Born in Norwalk, Ohio, William John Edmondson was a painter of portraits and landscapes. He was born in Norwalk, Ohio in 1868. He studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts under Robert Vonnoh and with William Merritt Chase in New York City. He also studied at the Academy Julian in Paris with Jules Lefebvre.

He spent most of his career in Cleveland, Ohio and traveled West frequently, painting in California and in 1950, settling in Monrovia.

Source:
Edan Hughes, Artists in California, 1786-1940

William John Edmondson studied at the Academie des Beaux-Arts of Philadelphia and then in Paris at Academie Julian with the noted classical figural painters Adophe William Bouguereau, Jean-Paul Laurens, Tony Robert-Fleury and Jules Lefebvre. Edmondson studied primarily with Lefebvre but would have received lessons with the Adolphe Bouguereau as well.

He also studied with Impressionist painter Edmond Aman-Jean. Afterward, he studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts with National Academicians Robert Vonnoh and William Merritt Chase.

He later settled in Cleveland where he joined the Society of Artists of Cleveland and remained there most of his life. Western Reserve University, Society for Savings, Municipal Collection of Cleveland, Federal Reserve Bank, Cleveland Chamber of Commerce and the State House in Columbus all have work(s) of his in their collections.

MUSEUM COLLECTIONS
Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art Museum; Delgado Museum, New Orleans, LA; Columbus Museum of Art; Monterey Museum of Art, Western Reserve University Museum; Cheekwood Museum, Nashville, TN.

EXHIBITIONS:
Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art: 1890-1895, 1906, 1912-19, 1925-29 (Toppan prize, 1890).
Art Institute of Chicago: 1896, 1917-19
Corcoran (Washington, D.C.): 1912, 1916, 1919, 1930, 1932
Pan-Pacific Internationa Exhibition, 1915
Cleveland Museum of Art: 1919 (medal, First prize), 1923 (prize).

William John Edmonson was born in Norwalk, Ohio, in 1868. Edmondson studied at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art, and in Paris at the Academie Julian.

Upon his return to the states, Edmondson spent the majority of his career in Cleveland before moving to Southern California in 1950. His oeuvre includes still lifes, landscapes, and finely executed figuratives. William John Edmondson died in Pasadena in 1966.