Endowed with remarkable skill, Walter Launt Palmer was surrounded by creative talent very early in his life. As the son of master sculptor Erastus Dow Palmer, he was introduced to the arts not only by his father but also by the many artists who visited the family home in Albany, New York: “Among them were Frederic E. Church, Kensett, McEntee and Hubbard.” In fact, these artists may have steered young Palmer towards painting instead of sculpture.