James Wells Champney (1843-1903) is shown in this 1874 photograph seated on the floor holding his young daughter Maria. Mr. Champney was an artist who worked in oils and pastels, devoting himself exclusively to pastels after 1885. He studied in Europe and exhibited his paintings in Paris and in America’s major cities. He opened a studio in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1870, in Deerfield, Massachusetts, in 1876, and in New York City, three years later. In 1877, he was made Professor of Art at Smith College in Northampton, Massachusetts. In 1898, he created a mural for the Hotel Manhattan in New York and began to design stained glass windows. He utilized his interest and expertise in the new art of photography to create studies for his future paintings.