William Aiken Walker: A Life in Paint William Aiken Walker (March 11, 1839 – January 3, 1921) was an American artist renowned for his genre paintings, particularly those capturing the lives of African Americans in the post-Reconstruction South. His work offers a poignant glimpse into a pivotal period of American history. Early Life and Influences Born in Charleston, South Carolina, to an Irish Protestant father and a mother with deep roots in South Carolina society, Walker’s early life was marked by relocation following his father's death in 1842. The family moved to Baltimore, Maryland, b…