# William Samuel Horton artist context and auction value notes

Canonical page: https://appraisily.com/artist/william-samuel-horton/
Profile generated: 2026-05-24T10:04:36.131Z
Quality: high confidence, strong sources

## Artist identity

- Birth date: 1865-11-16
- Death date: 1936-10
- Nationality: American
- Movements: American Impressionism
- Common media: oil painting, watercolor, pastel, drawing, fresco, mosaic

## About William Samuel Horton

William Samuel Horton (1865–1936) was an American Impressionist painter born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, who spent much of his career in Europe. He trained in France and England alongside major Impressionist figures and developed a style centered on landscape and water scenes with European subject matter. Critics, gallerists, and museums place Horton among the significant practitioners of American Impressionism, a generation following artists such as Mary Cassatt and Childe Hassam. Unlike many of his American contemporaries, Horton's output focused largely on European motifs, reflecting his long residence in Paris, where he died in October 1936. His work spans oil painting, watercolor, pastel, and drawing, and he also produced frescoes and mosaics. With 269 recorded auction appearances, Horton's paintings surface regularly in the Impressionist and American art market.

## Common works and media

Horton's most frequently encountered works are oil-on-canvas and oil-on-panel landscapes, often depicting rivers, harbors, and rural European scenes. Watercolors and pastels of similar subjects also appear. Less commonly, frescoes, mosaics, and illustrations are attributed to him. Collectors may find landscapes of the French and English countryside, coastal views, and garden scenes. Works on paper, including drawings and watercolors, tend to appear at lower price points than oils.

## Market and appraisal context

Collectors encountering a work by William Samuel Horton should consider medium, subject, provenance, and condition as primary appraisal factors. Oil on canvas landscapes and water scenes of European locales are his most sought-after work type. Attribution can be nuanced because Horton is less documented than some American Impressionist peers; no catalogue raisonné or dedicated artist estate is known from available sources. Buyers should verify signatures, provenance history, and condition reports. His auction record of 269 lots indicates a steady but modest market presence, with results varying by size, medium, and subject quality.

## Appraisily data basis

Appraisily artist pages combine structured identity research from library-authority records (Getty ULAN, VIAF, RKD, Wikidata) with auction records, auction-house context, sale dates, realized prices, and comparable lots when those records are available. For William Samuel Horton, biographical data is grounded in RKD and Wikidata authority files, supplemented by encyclopedic sources. Market observations draw on Appraisily's auction-lot database of 269 recorded appearances.

## Sources

- Wikidata: https://www.wikidata.org/wiki/Q18508742
- Wikipedia: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/William_Samuel_Horton
- Getty Vocabulary Program: https://vocab.getty.edu/page/ulan/500024326
- VIAF: https://viaf.org/viaf/283212/
- RKD - Netherlands Institute for Art History: https://rkd.nl/en/explore/artists/39884
- Library of Congress: https://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n87819008