Julius Delbos (1879-1970)

While little is known of Julius Delbos’ early education, he was born in London, England, in 1879, and arrived in the United States around 1920 as an accomplished painter and teacher. He eventually settled in New York, where he first showed with the National Academy of Design in 1923 and participated in nearly every annual exhibition through 1965.

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He worked in both oil and watercolor, yet it was in the latter that his gifts truly shone, earning him praise from critics for their spirit and energy. In recognition, the Academy, which had only allowed watercolor submissions beginning in the mid-1940s, named him an Associate in 1945 and a full Academician only three years later. He was also a member of the American Watercolor Society, the New York Watercolor Club, the National Arts Club and the American Artists Professional League, among other groups.

In addition to the National Academy, Delbos exhibited his work in the 1930s at the Corcoran Gallery and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, with New York’s Babcock Galleries (1942) and Kleeman Galleries (1943), and with the Art Institute of Chicago from 1923 until 1944. The titles of his paintings from these venues reveal him to be incredibly well-traveled, finding inspiration from his native Europe to the deep American South to the Maine coastline. However, the island of Martha’s Vineyard, where he began summering as early as the 1920s and continued to do so for decades, appears to have been his favorite. Escaping from the heat and commotion of city life, Delbos discovered what drew many of the island’s artists back every season: rolling hills and pastureland; friendly, easygoing residents; and weathered buildings and a variety of watercraft dotting the coves and inlets. The inherent charm and the relaxed atmosphere also attracted fellow painters Thomas Hart Benton, Lois Mailou Jones and the modernist Vaclav Vytlacil, among others, and Delbos soon joined the Martha’s Vineyard Art Association, whose mission is to support the island’s creative community and promote arts education. Delbos usually stayed in Edgartown, but ventured throughout and was especially fond of Menemsha, the quaint fishing village on the western end, away from the more crowded environs of Oak Bluffs and Vineyard Haven. 

In addition to his active painting and exhibition schedule, Delbos taught at private schools in Greenwich, Connecticut from 1946 to 1960, and also at Hunter College in New York. He passed away at the age of 91 in New Jersey.