William McGregor Paxton Hastings-on-Hudson NY Westchester House Portrait Watercolor Painting in Green and Gilded Frame

William McGregor Paxton (1869–1941) was a leading figure of the Boston School and one of America’s most refined Impressionist painters. Born in Baltimore, Maryland, Paxton studied at the Cowles Art School in Boston under Joseph DeCamp and later in Paris at the Académie Julian with Jean-Léon Gérôme. Deeply influenced by the academic tradition and the controlled elegance of Dutch masters such as Vermeer, Paxton became known for his luminous interiors, graceful female figures, and exquisitely rendered still lifes. His work is distinguished by a masterful handling of light—often described as a “binocular vision” technique—that creates a soft focus around a sharply defined focal point. Paxton exhibited widely, including at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and the Corcoran Gallery, and his paintings remain highly regarded for their technical precision, serenity, and timeless sophistication.