Joseph DeCamp (1858–1923) was an American painter celebrated for luminous portraits and figure scenes that bridged late-19th-century realism and a softer, impressionistic handling of light. Born in Cincinnati, he trained in Boston and traveled to Paris, where he studied at the Académie Julian and absorbed contemporary French approaches to color, atmosphere, and naturalistic observation. Returning to the United States, DeCamp became a prominent presence in Boston’s art world during the height of American Gilded Age patronage, earning commissions from the region’s leading families. His work is often noted for refined draftsmanship, confident brushwork, and an ability to capture personality through subtle shifts of tone and expression—especially in the face and hands. Alongside portraiture, he painted intimate interiors and moments of everyday life, using warm light to model form and create mood. DeCamp also taught and influenced younger artists, helping shape standards of professional training in New England. By the early 20th century, he was widely exhibited and collected, and today he remains a key figure in American portrait painting—an artist whose technical polish never smothered human presence.