Gallery

Samuel Williams Griggs was born on December 2, 1827 in Roxbury, MA. He was one of seven children raised by John Griggs, and Sarah Davis Williams. As a young man, Griggs received specialized training, and was listed as an architect in the Boston City Directory from 1848 to 1852. Apparently not entirely satisfied with this career choice, he evolved his talents to focus on painting, and was listed as an artist from 1854, until his death.

Samuel Griggs married Frances Carter, and together they had four children. They settled in Roxbury, and for over 30 years, he painted from the Studio Building on Tremont Street in Boston.  Griggs painted extensively throughout New England, and New York. Although said to have been largely self-taught, the competency of his work strongly suggests that he had some professional training, and it is believed that he studied under Albert Bierstadt before Bierstadt was well known.

Griggs specialized in landscape painting, but often focused on still-life subjects, as well as seascapes. His earliest known painting of a White Mountain scene is 1856. In 1858, he exhibited three paintings, one of which was a White Mountain composition (View on the Pemigewasset River), in an exhibition coordinated by Albert Bierstadt, and held in New Bedford, MA. He exhibited at the Boston Athenaeum from 1855 to 1867, and at the Unity Art

Club in 1895. Griggs was an original member of the the Boston Art Club, and exhibited regularly, including in 1883, when he submitted a monochrome painting titled On the Banks of the Pemigewasset West Thornton NH.

On May 16, 1898, Samuel W. Griggs died suddenly at his home on 6 Burton Street, Roxbury, MA. His official cause of death was listed as angina pectoris. He was 71 years of age and left behind a wife and son. Interment took place at Forest Hills Cemetery, Boston, MA.

Obituary From The Boston Globe
Boston, MA / Tuesday, May 17, 1898 / Page 8 / Death of Artist Samuel W. Griggs.

By the sudden death of Samuel W. Griggs, the well-known artist, at his residence in Roxbury, the profession loses another of the artists of the old school. Mr. Griggs was born in Roxbury, December, 1827, and early in life developed a taste for drawing. He was self-taught, and was very successful in landscape painting, including fish, game and still-life subjects. He was located for years in the Studio Building. He was one of the original members of the Boston Art Club and formerly a member of the Roxbury Club, and also a member of the Dudley St. Baptist Church. He leaves a wife and son.

Signatures

References
Independent research by the authors
New Hampshire Scenery
Rediscovering Some New England Artists