Irving Ramsey Wiles was the son of artist Lemuel Maynard Wiles, who maintained a studio on Washington Square in New York City. The father encouraged young Wiles to enroll at the Art Students League, where he studied under William Merritt Chase, who had the greatest impact on his painterly style. Later, in Paris, Wiles entered the famed atelier of Carolus-Duran. During the 1890s, Wiles established himself as one of the leading portraitists in New York, enjoying a highly successful career. In 1907 Wiles moved into a magnificent duplex studio at 130 West Fifty-Seventh Street. Around 1920, the artist purchased a home in Peconic on the North Fork of Long Island, where he spent his summers until his death in 1948.

Hall of Fame of American Portrait Painting