Waldo Pierce
Biographical Note

Waldo Peirce (1884-1970) was born in Bangor, Maine, and educated at Phillips Academy in Andover and Harvard University. He later studied at the Art Students League in New York City and at the Julian Academy in Paris. As an expatriate American, he drove ambulances for the French Army in World War I and led a bohemian life with notable companions such as Ernest Hemingway and John Reed. His later life was spent in Searsport, Maine, and Newburyport, Massachusetts, where he died at age 85.
His paintings and writings relate strongly to his travels and to the state of Maine. Colby College awarded Peirce an honorary degree in 1957.
Related links:
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Brief Life of Waldo Peirce – by William Gallagher, Harvard Magazine, January – February 2002
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Colby College Museum of Art – the Colby College Museum of Art has 20 paintings by Waldo Peirce.
About the Collection

The collection comprises materials related to Peirce’s life and work, arranged in six series by form of material:
- Correspondence, 1928-1965 and undated
- Manuscripts, 1923-1969 and undated
- Photographs, 1907-1930 and undated
- Related printed materials, 1934-1970 and undated
- Scrapbooks, 1927-1928
- Clippings, 1936-1970