical record

Artworks (11)

A Study

1901 · photogravure in red on chine collé mounted on white paper and on gray wove paper

image (diameter): 11.3 x 11.3 cm (4 7/16 x 4 7/16 in.) sheet: 13.6 x 12.7 cm (5 3/8 x 5 in.) mount: 28.5 x 19.5 cm (11 1/4 x 7 11/16 in.) mount: 38.1 x 28 cm (15 x 11 in.)

National Gallery of Art

A Study

1901 · Photogravure

4 7/16 × 4 7/16" (11.3 × 11.3 cm) irregular

Museum of Modern Art

A Boy

1882 · etching in black on wove paper

image: 16.19 × 10.16 cm (6 3/8 × 4 in.) plate: 16.99 × 11.11 cm (6 11/16 × 4 3/8 in.) sheet: 32.86 × 22.54 cm (12 15/16 × 8 7/8 in.)

National Gallery of Art

Minimic

1878 · Oil on canvas

66 x 45.7cm (26 x 18")

National Portrait Gallery

Customs Shed

1875 · pen and black ink with wash on wove paper

sheet: 23.18 × 32.86 cm (9 1/8 × 12 15/16 in.)

National Gallery of Art

Moat at Fort Marion, Florida

1874 · graphite with gray wash on wove tan paper

sheet: 7.9 × 14 cm (3 1/8 × 5 1/2 in.)

National Gallery of Art

Fort Marion, Florida

1869 · graphite with gray wash on wove paper

sheet: 6.9 × 13.3 cm (2 11/16 × 5 1/4 in.)

National Gallery of Art

Landscape with Three Trees

1863 · graphite on wove paper

sheet: 17.46 × 25.24 cm (6 7/8 × 9 15/16 in.)

National Gallery of Art

Camp

1862 · graphite on paperboard

image: 12.7 × 20.96 cm (5 × 8 1/4 in.) sheet: 17.78 × 23.34 cm (7 × 9 3/16 in.)

National Gallery of Art

Mr. Way and Mr. Booth

1862 · pen and black ink over graphite on paperboard

image (irregular): 15.56 × 15.24 cm (6 1/8 × 6 in.) sheet: 26.51 × 16.83 cm (10 7/16 × 6 5/8 in.)

National Gallery of Art

WattsOS

River Scene in England

1843 · Watercolor and gouache on off-white wove paper

10 7/16 x 8 7/16 in. (26.5 x 21.4 cm)

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

View all 11 artworks →

Artwork sources (4)

11 published of 12 catalogued · 10 with image

Nga
8 published8 img
MoMA
1 publishedof 2 catalogued1 img
The Met
1 published
Smithsonian
1 published1 img

Record

Images

Artsy

Art Institute of Chicago

Relationships

Collections5

The Metropolitan Museum of Art Smithsonian American Art Museum Museum of Modern Art National Gallery of Art National Portrait Gallery

Institutional

Representation & Collections

In collection

The Metropolitan Museum of Art

In collection

Smithsonian American Art Museum

In collection

Museum of Modern Art

New York, US

In collection

National Gallery of Art

In collection

National Portrait Gallery

Record

Exhibitions and timeline

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