William Samuel Schwartz

Russian, 1896 - 1977

BiographyBorn in Smorgen, Russia in 1896, William Samuel Schwartz studied at the Vilna Art School in Russia from 1908 to 1912. When he was sixteen, he immigrated to the United States and, three years later, he enrolled in the Art Institute of Chicago where he was awarded a scholarship. During these early years, he supported himself by waiting tables, ushering in theaters and singing in concerts and operas.

In 1912 Schwartz graduated from the Art Institute with honors in life study, portraiture and general excellence in painting. He made his American debut at the annual show of Artists of Chicago and the Vicinity, after which, he participated in numerous national and international exhibitions, presenting works in oils, watercolors, lithography and sculpture.

Schwartz completed a mural for the Chicago World’s Fair in 1933 and he received awards for paintings and lithographs at the Detroit Institute of Arts, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Scarab Club of Detroit, Monticello College, the Oklahoma Art Center, the Corpus Christi Art Foundation, the Union League Club of Chicago, and others.

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