William Ferdinand Macy is best known for his marine paintings of the New England coast line.  Born in New Bedford, Massachusetts, Macy was a descendent of Thomas Macy, one of the first settlers of Nantucket.  At the age of eighteen he went to New York City, where he studied under marine artist Robert Swain Gifford (1840-1905).  After several years in New York he moved to Nantucket to work as a professional artist, and opened his first studio on Pleasant Street in 1878.  He was back in New Bedford by 1890, and exhibited locally at Lawton’s Book Store and Art Gallery and the New Bedford Art Club. 

                               
References: See Who Was Who In American Art (1999).; Mary Jean Blasdale, Artists of New Bedford: A Biographical Dictionary (New Bedford, MA: The Old Dartmouth Historical Society, 1990).