William Verplanck Birney
American, 1858–1909

Born in Cincinnati, Ohio, William Verplanck Birney studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, where he worked with Thomas Eakins, and later at the Royal Academy in Munich. He traveled extensively throughout Europe and the United States, painting narrative genre scenes and subjects drawn from everyday life.

In 1883, Birney was one of only two American artists to sell a painting at the International Exhibition in Munich, where his A Quiet Corner, depicting a German peasant girl lost in thought, found a buyer. He exhibited widely throughout his career, including at the National Academy of Design, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, 1889 Paris Exposition, 1893 World’s Columbian Exposition in Chicago, and 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition in St. Louis, where he received a medal. Birney was also a member of several prominent arts organizations, including the National Academy of Design, New York Watercolor Club, Salmagundi Club, and Lotos Club.