Artist Bio

Early Fine Art Dealers specializes in valuing and purchasing important paintings from the 17th century through the early 20th century. Our buyers are in constant search for fine works of art and paintings, spanning the globe for original well-known Old Master, European, American, and early California art. Each year we preview and participate in hundreds of private sales, art shows, gallery showings, exhibitions and auctions. We are in constant search for fine works to purchase. Please contact us today to discuss the sale of one of your paintings. Please note that our gallery only deals with original paintings. No Prints Please.

WE ARE DEALERS OF ORIGINAL PAINTINGS: To contact one of our gallery fine art experts about selling your painting or buying paintings for your collection, complete the form below. Please note that our gallery only deals with original paintings. NO PRINTS PLEASE.

Louis Benton Akin (1868 - 1913)

Louis Benton Akin is an American painter who is particularly known for his landscapes. For much of his life, he lived and worked in the American West and Southwest, having moved to Arizona to aid in his recovery from tuberculosis.

Akin was a native of Portland, Oregon, a second generation resident whose grandparents were amongst the people who migrated to the region over the Oregon Trail. The West would become a region whose landscapes and whose peoples he would show a remarkable ability to represent on canvas. in 1903, he journeyed to Arizona to paint the Hopi tribe of Native American peoples. These paintings enjoyed great commercial success. He became respected among the Hopi people themselves, receiving the name "Mapli".

After the success of his Hopi paintings, Akin decided to concentrate on the majestic landscapes of the American west which he believed would assure him even more commercial success. For a time, this proved true, with some of this work being picked up for use in advertisements and many of his works being highly-regarded examples of Western art.

Louis Benton Akin, however, never really escaped the poverty that plagued his life. While working on a major project, he perished from Pneumonia in New York.

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