James Ormsbee Chapin

Who was James Ormsbee Chapin?

James Ormsbee Chapin was an American painter and illustrator. Chapin was born in West Orange, New Jersey, studied at Cooper Union, the Art Students League of New York, and abroad at the Royal Academy of Antwerp, Belgium. Early in his career he won the Temple Gold Medal of the Pennsylvania Academy for his portrayals of the Marvin Family. Chapin executed numerous portraits of well-known public figures; at least five of his portraits were commissioned by TIME as cover art. His works have been acquired by many private collectors and for the permanent collections of the many institutions such as The Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, The Phillips Collection, The Art Institute of Chicago, The Newark Museum, Amherst College, The Dallas Museum of Art, Texas; The Asheville Art Museum, The Currier Gallery of Art, The Five College Museums Collections, The Harvard Art Museums, and The Indianapolis Museum of Art. Chapin had a significant impact on the early history of Regionalists Thomas Hart Benton, John Steuart Curry, and Grant Wood with his 1920's series of portraits of the Marvin family. Chapin met Mary Fischer while teaching in California in the late 1930s. He was the father of jazz musician Jim Chapin and grandfather of folk singer Harry Chapin.