William Kingston Vickery
Encyclopedia
William Kingston Vickery (16 March 1851 - 25 March 1925) was an Irish-American picture dealer who founded the San Francisco interior design firm and art gallery of Vickery, Atkins & Torrey
. His art exhibitions are credited with bringing French Impressionism
to the attention of California
ns.
William went to school in Skibbereen and subsequently to the Blue Coat School (known more formally as The King's Hospital
) in Dublin. When he finished school he went to work for a Dublin bank. The bank sent him to the West Indies to check on various accounts. While there, he made a trip to northern South America. He went by dugout canoe up the Essequibo River
. Later, a San Francisco newspaper referred to him as “the adventuresome Mr. Vickery”.
When he came down with tuberculosis, the family sent him to California to get well (or die). He travelled by way of New York where his brother-in-law Fred Keppel had a well-known art store. Fred Keppel dealt primarily in etchings as he was color blind. He gave William a consignment of etchings to sell, if he could, in San Francisco. William did not take the recently completed transcontinental railroad, but went by ship to Nicaragua, portaged across to the Pacific, and continued by ship to San Francisco. In 1880, he was living in San Rafael, Marin County, where he was able to follow doctor's orders to lead an outdoor life of activities such as horseback riding. It worked. He got well.
joined in 1888 and Frederic Cheever Torrey (1864–1935) in 1891 or so.. In 1900 the company became Vickery, Atkins & Torrey
.
In March 1891, and again in 1893 and 1895, William Vickery supervised a series of loan exhibitions that introduced Impressionism to California. These exhibitions included paintings by Monet, Eugene Boudin, Camille Pissarro, Pierre Renoir, and Edgar Degas.
Vickery, Atkins & Torrey survived both the Panic of 1893
and the 1906 San Francisco earthquake
, due in part to the resourcefulness of William Vickery.
In the Panic of 1893, people were just not buying fine art for Christmas presents. Vickery suggested to his customers, “why not remember them with a lovely Christmas card?” He got his Haddan nieces (who lived next door) to mount up as Christmas cards a large collection of post cards from the Museo San Marco of Florence, Italy. The cards were of Fra Angelico angels in gorgeous color. These were the first Christmas cards in San Francisco.
When the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire hit, the store was at 236 Post Street. His youngest son, Robert, recounted rushing (by ferry boat) with his father to San Francisco and the store. Had a pair of very valuable Chinese porcelain jars on the mantel survived? Yes, they had fallen off the mantel and rolled under a couch unharmed. General Funston of the Presidio sent a wagon to help save the store’s treasures. While the store survived the earthquake, it was dynamited to help stop the great fire. The store relocated temporarily to 1744 California Street. The new store was at 550 Sutter Street. It had a charming courtyard, fountain, and wrought iron gate. It still stands.
William Vickery retired from the business in 1912.
to Saratoga, California
. They had bought 10 acres in the foothills of the Santa Clara Valley from an Edinburgh, Scotland land company that had purchased the area from the original Mexican land grantees. They lived in a comfortable house with a sweeping view of the valley built for them by their son Robert.
William died in Saratoga on 25 March 1925.
Vickery, Atkins & Torrey
Vickery, Atkins & Torrey was an interior design firm and art gallery in San Francisco, California, that helped introduce California to Impressionism...
. His art exhibitions are credited with bringing French Impressionism
Impressionism
Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement that originated with a group of Paris-based artists whose independent exhibitions brought them to prominence during the 1870s and 1880s...
to the attention of California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
ns.
Early Life
William was born 16 March 1851, Ballydehob, County Cork, Ireland to Paul and Mary Anne Levis Vickery. Paul Vickery died young and Mary Anne supported the family by successfully running the family store in Skibbereen. Paul and Mary Anne had ten children:- Samuel emigrated to Australia
- Minnie (Waters) stayed in County Cork
- Sarah Ellen (Burrowes) also emigrated to Australia, married Robert Burrowes,M.L.A. Bendigo
- Elizabeth (Hadden) moved to Piedmont, California next door to the William Vickerys
- Frances (Keppel) emigrated to New York with her husband Fred Keppel
- Avesia died at 17
- Georgiana (Atkins) married Henry Atkins. Their son, also named Henry AtkinsHenry AtkinsHenry Atkins may refer to:* Henry Atkins * Henry Atkins * Sir Henry Atkins, 3rd Baronet of the Atkins Baronets* Sir Henry Atkins, 4th Baronet of the Atkins Baronets...
, became a partner in Vickery, Atkins & Torrey. Henry Atkins (the son) eventually moved to Piedmont just down the street from William and Elizabeth - George stayed in Southern Ireland
- John moved to London (his son Philip was knighted)
- William moved to California, ending up in Piedmont, on Kingston Avenue.
William went to school in Skibbereen and subsequently to the Blue Coat School (known more formally as The King's Hospital
The King's Hospital
The King's Hospital is a Church of Ireland co-educational fee-paying boarding and day school situated in Palmerstown, Dublin, Ireland.Founded in 1669, it is one of the oldest schools in Ireland and was also known as the Blue Coat School....
) in Dublin. When he finished school he went to work for a Dublin bank. The bank sent him to the West Indies to check on various accounts. While there, he made a trip to northern South America. He went by dugout canoe up the Essequibo River
Essequibo River
The Esequibo River is the largest river in Guyana, and the largest river between the Orinoco and Amazon. Rising in the Acarai Mountains near the Brazil-Guyana border, the Essequibo flows to the north for 1,010 km through forest and savanna into the Atlantic Ocean.-Geography:There are countless...
. Later, a San Francisco newspaper referred to him as “the adventuresome Mr. Vickery”.
When he came down with tuberculosis, the family sent him to California to get well (or die). He travelled by way of New York where his brother-in-law Fred Keppel had a well-known art store. Fred Keppel dealt primarily in etchings as he was color blind. He gave William a consignment of etchings to sell, if he could, in San Francisco. William did not take the recently completed transcontinental railroad, but went by ship to Nicaragua, portaged across to the Pacific, and continued by ship to San Francisco. In 1880, he was living in San Rafael, Marin County, where he was able to follow doctor's orders to lead an outdoor life of activities such as horseback riding. It worked. He got well.
Family
After establishing himself in California and regaining his health, William wrote to his sweetheart, Sarah Keppel (1852 - 1917), in Ireland, “come marry me”. She did. They had 3 children:- Frederick Paul Vickery (1879-1965) Professor of Geology at U.C.L.A. and Sacramento State and later Director of the Crocker Art Gallery, Sacramento, and the San Francisco Art Center at Montalvo, Saratoga.
- Ruth Vickery Moser (1884-1936) housewife active in civic affairs in Cupertino California.
- Robert Kingston Vickery (1890 - 1971) entomologist and builder in Berkeley. He married Ruth Bacon (1893 - 1983), a niece of Lucy BaconLucy BaconLucy Angeline Bacon was a Californian artist who studied in Paris under the famous Impressionist, Camille Pissarro...
, an early California impressionist painter who had studied under Pizarro in France.
Vickery, Atkins & Torrey
William began his art business by opening a little kiosk against the wall of the Palace Hotel on Market Street in San Francisco. As the business became established and grew, his nephew Henry AtkinsHenry Atkins
Henry Atkins may refer to:* Henry Atkins * Henry Atkins * Sir Henry Atkins, 3rd Baronet of the Atkins Baronets* Sir Henry Atkins, 4th Baronet of the Atkins Baronets...
joined in 1888 and Frederic Cheever Torrey (1864–1935) in 1891 or so.. In 1900 the company became Vickery, Atkins & Torrey
Vickery, Atkins & Torrey
Vickery, Atkins & Torrey was an interior design firm and art gallery in San Francisco, California, that helped introduce California to Impressionism...
.
In March 1891, and again in 1893 and 1895, William Vickery supervised a series of loan exhibitions that introduced Impressionism to California. These exhibitions included paintings by Monet, Eugene Boudin, Camille Pissarro, Pierre Renoir, and Edgar Degas.
Vickery, Atkins & Torrey survived both the Panic of 1893
Panic of 1893
The Panic of 1893 was a serious economic depression in the United States that began in 1893. Similar to the Panic of 1873, this panic was marked by the collapse of railroad overbuilding and shaky railroad financing which set off a series of bank failures...
and the 1906 San Francisco earthquake
1906 San Francisco earthquake
The San Francisco earthquake of 1906 was a major earthquake that struck San Francisco, California, and the coast of Northern California at 5:12 a.m. on Wednesday, April 18, 1906. The most widely accepted estimate for the magnitude of the earthquake is a moment magnitude of 7.9; however, other...
, due in part to the resourcefulness of William Vickery.
In the Panic of 1893, people were just not buying fine art for Christmas presents. Vickery suggested to his customers, “why not remember them with a lovely Christmas card?” He got his Haddan nieces (who lived next door) to mount up as Christmas cards a large collection of post cards from the Museo San Marco of Florence, Italy. The cards were of Fra Angelico angels in gorgeous color. These were the first Christmas cards in San Francisco.
When the 1906 San Francisco earthquake and fire hit, the store was at 236 Post Street. His youngest son, Robert, recounted rushing (by ferry boat) with his father to San Francisco and the store. Had a pair of very valuable Chinese porcelain jars on the mantel survived? Yes, they had fallen off the mantel and rolled under a couch unharmed. General Funston of the Presidio sent a wagon to help save the store’s treasures. While the store survived the earthquake, it was dynamited to help stop the great fire. The store relocated temporarily to 1744 California Street. The new store was at 550 Sutter Street. It had a charming courtyard, fountain, and wrought iron gate. It still stands.
William Vickery retired from the business in 1912.
Retirement
After retiring from the business in 1912, William and Sarah moved from their home on Kingston Avenue in Piedmont, CaliforniaPiedmont, California
Piedmont is a small, affluent city in Alameda County, California, United States. It is surrounded by the city of Oakland. The population was 10,667 at the 2010 census. Piedmont was incorporated in 1907 and was developed significantly in the 1920s and 1930s...
to Saratoga, California
Saratoga, California
Saratoga is a city in Santa Clara County, California, USA. It is located on the west side of the Santa Clara Valley, directly west of San Jose, in the San Francisco Bay area. The population was 29,926 at the 2010 census....
. They had bought 10 acres in the foothills of the Santa Clara Valley from an Edinburgh, Scotland land company that had purchased the area from the original Mexican land grantees. They lived in a comfortable house with a sweeping view of the valley built for them by their son Robert.
William died in Saratoga on 25 March 1925.