John Whorf

John Whorf was a famed twentieth century watercolorist who specialized in maritime scenes. He was born in Winthrop, Massachusetts, in 1903. His father, a commercial artist and designer, urged him to formally study art. Whorf commenced oil painting at the age of fourteen, and deeply benefitted from the family’s move to Provincetown, where many prominent artists summered. Whorf went on to become an active member of the Provincetown art colony, and his career demonstrated an unflagging interest in scenes of Cape Cod.

Whorf pursued his studies at the St. Botolph Studio in Boston, followed by training at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts. He was a pupil of Philip Leslie Hale and William James in Boston, and additionally studied with Charles W. Hawthorne in Provincetown. He made extensive travels abroad, including time in France, Spain, Portugal, and Morocco. In Paris he had brief stints at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, the Grande Chaumière, and the Académie Colarossi. He began to focus on watercolors, and received great critical praise upon his return to Boston.