Webster, Herman A.

1878 – 1970
French, American

Herman Armour Webster was an American artist who travelled to Paris after graduating from Yale and took art lessons from the Czech Art Nouveau master Alphonse Mucha. Bitten by the travel bug, he voyaged throughout Europe and Asia and returned to North America before ultimately following his heart back to France in 1904. There he enrolled in the Académie Julien where he met the Canadian artist Donald Shaw MacLaughlan who introduced him to the world of prints. Influence by the work of Charles Méryon and James Whistler, Webster began a serious study of the etching process and became a sought after artist.

Sadly, Webster’s service with the American Ambulance Corps during World War I exposed him to militarized gas which severely damaged his eyesight and forced him to give up the detailed work of etching. He became a very proficient watercolorist in a Beaux Arts style and he was made an Officer of the Légion d’Honneur in 1956. He died in Paris in 1970.