William Baxter Closson

A Vermont native, William Baxter Closson briefly worked as a railroad office clerk. He moved to Boston where he secured an apprenticeship with wood engraver Samuel S. Kilburn. He also studied drawing at the Lowell Institute.

Engraver

Closson worked as an engraver for Century Co., Harper’s, and various Boston book publishers. From 1881 to 1883, he resided in Europe where he engraved masterpieces for Harper’s. In the 1890s, as photomechanical processes replaced wood engraving, Closson painted landscapes and portraits.

Closson married Grace Gallaudet. He died in Hartford and is buried in the Gallaudet lot at Cedar Hill.