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William Tasker's Most Famous Paintings: All 3, Ranked
Updated November 2026 · ranked by our popularity score (searches, visits and orders for each work) · 3 works by William Tasker in our catalogue
In short
The William Tasker painting most people know is Lord Westminster's Cardinal Puff, with Sam Darling Up, Winning the Tradesman's Plate, Chester (1839), and you can see it at the Yale Center for British Art, New Haven. Right after it come The Liverpool and National Steeplechase at Aintree, 1843 (1843) and National Defense (1921). Out of 3 works by William Tasker in our catalogue, these 3 are the best known. Each one comes with its year, its museum and a short note on what makes it stand out.
Most works: Yale Center for British Art
William Tasker's top 10: the pieces everyone knows
Where you can see William Tasker's paintings
The 2 museums that hold the most of the paintings on this page.
| Museum | City | Works by William Tasker | Paintings from this list |
|---|---|---|---|
 Yale Center for British Art |
New Haven | 2 | Lord Westminster's Cardinal Puff, with Sam Darling Up, Winning the Tradesman's Plate, Chester, The Liverpool and National Steeplechase at Aintree, 1843 |
 Metropolitan Museum of Art |
New York | 1 | National Defense |
One famous William Tasker piece for every decade
Works per decade
Pick a decade to see its standout piece.
William Tasker paintings: what people want to know
What painting is William Tasker best known for?See the answer
Top of the list is Lord Westminster's Cardinal Puff, with Sam Darling Up, Winning the Tradesman's Plate, Chester (1839), Yale Center for British Art, New Haven. Right behind it: The Liverpool and National Steeplechase at Aintree, 1843 (1843) and National Defense (1921).
How many William Tasker works are there?See the answer
We have 3 works by William Tasker in our catalogue, dated 1839 to 1921.
Which museums have William Tasker's best-known paintings?See the answer
You'll find most of them in Yale Center for British Art (New Haven) and Metropolitan Museum of Art (New York). The museum list above has the full breakdown.
What are the oldest and newest famous paintings by William Tasker?See the answer
The earliest piece here is Lord Westminster's Cardinal Puff, with Sam Darling Up, Winning the Tradesman's Plate, Chester (1839); the most recent is National Defense (1921).
What can you see by William Tasker at the Yale Center for British Art?See the answer
You can see 2 of the pieces on this page at the Yale Center for British Art, New Haven, including Lord Westminster's Cardinal Puff, with Sam Darling Up, Winning the Tradesman's Plate, Chester and The Liverpool and National Steeplechase at Aintree, 1843.
Meet William Tasker
The Light of the American Landscape
Born in New York City, William Tasker spent his life observing the way light settles upon the land. His brushwork followed the shifts of the Impressionist movement, focusing on the fleeting qualities of color and the atmosphere of the American landscape. He did not merely paint scenes; he captured the way light moves through a space, often working with oil on canvas to build texture and depth. His hands were accustomed to the quiet work of capturing the ephemeral, turning a specific moment in time into a permanent record of light and shadow.
His career was marked by a steady presence in the American art scene. He was part of a generation that helped bring new ways of seeing to the United States, participating in significant exhibitions that changed how people viewed local scenery. His work moved through the galleries of his time, finding its way into permanent collections where his specific handling of color remains visible.
A Record of Movement and Form
Tasker’s work captures the energy of specific moments, often focusing on the relationship between a subject and its surroundings. His paintings move between the quietude of the landscape and the structured motion of life. His oil on canvas works include:
In National Defense, there is a sense of weight and purpose. The paint carries a certain gravity, moving away from purely decorative scenes toward something more substantial. He had a way of grounding his subjects within a tangible reality, using color and light to define the space they occupy. His presence in the 1913 Armory Show helped bring these Impressionist sensibilities to a wider American audience.
Legacy in Color and Light
By the time of his death in 1933, Tasker had left behind a body of work that speaks to the evolution of American painting. His involvement in the Armory Show of 1913 placed him at the center of a major shift in artistic thought. He was there when the old ways of seeing were being challenged by new, more experimental approaches. His paintings remain in places like the Metropolitan Museum of Art, where the brushstrokes still hold the light he once sought to capture. He remains a figure of the Impressionist movement, remembered for how he translated the atmosphere of his surroundings onto the canvas.