Raymond P. R. Neilson Papers

Raymond Perry Rodgers Neilson, a New York City portraitist, still life painter, and art instructor, was born in 1881 in New York and grew up in Far Rockaway, Long Island. He graduated from the Naval Academy in 1905 and three years later resigned to pursue his art career; however, he was reinstated as a lieutenant during World War I and served overseas. Neilson married Mary Park (daughter of Pittsburgh steel manufacturer, William Gray Park) in 1906 and they had two children, Raymond Jr. and Elizabeth. Neilson was remarried in 1940 to Inglis Griswold.

Neilson studied with William Merritt Chase and at the Art Students League with George Bridgman and George Bellows. He continued his art education in Paris, studying at the Académie Julian, Ecole des Beaux-Arts, Académie Colarossi, and the Academie Grande Chaumière.

Neilson was a well-known portraitist who painted many prominent figures, including Admiral William Halsey, Robert P. Patterson, and Dr. Francis Blake. Many civic organizations and corporations commissioned portraits to be presented at ceremonies honoring the subjects.

Neilson was widely exhibited and won many awards for his paintings, including those from the Paris Salon, National Academy of Design, Currier Gallery of Art, and Academic Artists Association. His works are in the collections of the Luxembourg Museum, the Franklin D. Roosevelt Library, and Yale and Princeton Universities, among other institutions.

Neilson was also an art instructor at the Art Students League from 1926-1927 and at the National Academy of Design from 1928-1938. He served as the recording secretary of the National Academy of Design council from 1937-1946 and as a council member for Allied Artists of America. Neilson died March 1st, 1964 in New York City at the age of 82.