Wallace Nutting
American, 1861 - 1941
Birth-PlaceRockbottom, Massachusetts
Death-PlaceFramingham, Massachusetts
BiographyBetween 1900 and his death in 1941, Wallace Nutting sold millions of his hand-colored platinum prints illustrating picturesque New England scenes. Largely responsible for the increased popularity of hand-colored photographs, his slogan was, "Pictures make a house into a home." Nutting hired over 200 colorists, framers, and salesmen for his prominent and successful photography studio. He took the black and white photographs himself, and they were then painted by colorists under his watchful eye. The works were often signed by the colorists in Nutting's name, leading to a wide variety of signatures designating an authentic print. Although the subjects of the artist's work were comprehensive, Nutting's pastoral scenes were most prolific, subsequently making his interiors more valuable.ADDITIONAL BIO
Wallace Nutting (1861 - 1941) was a U.S. minister, photographer, artist, and antiquarian, who is most famous for his pictures. He also was an accomplished author, lecturer, furniture maker —some of whose reproductions pass as antiques— antiques expert and collector. His atmospheric photographs helped spur the Colonial Revival style.
He was born in Rockbottom, Massachusetts, on Sunday, November 17, 1861. He was descended from John Nutting, who came from England in 1639 and was killed by Indians during a raid against Groton, Massachusetts. The Indians severed John Nutting's head and put it on a pole to discourage others from settling in the area.
Wallace Nutting studied at Phillips Exeter Academy, Harvard University, Hartford Theological Seminary and Union Theological Seminary. He graduated from Harvard with the class of 1887. On June 5, 1888 he married Mariet Griswold in Buckland, Massachusetts. They had no children.
Wallace Nutting started taking pictures in 1899 while on long bicycle rides in the countryside. In 1904 he opened the Wallace Nutting Art Prints Studio on East 23rd Street in New York. After a year he moved his business to a farm in Southbury, Connecticut. He called this place "Nuttinghame". In 1912 he moved the photography studio to Framingham, Massachusetts, in a home he called "Nuttingholme". Nutting authored several books about the scenic beauties of New England, the United Kingdom, and Ireland. In the peak of his business he employed about two-hundred colorists. By his own account, Wallace Nutting sold ten million pictures. Wallace Nutting's colorists painted the photographs which he took. These colorists would sometimes sign Wallace Nutting's name on the photos which is why the signatures vary. An interesting fact about Nutting's photography is that he was more prolific with pastoral scenes, consequently his interiors are more valuable.
Wallace Nutting died at his home at 24 Vernon St., Framingham, Massachusetts on Saturday, July 19, 1941, at age 79. The body was taken to Augusta, Maine for burial.
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