William Matthew Prior Enter a
feeling, not
a gallery.
Choose a mood and the room itself answers — the light cools or warms, the air changes pace, and only the works that carry that feeling step forward from the dark. Everything else recedes into shadow.
William Matthew Prior
William Matthew Prior: Life and Legacy Early Life and Training William Matthew Prior was born on May 16, 1806, in Bath, Maine, to Captain William Prior, a shipmaster, and Sarah Bryant Prior. He demonstrated an early aptitude for art, beginning his artistic journey with training under Charles Codman, a fellow Maine-based painter, completing his first portrait in 1823 at the age of seventeen. Career Development and the Prior/Hamblin Sch
ool In 1840, Prior relocated to East Boston, Massachusetts, with his in-laws, including Sturtevant J. Hamblin, another painter. This move aimed to invigorate his career. The paintings produced by both Prior and Hamblin, when unsigned, are remarkably similar in style – so much so that they are often attributed to the “Prior/Hamblin School.” According to the 1852 Boston directory, Prior resided at 36 Trenton Street in East Boston. Artis…