John Whorf

Whorf studied at the Boston Museum School of Fine Arts under Max Bohn and then under Charles Hawthorne and Richard Miller. His style is very much his own and not similar to that of his mentors. In 1919 Whorf traveled to Paris where he studied at the Colarossi, and continued through Morocco, Portugal and Spain. It was during his time abroad that he turned away from his training in oil painting and instead began to focus on watercolor. At the beginning of his career as an artist, John Whorf focused on portraits and city scenes, and has been compared to Reginald Marsh in his ability to create realistic depictions. The Canoe Trip is an example of Whorf’s later painting style that was developed after his visit abroad, and that he continued to use until his death in 1959.