Guy Carleton Wiggins, the son of famed Barbizon School painter Carleton Wiggins, was a prodigious talent who, at age 20, was the youngest artist to have a work in the permanent collection at New York’s Metropolitan Museum of Art. Best known for his landscape paintings of New York City’s wintry urban scenes, Wiggins is regarded as one of the finest American Impressionist landscape artists of the 20th century.
Born in 1883 in Brooklyn, New York, Wiggins displayed an early talent for drawing and, in 1900, attended the Brooklyn Polytechnic Institute (now the New York University Tandon School of Engineering) to study architecture and drawing. However, he shifted his focus to painting, which he studied at the National Academy of Design under teachers Robert Henri and William Merritt Chase.
Recognition for Wiggins’s artistic talent came early in his career. In addition to his work being included at the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1913, Wiggins won the prestigious Norman Wait Harris Bronze Medal from the Art Institute of Chicago in 1917. He also won several awards from the Art Club of Philadelphia, the Connecticut Academy of Fine Arts and the Salmagundi Club.
In 1920, Wiggins established a summer home in Old Lyme, Connecticut, where he became part of a group of painters who were developing their own form of Impressionism. Wiggins, however, had already established his own Impressionistic style that was based on French Impressionism and influenced by American Impressionist Childe Hassam.
During the 1930s, Wiggins divided his time between Connecticut and New York, painting Connecticut landscapes and New York street scenes such as his Winter in New York. Although some critics say his pastoral Connecticut landscapes were his best works, his snowy streetscapes set in Manhattan — brightened by pops of color in Wiggins’s depictions of green cars and rust-red building facades — are among the artist's most notable.
In 1937, Wiggins established the Guy Wiggins Art School in Essex, Connecticut. In the following years, he traveled nationally, painting scenes of Montana and Massachusetts as well as creating two paintings of the White House during Dwight D. Eisenhower’s administration. One of the paintings hung in the Oval Office during Eisenhower’s term and was eventually moved to the Eisenhower Presidential Library and Museum in Abilene, Texas.
Wiggins’s paintings remain part of public and private collections throughout the United States and elsewhere, long after his death in 1962. They are also highly sought-after among collectors of American Impressionist and early 20th-century art.
On 1stDibs, discover a range of authentic Guy Carleton Wiggins paintings.
American Impressionist Artist Guy C Wiggins 1883-1962 Landscape Oil Painting
By Guy Carleton Wiggins
Located in Chesterfield, NJ
Rocks & Trees Oil/Board 12 x 16 image unframed, 18.75 x 22.75 framed Signed lower left although hard to read. No restoration noted on painting and housed in a reproduction frame....
Oil
"Washington Square" Guy Wiggins, New York City, Impressionist Winter Scene
By Guy Carleton Wiggins
Located in New York, NY
Guy C. Wiggins Washington Square, circa 1920 Signed lower right Oil on canvas 24 x 34 inches Provenance: Chapellier Galleries, New York Acquired from the above by Thomas A. Campbell...
Canvas, Oil
Williamsburg VA in Spring
By Guy Carleton Wiggins
Located in Milford, NH
A fine spring scene in historic Williamsburg, Virginia with the Governor’s Palace in the background by American artist Guy Carleton Wiggins (1883-1962). Wiggins was born in Brooklyn,...
Canvas, Oil
Gloucester
By Guy Carleton Wiggins
Located in Milford, NH
A fine impressionist harbor scene in Gloucester, Massachusetts by American artist Guy Carleton Wiggins (1883-1962). Wiggins was born in Brooklyn, New York, and had a long and success...
Oil, Board
Winter on Killingworth Hills
By Guy Carleton Wiggins
Located in New York, NY
Guy C. Wiggins paints an idyllic winter scene of a horse and buggy moving along a wintry road flanked by barns in his artwork entitled, “Winter on Killingworth Hills.”
Canvas, Oil
$2,750
H 30 in W 26 in D 1.5 in
'River Birch' by James Cobb, Framed 20" x 16" Oil on Canvas Painting, 2020
By Jim Cobb
Located in Oklahoma City, OK
This framed 19.875" x 16" oil painting on canvas by Oklahoma-based artist James Cobb depicts a strand of river birch trees in freshly fallen snow. at the he...
Canvas, Oil
$1,168
H 24.02 in W 24.02 in
Eleanor Woolley, Poppies Near Naunton 2, Original Painting, Landscape Art
By Eleanor Woolley
Located in Deddington, GB
Eleanor Woolley Poppies Near Naunton 2 Original Painting Oil Paint on Canvas Canvas Size: H 61cm x W 61cm x D 3.7cm Signed Sold Unframed Ready to Hang (Please note that in situ image...
Canvas, Oil
$2,400
H 14 in W 10 in D 0.5 in
"Old Cypresses by Chapelle Saint Marie" Plein-air painting from North France
By Tina Orsolic Dalessio
Located in Sag Harbor, NY
In this plein air painting, Orsolic Dalessio creates a composition reminiscent of The Hudson River School paintings, but with an impressionistic hand. Along with the studied composit...
Canvas, Oil
$4,500
H 22 in W 28 in
"Bookstore from the Bank" 2017 oil painting, impressionist street scene at night
By Viktor Butko
Located in Sag Harbor, NY
Painted en plein air, in Sag Harbor, New York. Situated in the People's United Bank parking lot, Butko looks over to the opposite side of Main Street. Beneath tall, fully bloomed trees, illuminated storefronts glisten after they close up for the day. Victor Butko was born into a long line of artists, and has been mentored in painting since the age of 8. He is currently the youngest artist exhibiting at Thomas Kearns McCarthey Gallery, one of the foremost dealers in the United States for Russian Impressionist art...
Canvas, Oil
$8,500
H 38 in W 36 in D 4 in
'Early Morning River Landscape, ' by Harry L. Hoffman, Oil on Canvas Painting
By Harry L. Hoffman
Located in Oklahoma City, OK
This 30" x 32" oil painting on canvas by the American Impressionist painter Harry Leslie Hoffman (b. 1871, d. 1964) depicts a calm, purple-toned waterscape and a semi-open sky. Light...
Canvas, Oil
$5,000
H 27 in W 23 in
"Face of the Ancients" (2024) Original Southwestern Landscape Oil Painting
By David Griffin
Located in Denver, CO
David Griffin's beautiful original impressionist oil landscape "Face of the Ancients" (2024) is framed at 27 x 23 inches and is ready to hang. Artist Biography and Statement: "Paint...
Linen, Oil, Board
$1,200
H 6.5 in W 5.5 in D 0.5 in
"Grand Central New York" Impressionist Street Scene Oil Painting on Board Framed
By Christopher Willett 1
Located in New York, NY
A charming Impressionist scene depicting Grand Central Station in New York City. This piece is executed in an intimate yet energetic manner. Christopher is known for capturing the be...
Oil, Board
$6,500
H 13.5 in W 18.24 in
New York Skyline the West Side with Hudson River - Vintage New York
By Frank S. Hermann
Located in Miami, FL
Rooftop view of the upper West Side Manhattan as it looked in the 1930s. There is a rough indication of a billboard and a glimpse of the Hudson River. The cluster of buildings depic...
Oil, Gouache, Board
$1,800
H 6.5 in W 8.5 in D 0.75 in
"February" Impressionist Pastoral Nocturnal Snow Scene Oil Board Painting Framed
By Christopher Willett 1
Located in New York, NY
A charming Impressionist winter snow-covered pastoral scene depicting a village in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. This piece is executed in an intimate yet energetic manner. Christopher...
Oil, Board
$9,500
H 11.5 in W 15.5 in
Nantucket Beach landscape in Summertime with people on the Beach, Impressionist
Located in Woodbury, CT
Frederick Kitson Cowley (British, 1878–1943) Nantucket Beach Dated 1929 Oil on card Signed and dated on the reverse A charming and atmospheric beach scene by the British painter Fre...
Oil, Board
$1,800
H 7.5 in W 9.5 in D 1.25 in
"Road to Lake Nockamixon" Impressionist Pastoral Snow Scene Oil Painting Framed
By Christopher Willett 1
Located in New York, NY
A charming Impressionist winter snow-covered pastoral scene depicting the road to Lake Nockamixon in Bucks County, Pennsylvania. This piece is executed in an intimate yet energetic m...
Oil, Board
$3,383
H 38.19 in W 51.19 in
"The Fierce Seasons", Bold Fauvist Autumn Landscape Oil on Canvas
By Yves Calméjane
Located in Clermont-Ferrand, Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes
This artwork draws the viewer down a winding country track flanked by shrubs and trees ablaze in the full drama of autumn. The rutted path, catching a pale glint of light, curves bac...
Canvas, Oil
Sold
H 32 in W 37 in D 2 in
5th Avenue Storm at 42nd Street by Guy Carleton Wiggins
By Guy Carleton Wiggins
Located in New Orleans, LA
Guy C. Wiggins 1883-1962 American 5th Avenue Storm at 42nd Street Signed "Guy Wiggins" (lower right) Oil on canvas No other painter so poetically captured the beauty of winter in...
Canvas, Oil
Central Park, Winter
By Guy Carleton Wiggins
Located in New York, NY
Signed lower left: Guy Wiggins / Guy Wiggins; on verso (photo available): CENTRAL PARK. WINTER. / GUY WIGGINS N.A. / 1936.
Canvas, Oil
Sold
H 16 in W 18 in
Fifth Avenue & 42nd Street - American Impressionist Cityscape Oil by Guy Wiggins
By Guy Carleton Wiggins
Located in Marlow, Buckinghamshire
Signed and titled figures in cityscape oil on panel circa 1920 by American impressionist painter Guy Carleton Wiggins. This wonderful piece depicts a view of the New York Public Library in the United States of America during a winter snowstorm. Several cars and pedestrians can be seen passing along Fifth Avenue. A fantastic work in the artist's distinctive style. Dimensions: Framed: 16"x18" Unframed: 8"x10" Provenance: Roughton Galleries - Texas. This work is included in the catalogue raisonne under reference number GW00179 Guy Carleton Wiggins was the son of Carleton Wiggins, a painter of landscapes and animals. Wiggins first studied at his father's Art School in Connecticut and later enrolled in the National Academy of Design where he trained with William Merritt Chase and Robert Henri, after a brief spell studying architecture at the Polytechnic Institute in Brooklyn. At the age of 20 he was already well known and was the youngest American artist to have a work accepted for the permanent collection of the Metropolitan Museum in New York. Prior to the onset of World War I, Wiggins travelled to Europe and painted the English countryside. In England he met his future wife Dorothy Stuart Johnson. The couple returned to the US and set up home in Connecticut. He established a year-round art school, the Guy Wiggins Art School, in Essex. He liked to spend his winters in New York and summers in Connecticut. Wiggins' paintings reflect the influence of American Impressionism, a style of painting he would have encountered during his summers in Old Lyme. He is known for his snowy New York...
Oil, Panel
Sold
H 39 in W 49 in
"Hudson Street, New York City, " Guy Wiggins, Winter Street Scene Impressionism
By Guy Carleton Wiggins
Located in New York, NY
Guy C. Wiggins (1883 – 1962) Hudson Street, 1935 Oil on canvas 30 x 40 inches Signed lower left Provenance: Grand Central Art Galleries, New York Private Collection, Nebraska By des...
Canvas, Oil
Sold
H 15 in W 13 in
Midtown Storm - New York - Impressionist Oil, Snowy Cityscape by Guy Wiggins
By Guy Carleton Wiggins
Located in Marlow, Buckinghamshire
A wonderful oil on board circa 1930 by American impressionist painter Guy Carleton Wiggins. The work is a view of Midtown New York engulfed in a snow storm. Pedestrians line the sidewalks clutching umbrellas for shelter and the visibility of the tall buildings overlooking the street and the yellow and green buses is obscured by the heavy white snow. Signature: Signed lower left Dimensions: Framed: 15"x13" Unframed: 11"x9" Provenance: Private California collection / John Moran...
Oil, Board
Sold
H 9.5 in W 11.5 in
City Storm - New York City Library - Cityscape in Snow Oil by Guy Wiggins
By Guy Carleton Wiggins
Located in Marlow, Buckinghamshire
An historic illustration by American impressionist painter Guy Carleton Wiggins of figures in a snow storm outside the New York City Library. Oil on panel. Signed lower right and signed, titled and dated 1918 verso. Dimensions: Framed: 9.5"x11.5" Unframed: 8"x10" Provenance: Private collection - California Guy Carleton Wiggins was the son of Carleton Wiggins, a painter of landscapes and animals. Wiggins first studied at his father's Art School in Connecticut and later enrolled in the National Academy of Design where he trained with William Merritt Chase and Robert Henri, after a brief spell studying architecture at the Polytechnic Institute in Brooklyn. At the age of 20 he was already well known and was the youngest American artist to have a work accepted for the permanent collection of the Metropolitan Museum in New York. Prior to the onset of World War I, Wiggins travelled to Europe and painted the English countryside. In England he met his future wife Dorothy Stuart Johnson. The couple returned to the US and set up home in Connecticut. He established a year-round art school, the Guy Wiggins Art School, in Essex. He liked to spend his winters in New York and summers in Connecticut. Wiggins' paintings reflect the influence of American Impressionism, a style of painting he would have encountered during his summers in Old Lyme. He is known for his snowy New York...
Oil, Panel
Park Avenue Winter
By Guy Carleton Wiggins
Located in Miami, FL
In this work by Wiggins, New York City is again shown with snowy streets, snowy cars and with American Flags on full display. This is perhaps rush hours which accounts for the dense vehicular and pedestrian traffic. What is different here is that Wiggins paints Park Avenue...
Oil
At the Library, Winter
By Guy Carleton Wiggins
Located in New Orleans, LA
Signed "Guy Wiggins NA" (lower right); signed and titled (en verso) Oil on panel No other painter so poetically captured the beauty of winter in New York City as Guy Wiggins. Reg...
Oil, Panel
New York in Winter
By Guy Carleton Wiggins
Located in Palm Desert, CA
This oil on canvas scene of New York in Winter by Guy Carlton Wiggins depicts St Patrick's Cathedral on 5th Avenue in subtle earth tones with pops of green, yellow, red and blue. Sig...
Canvas, Oil