Robert Burns Wilson (American, primarily Kentucky, 1851-1916) landscape watercolor on paper depicting a springtime river scene with verdant river banks and budding trees foreground with a white cottage on the opposite side of the river background. Signed lower left with presentation inscription lower right reading "For Pauline Dikeman". Housed in a molded gilt wood frame. Sight: 15" H x 21 7/8" W. Framed: 20 1/4" H x 27" W. Artist biography (source: Askart): Robert Burns Wilson may be best known as author of the patriotic poem, Remember The Maine, which became the battle song for the United States during the Spanish American War. But he was primarily a painter. Orphaned at a young age, he spent his childhood in Virginia and West Virginia. As a young man he traveled briefly with a circus and, for a short time, maintained a studio with John White Alexander, a prominent American artist known for his work in the Art Nouveau style. In 1871, he moved to Union City, Kentucky, but a few years later, in 1875, he moved to Frankfort for the opportunity to paint portrait commissions and stayed approximately thirty years. In 1904, he moved to New York City. Wilson preferred to work in watercolor, oil, pastel and charcoal. He is best known for his depictions of animals and, beginning in the early 1880s, his landscapes.