Hello Collective Wisdom,

I am writing on behalf of a faculty member of our Art School. He is doing some serious research on some not very well known artists who happened to have had

way better known students, and has questions I was not able to answer… He provided me with the following information which needs in part to be double checked or expanded.

He writes:

“Here is some information for you on the person I am looking for, Francis Adolf Von der Wielen. He was probably born in 1847. He was educated at the Antwerp Academy of the Arts. He was a teacher in Philadelphia from 1872 to 1876. He taught the painter Cecilia Beaux and the illustrator Howard Pyle. He was not a practicing artist as his eyesight was failing. After 1876 there is no record of him. He was likely a student in Antwerp between 1864 and 1871. Nicaise De Keyser was the director of the Academy from 1855 to 1879. I need the names and confirmation of the art teachers Francis Adolf Von der Wielen studied under. Any help you can give is greatly appreciated. “

Thieme – Becker has a few lines. Gives the birth date as ‘ 1843 Grave (Nord Brabant) and death date as “1876 Franzensbad”, which explains the lack of information after that date and confirms the report of failing health… Although the “Direktor d. Pennsylvania Acad. of the F. Arts” does seem erroneous,

he must have been a valued teacher for a brief time. The source of the item in the dictionary is not available to us.

I understand that the Royal Academy of the Arts (Antwerp) is now a fashion design school, and must have a library, but I could not find if the archives of its ancient history are still in existence somewhere and/or accessible. We do not even know the exact dates of that artist’s schooling. My patron would be happy with the names of the teachers who may have been at the Academy during Von der Wielen formative years. But any information needs to be somehow documented…

Unfortunately we do not read Dutch, so it may help if someone can provide us some hints in English, French or even German (aside with my Italian…)

My patron and I will be forever grateful.

Please address any answer to me.

Anna Bigazzi

Art Reference Librarian

Mortensen Library, Art Library

University of Hartford

200 Bloomfield Avenue

West Hartford, CT 06117

Tel.: 860 768-4397

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