William Pearl Bodwell (1852-1940)

Son of: William 1826

William was a bookkeeper in Boston between 1877 and 1880. He was also an amateur artist during his leisure hours. (History of Sanbornton, Nh, Vol. II, p. 44.)

The Boston City Directory of 1890 lists William as a draughtsman (draftsman) working at 227 Tremont.

Painting by William Pearl Bodwell: Harbor Scene William Pearl Bodwell was a landscape artist, wood engraver, draftsman and according to his obituary, a founding member of the Provincetown Artist Colony.

Early in his career, he was a master draftsman and printmaker for The Boston Herald. While he was a staff artist for that newspaper in 1886, one of his assignments took him to Provincetown where he made paintings that ultimately attracted other artists to the Cape Cod fishing village. On that fateful trip to Provincetown, Bodwell painted not only the beautiful coastline, but also the newly built train line running from Boston to Provincetown. Two known examples of his train line paintings from 1886 are extant. In essence, Bodwell was advertising the destination and yet today these pictures serve as reminders of the dawn of artistsÕ travel along the well-worn path from Boston to the tip of Cape Cod.

There are many examples of BodwellÕs engraving work in books, advertisements and magazines of the period. He left the newspaper in 1901 to pursue a more serious career as a painter. Bodwell often painted outdoors to more accurately capture the atmosphere and mood of his subject. Over the course of his painting career, his style evolved from Realism and Tonalism to Impressionism in lock step with the times.

Bodwell exhibited at the Bostonian Society, Boston Society of Arts and Crafts and the Boston Art Club.

Born

Died

Married

Spouse

14 Jul 1852

16 Jan 1940

1 Nov 1877

Alice E. Hoags

Lawrence, Ma

Hyde Park, Ma

Hyde Park, Ma

b. 24 Mar 1854

1909

Edith Cate Perry

Malden, Ma

b. ABT 1854

Children of William and Alice (Hoogs) Bodwell

	Name	Birth Date	Birth Place	Death Date	Death Place
1.	Ruth Conner	5 Sep 1878	Hyde Park, Ma	23 Mar 1941	Boston, Ma
2.	Ethelind Sandford	16 Dec 1879	Hyde Park, Ma	6 Aug 1971	Gloucester, Ma
3.	Josephine Pearl	22 Mar 1881	Hyde Park, Ma
4.	William Stuart	16 Apr 1886	Hyde Park, Ma	29 Oct 1963	Milford, Ct
5.	Alice Pauline Margaret	7 Feb 1888	Hyde Park, Ma	3 Nov 1947	New Rochelle, Ny
6.	(Son)	19 Jul 1889	Hyde Park Ma	19 Jul 1889	Hyde Park, Ma

01/03/97

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Born	Died	Married	Spouse
14 Jul 1852	16 Jan 1940	1 Nov 1877	Alice E. Hoags
Lawrence, Ma	Hyde Park, Ma	Hyde Park, Ma	b. 24 Mar 1854
		1909	Edith Cate Perry
		Malden, Ma	b. ABT 1854