W.W. Renwick

W. W. Renwick American, 1864-1933 William W. Renwick (born in Lenox, Massachusetts) was active as an amateur photographer during the early years of the 20th century. After receiving a degree in mechanical engineering from Stevens Institute of Technology in New Jersey, Renwick began architectural training in the New York office of his uncle, James Renwick, designer of St. Patrick's Cathedral and Grace Church, and also spent time studying painting and sculpture in Europe. He assisted in the design of several New York churches and after 1900 worked on his own, specializing in ecclesiastical architecture and decoration. During his career, Renwick became known for his development of "fresco relief," a type of mural decoration combining painting and sculpture. Renwick's involvement with photography seems to have begun around the turn of the century. A member of the Camera Club of New York, he was given a one-person show there in 1901. In 1902 Alfred Stieglitz included his work in the display of American photography at the Esposizione Internationale d'Arte Decorativa Moderna in Turin, Italy. That same year Stieglitz also included Renwick in the first Photo-Secession exhibition at the National Arts Club in New York. Although never a member of the Photo-Secession, in 1904 Renwick took part in the group's sponsored exhibition of American pictorial photographs, which appeared first at the Corcoran Art Galleries in Washington, D.C., and then traveled to the Carnegie Institute in Pittsburgh. Little information is available about Renwick's photographic career after this, although his image Nude was reproduced in Camera Work in 1907. M.M.