M c C L E E S   G A L L E R I E S

ESTABLISHED 1845

Frederick Wagner

1864 – 1940

 Fred Wagner was born in Valley Forge in 1864.  He was a student of Thomas Eakins at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts from 1879 to 1884, and then worked as an illustrator for the "Philadelphia Press."  He traveled west and made a painting tour of San Antonio and then Los Angeles, and returned to Philadelphia in 1902.  In 1912, Wagner opened a Philadelphia studio and taught classes in outdoor painting at Addingham, and later, at the Pennsylvania Academy's summer school in Chester Springs. In 1913, Wagner exhibited in the now famous Armory Show in New York City. He was a member of the Philadelphia Sketch Club and exhibited at the Pennsylvania Academy where he won prizes in 1914 and 1922.  He was a painter of impressionist urban scenes and his cityscapes often included views of bridges and skyscapes, a distinct genre at the turn of the turn of the 20^th century.  Wagner died 1940.