Theodore Wores was born in San Francisco on August 1, 1859, the son of Joseph Wores, a Hungarian born merchant who had fled the Austrian Empire during the revolution of 1848. He studied at the San Francisco Art Association School of Design under Virgil Williams, who had also taught Joseph Strong and D. Howard Hitchcock. After a year of studies, Wores went to Munich where he was admitted to the Royal Academy and began six years of rigorous training, earning the Academy’s gold and bronze medals in 1876 and 1878. There he associated with a group of young Americans who considered the American painter Frank Duveneck their mentor. In 1879 this group visited Italy, and in Venice Wores encountered James A. M. Whistler. Whistler, known for his interest in Asian art, might have provided the inspiration for Wores’ later visit to Japan. After returning to San Francisco in 1881, Wores painted portraits and genre scenes of Chinatown that received favorable attention. In the mid-1880s he spent several years in Japan (returning again in 1892), where he painted numerous small elegant panels that brought him considerable attention. Wores was an influential teacher in San Francisco; he gave private lessons soon after his return from Munich, and was the first instructor at the newly formed San Francisco Art Students League in 1884. In April 1901, Wores began a prolific eighteen-month visit to Hawaii and Samoa. An exhibition of his paintings of the two areas, shown at the Pacific Hardware Company in Honolulu in April 1902, featured twenty-two Hawaiian paintings and fourteen Samoan views and figure studies. Wores returned to the Hawaiian islands in 1910, and at that time executed a number of portraits. In later years Wores was chiefly interested in depicting the California landscape. He died in San Francisco on September 11, 1939. Theodore Wores was born in San Francisco on August 1, 1859, the son of Joseph Wores, a Hungarian born merchant who had fled the Austrian Empire during the revolution of 1848. He studied at the San Francisco Art Association School of Design under Virgil Williams, who had also taught Joseph Strong and D. Howard Hitchcock. After a year of studies, Wores went to Munich where he was admitted to the Royal Academy and began six years of rigorous training, earning the Academy’s gold and bronze medals in 1876 and 1878. There he associated with a group of young Americans who considered the American painter Frank Duveneck their mentor. In 1879 this group visited Italy, where in Venice Wores encountered James A. M. Whistler. Whistler, known for his interest in Asian art, might have provided the inspiration for Wores’ later visit to Japan. After returning to San Francisco in 1881, Wores painted portraits and genre scenes of Chinatown that received favorable attention. In the mid-1880s he spent several years in Japan (returning again in 1892), where he painted numerous small elegant panels that brought him considerable attention. Wores was an influential teacher in San Francisco; he gave private lessons soon after his return from Munich, and was the first instructor at the newly formed San Francisco Art Students League in 1884. In April 1901, Wores began a prolific eighteen-month visit to Hawaii and Samoa. An exhibition of his paintings of the two areas, shown at the Pacific Hardware Company in Honolulu in April 1902, featured twenty-two Hawaiian paintings and fourteen Samoan views and figure studies. Wores returned to the Hawaiian islands in 1910, and at that time executed a number of portraits. In later years Wores was chiefly interested in depicting the California landscape. He died in San Francisco on September 11, 1939.