Will H. Chandlee

Who is Will H. Chandlee?

Will H. Chandlee was a painter and illustrator who worked in Washington, D.C., from 1904 until 1917. He was born in Washington D.C. in January, 1865, and married Nettie Louise Dunn; they had two children, Courtland and Helen Corinne. He died in 1955.

Mr. Chandlee was the Washington Star newspaper's first artist, and in 1887 drew the first illustrated news story to appear in The Star; he was at the same time employed as an artist by the Smithsonian Institution. During his time at The Star, he wrote "Art Notes," assisted the drama critic, and wrote special articles. A 1/1/1950 article that ran in The Sunday Star puts forth a look at Mr. Chandlee's days working as a news artist in the time before news photography: "Mr. Chandlee spent most of his time running around Washington, drawing on-the-spot sketches of the big news stories of the day. His most vivid recollection is of the collapse of the old Ford Theater on June 9, 1893, when hundreds of persons were killed or injured. Mr. Chandlee, who was on the spot before the fire apparatus, covered the story in a series of 24 sketches." His career at The Star ended over a contentious cartoon depicting The Star's owner as a newsboy "mixing it up" with another boy resembling the owner of The Washington Post.