Born in Louisville, Kentucky, Paul Sample (1896-1974) became known as a Regionalist painter of landscapes, figures, and genre scenes, particularly depicting New England life. Raised in the Midwest, he attended Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire. After serving in the U.S. Navy during World War I, he returned to graduate from Dartmouth. A subsequent battle with tuberculosis led him to pursue painting as a more sedentary vocation.

In 1925, Sample moved to California to study at the Otis Art Institute under Jonas Lie and took private lessons with Stanton MacDonald-Wright and Frank Tolles Chamberlin. By 1926, he had joined the faculty at the University of Southern California, later chairing its art department, while spending summers painting in Maine and Vermont. His work reflected influences from Pieter Bruegel the Elder and the American Regionalist movement.

In 1938, Sample returned permanently to New England as artist-in-residence at Dartmouth College. He was elected to the National Academy of Design in 1940 and gained wide recognition, with his work acquired by major museums and collectors. During World War II, he illustrated naval activities for Life magazine. Until his retirement in 1962, he continued producing landscapes, murals, portraits, and illustrations.

Sources:

Biography from the Archives of askART

Edan Hughes, Artists in California 1786-1940

Michael David Zellman, 300 Years of American Art

McClelland and Jay Last, The California Style