Born in La Porte, IN on July 14, 1844. Welch crossed the plains with his family in a prairie schooner at age thirteen and settled on a farm near Portland, OR. After graduating from nearby McMinnville College, he accepted a position in Portland at Walling's Printing Office. Coming to California in 1866, he lived for a brief period with his aunt in Dixon before moving to San Francisco. While employed as a typesetter with the Call and Bulletin, Welch studied art with Virgil Williams and was an apprentice in the studio of J. W. Ogilvy in exchange for art lessons. While there, he made the acquaintance of a wealthy patroness who financed a four-year scholarship for further study in Europe. In 1874 he sailed for Munich where he entered the

Source: Edan Hughes, "Artists in California, 1786-1940"
Thad Welch, Pioneer and Painter; History & Ideals of American Art (Neuhaus); Artists of the American West (Samuels); Artists of the American West (Doris Dawdy); American Western Art (Harmsen); California Art Research, 20 volumes; California Historical Society; Southern California Artists (Nancy Moure); SF Chronicle, 12-28-1919 (obituary).

Nearly 20,000 biographies can be found in Artists in California 1786-1940 by Edan Hughes and is available for sale ($150). For a full book description and order information please click here....