Arthur Clifton Goodwin. Arthur Clifton Goodwin was an American impressionist painter, known for his views of Boston.
Goodwin was born into the family of a ship caulker employed at Portsmouth Naval Shipyard. The family later moved to Newburyport, Massachusetts.
After his father's death, Goodwin lived with his mother in Chelsea, near Boston. He took up various activities, becoming increasingly interested in painting.
After his mother's death in 1899, Goodwin discovered his artistic calling. In the same year, at an exhibition held in Boston, he probably saw the works of Claude Monet.
He may also have known about city scenes painted by Boston native Childe Hassam, a member of the group of American Impressionists known as the Ten American Painters. Goodwin did not receive formal artistic education, and shaped his technique and style based on the works of other artists that he saw in studios and galleries of the time. Although Goodwin was virtually self-taught, he managed to gain the recognition of John Singer Sargent and Childe Hassam, who called him the greatest painter in Boston. He also knew art collector and patron of artists Isabella Stewart Gardner. But his main sponsor became Louis Kronberg, in whose studio Goodwin first began to paint. His friendship with Kronberg provided him with emotional and financial support throughout his career. In 1919, Kronberg moved to New York, and Goodwin decided to fol