Irving Ramsay Wiles

Irving Wiles was one of the most successful portrait painters in America at the turn-of-the-century. The son of a painter, he trained at the Art Students League in New York under William Merritt Chase. He also studied in Paris at the Académie Julian with the portrait painter Carolus-Duran. Upon his return from abroad he set up a studio in New York. He also taught at the Art Students League and the Chase School. He was a great favorite among the socially prominent, but also appealed to the rising upper middle class of business men and political figures. Among others, he painted William Jennings Bryan and Theodore Roosevelt.