Background
Christopher Shearer was born May 18, 1846, in Reading, Pennsylvania to Christopher and Catherine Shearer. His father helped him by building him a studio in the backyard of his farm in Shearertown (present day Muhlenberg Township).
Christopher Shearer was born May 18, 1846, in Reading, Pennsylvania to Christopher and Catherine Shearer. His father helped him by building him a studio in the backyard of his farm in Shearertown (present day Muhlenberg Township).
As a boy, Shearer spent time in the studios of artists Francis Daniel Devlan and John Heyl Raser. At age 18, Christopher showed an interest in painting professionally, and became a student of both Devlan and Raser. By age 27 Shearer was nationally recognized artist.
He later traveled to Europe and studied in Düsseldorf and Munich.
Shearer was a teacher as well as an artist. He held many art classes in his Reading studio to encourage the development of art in Berkshire County and elsewhere in Pennsylvania.
Shearer was instrumental in the founding of the Reading Public Museum. He also enjoyed collecting butterflies, moths and bugs and kept detailed records and drawings of these insects.
Shearer died in Reading in 1926.
His paintings are part of several collections, including ones in Canada, Australia, Germany, and the United States.