He was born in New Castle, Pennsylvania on March 20, 1855, to Davis Brook Kurtz and Julia Wilder.

[1][3] He then studied at the National Academy of Design in New York City, later earning an M.A.

[1] In 1891 he was appointed as one of Halsey Ives's assistants in the Fine Arts Department of the World's Columbian Exposition, where he introduced American art audiences to Glasgow School, the Danish School, Mihály Munkácsy, Joaquim Sorolla.

[1] He also worked as the Assistant Director of Fine Arts for the United States for the Paris Exposition of 1900.

[1][2][4] His papers are on file at the Smithsonian Archives of American Art.