1848-1923. William Preston Phelps was a fine American painter who found his greatest inspiration in the landscapes of his native New Hampshire. After a modest beginning as a sign painter in 1875, he held his first exhibition in Lowell, Massachusetts. Several area businessmen reacted to this exhibition by purchasing paintings and assembling a fund which enabled Phelps to have European study and training. From 1875 through 1877 he was in Munich where he became a well known member of the American contingent of art students.