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Biographies H - L
Biographies M - Z
Albert, Ernest
(1857-1946)
A distinguished theatrical and scenic designer, Ernest
Albert worked in New York, St. Louis and Chicago. Born in Brooklyn in
1857, he showed early talent and received the Graham Art Medal at age
15, while he was studying at the Brooklyn Art Institute. Though Albert
had some early success as a newspaper artist, his introduction to the
theater world in 1877, began a career in stage design, he worked on
productions staring most of the best-known performers of the day. During
this time, in 1879, he employed and befriended young Jules Guerin, who
went on to become the Lincoln Memorial muralist.
From New York City, Albert went to St. Louis in 1880 and
five years later to Chicago. In 1892, he became involved with the
World's Colombian Exposition in Chicago. He was responsible for the
color schemes and ornamental design of the many interiors of buildings
in that renowned and successful fair. While in Chicago, he helped found
the American Society of Scenic Painters. In 1894, Albert returned to New
York City, where his work in scenic design was centered from then on.
All along, he had painted whenever he could snatch the time. At the
pinnacle of his career in 1905, he began to withdraw gradually from his
theater work. His family was settled in the striking new house he had
built in New Rochelle, New York and his financial independence was
established. From then on, he devoted most of his considerable talent
and energy to his landscapes.
Albert's landscapes, painted mostly in Old Lyme, Connecticut and later
on Monhegan Island, Maine {as well as a few on the West Coast}, are
simple in composition but subtle in effect. His impressionistic
rendering of color and light imbue his quiet country scenes with all the
magic of the moment. The gentle strength of these pictures and of his
still lifes ensured their popularity and earned him a place as one of
America's respected artists.
Albert was active in several organizations and was a founder and first
president of the Allied Artists of America.
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Armfield, George Smith
British, 1840-1875
George Armfield Smith, as he was known until the year
1840, was born in Wales. His father was a painter, who for some time had
a studio at 54, Pall Mall, London. His father apprenticed him to a maker
of fishing tackle - it may be that George's early promise was
overshadowed by that of a brother, William, who was given a regular art
education, and was sent to Rome to prosecute his studies. George did not
serve his full term of apprenticeship. Before he was sixteen years old
he devoted himself to painting, and, as his works found ready sale, his
career as an artist was assured. He first exhibited in the year 1839, at
the British Institution, when he showed two pictures, the "Study of a
Dog's Head" and "Terrier chasing a Rabbit." These works must have
attracted notice, for in the SPORTING MAGAZINE of the following year,
1840, we find the first of a long series of his pictures which were
engraved for that publication on.
In 1840 he exhibited for the first time at the Royal Academy, showing
two pictures, "Fox and Wild Rabbits" and "Terrier and Rabbit," and, as
the lists show, he continued to exhibit with regularity at both the
Academy and the British Institution for the ensuing twenty years. He
also sent pictures frequently to the Suffolk Street exhibitions. The
British Institution catalogue gives his address in 1839 as 15, Lamb's
Conduit Passage; but if he resided there at this time, he could not have
remained long, as he spent practically all his life at Camberwell,
Clapham, and Brixton.
His best period extended from 1840 to about 1869, and during these years
his output was large. About 1870 his sight began to fail, and in 1872 he
submitted to an operation on one of his eyes at Guy's Hospital, when Dr.
Bader removed the lens. The operation was only partially successful, and
his powers rapidly declined, he became the victim of fits of acute
depression, in one of which he attempted to take his own life. He
recovered from the self-inflicted wound, and continued to paint, but
latterly was able to work only with the aid of a powerful glass and on
small canvases.
So greatly had his powers of earning decreased, that in 1893 a pension
of 20 pounds per annum was granted him by the Royal Academy; he died,
however, before drawing the first installment of it. George Armfield was
married three times. He was very young when he took his first wife; by
her he had no children; by his second wife he had one daughter, and by
the third, twelve children, one of whom, George, followed in his
father's footsteps as a painter of animals, more especially dogs. The
painter died at Clapham in August, 1893, and was buried at Norwood.
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Barbarroux, Edmond Paul Auguste
French, 1882-1948
Inscribed miniature costal oil on board. The artist
produced similar works for the tourist trade in France.
Baum, Walter Emerson
American, 1884-1956
Well known as the critic for the
"Philadelphia Bulletin" and for his landscape work, was born in
Sellersville, Bucks County, Pennsylvania, in 1884. His entire life
was spent in Sellersville, where he painted landscapes of the local
countryside, and cityscapes depicting the antiquated architecture of
his and other local towns.
He received his initial training in 1904 from William Trego, a
painter of military scenes. He entered the Pennsylvania Academy of
the Fine Arts six years later, in 1910, and studied with Thomas
Eakin's teacher, Thomas Anshutz. Daniel Garber, an influential
member of the New Hope Landscape School, and member of the Academy's
faculty, also influenced Baum's work and style.
Baum often painted the area's seasonal changes working en plein air,
occasionally painting snowstorms in the snowstorm itself. In the mid
1930's, he traveled to Europe, painting and visiting many museums.
His trip was relatively short as he was eager to return home and
resume painting the Delaware Valley's scenery.
His works were completed in tempera, watercolor, oil, and pastels,
numbering more than 2000. Although most of his paintings were
landscapes, he completed many quaint cityscapes of nearby Allentown
and Manayunk.
In 1921, Baum began teaching art, and founded the Baum School in
Allentown. For thirty years, ending in 1956, Baum worked as art
editor and critic for the "Philadelphia Evening" and "Sunday
Bulletin", writing more than 500 reviews. He died in 1956.
Source: David Zellman, "300 Years of American Art"
Bentley, John William
American, 1880-1951
John William Bentley was born
in Paterson, New Jersey in 1880. He became a student at the Art
Students League with George Bridgman, Frank DuMond, and Robert Henri,
John Bentley became a landscape painter. He was an early member of the
Woodstock Art Colony, and exhibited at the Buffalo Society of Artists
(prize), the Sacramento State Fair (prize) and the Ridgewood Artist
Association (prize). He was also a WPA artist, and his work is in
several buildings in New York City and the Dutch Reformed Church of
Woodstock. He died in Kingston, NY in 1951. Source: Peter Falk,
"Who Was Who in American Art"
Briscoe, Franklin D.
American, 1844-1903)
Franklin D. Briscoe is best known for his masterful renderings of marine
views. He established a successful painting career and was highly
regarded as a competent marine painter during his lifetime. Briscoe is
considered to be a versatile artist whose work included history painting
and portraiture as well as seascapes.
Briscoe was born in Baltimore, Maryland, in 1844. At the age of four his
family moved to Philadelphia, where Briscoe he trained with eminent
marine artist Thomas Moran (1860) and in Europe. He studied the masters
in London, Paris and other continental cities and by the age of 25 was
considered a proficient landscape and marine painter. Traveling by ship
all over the world many times, Briscoe found many marine subjects during
extended voyages. In 1885 he painted a major historical mural The Battle
of Gettysburg that measured 13 feet tall x 230 feet long (ten panels).
The mural was exhibited throughout the country, and is now housed in the
archives of the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana.
Briscoe exhibited at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts and the
Brooklyn Art Association. His works are included in the collections of
the Butler Institute of American Art, the Sheldon Museum of Art, the
Smithsonian American Art Museum, and the Pennsylvania Museum of Art to
name a few.
Although Briscoe traveled the world extensively, he maintained his
residence in Philadelphia throughout his life and died there in 1903.
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Brunel de Neuville, Alfred Arthur
French, 1851-1941
A highly skilled artist of the French school, Alfred Arthur Brunel de
Neuville painted primarily animals, still lifes, fruits, and
occasionally flowers. A student of his father, he received a rather
basic foundation in the fine art of painting, and spent the rest of his
career elaborating upon it, improving his talents all the while.
In 1879, Brunel de Neuville began exhibiting at the famed Paris Salon.
That first year, he presented to the audience a piece entitled Pommes et
raisin, and then in 1880 showed his Halte de chasse, a scene of
frolicking kittens very appreciated and widely executed at the time. In
1889, he began to exhibit at the Salon des Artistes Francais with a
canvas depicting a still life of fish, and continued participating in
shows at this institution until 1909. In 1907, this group made him an
associated member.
In his celebrated still lifes of fruits, the velvety richness of their
smooth and silky texture is set in opposition to the rougher material of
wicker baskets. Brunel de Neuville was in addition rather well-known for
his wonderful ability to render the texture and shine of copper pots,
and this aspect of his oeuvre is commonly reproduced and cited. In the
history of French painting, he most definitely earned a lasting
reputation as a
highly skilled artist with a fantastic ability to bring the contents of
his canvases to life.
Literature:
Benezit, Emmanuel. Dictionnaire des Peintres, Sculpteurs, Dessinateurs,
et
Graveurs. (Paris: Librairie Grund, 1976, 1999).
Hardouin-Fugier, Elisabeth and Etienne Grafe. French Flower Painters of
the
19th Century: A Dictionary. (London: Philip Wilson Publishers Ltd.,
1989).
Hardouin-Fuger, Elisabeth and Etienne Grafe. Les Peintres de Fleurs en
France de Redoute a Redon. (Paris: Les Editions de l'Amateur, 1992).
Hardouin- Fugier, Elisabeth. Les Peintres de Natures Mortes en France au
XIXe Siecle. (Paris: Les Editions de l'Amateur, 1998).
Schurr, Gerald and Pierre Cabanne. Dictionnaire des Petits Maitres de la
Peinture 1820 - 1920. (Paris: Les Editions de l'Amateur, 1996).
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Bryant, Everett Lloyd
American, 1864-1945
A painter and muralist, Everett Bryant was known for his floral still
lifes and
landscapes in watercolor and oil. He was raised in Galion, Ohio, and
showed early
art talent but had no formal study until he was age 28.
He studied in London with Herbert Herkomer and Monat Loudan, and later
in Paris with
M. Blanc and Thomas Couture. After three years in Europe, he shared
business
pursuits with his brother that included a trip to Alaska.
Returning to art, he attended the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts
under Thomas
Anshutz, William Merritt Chase, and Cecilia Beaux. He married Maude
Drein, a fellow
student in 1904, and they traveled in Europe. They also spent much time
in Southern
Maryland, Maine and New Hampshire. In 1909, he moved to Baltimore and in
1930 to
Los Angeles where he was active until his death on September 7, 1945.
From
California, he took numerous sketching trips into Arizona and Nevada.
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Cameron, Simon
American, 1799 - 1889
A consummate machine boss who "never forgot a friend or forgave an
enemy," Simon Cameron spent many years behind the scenes in Pennsylvania
politics. Thanks to his early, effective support for Andrew Jackson,
Cameron was put in charge of patronage for the state in the 1830s. He
served as a printer, Indian claims adjuster, railroad builder, and
banker before running for the Senate in 1845, replacing James Buchanan,
who had joined James K. Polk's cabinet. By 1856, Cameron had joined the
Republicans. In exchange for his support of Lincoln at the Republican
Convention of 1860, Cameron was named secretary of war. Rampant
corruption forced his resignation early in 1862, and Lincoln named him
ambassador to Russia. Brady photographed Cameron in Washington around
1858, when he became the first Republican senator from Pennsylvania.
Chambers,
Thomas
American (1808-1866/1869)
Born in England to a merchant sailor and a washerwoman, Thomas Chambers
became a painter known for landscape and marine scenes, especially of
the Hudson River from Albany and from New York City, all in naive,
primitive style with bold color, rhythmic shapes, and strong contours
applied with brush-work that made his work seem vital and lively. He
differed from most painters of primitive style because, influenced by
his decorative style, he used large, rhythmic shapes with light and
shadow instead of flat forms. And he certainly differed in style from
the Hudson River School of Painting that, influenced by European
painting, was becoming active at the time he started his career in
America. In that era, some persons were disdainful of the Hudson River
painters as being too influenced by Europeans, but in the 21st century,
reportedly "Chamber's cartoonlike energy and rhythmic sense of design
continue to appeal to modern taste". (Foster) Of the artist, it was
written in a 2008 exhibition catalogue for the Philadelphia Museum of
Art that he was "a self-taught artist who operated in the zone between
folk and fine art (and) was this country's first modern artist."
(Foster) This designation was supported by a 1942 exhibition catalogue
title of his work, T. Chambers...First American Modern." Little is known
about much of the life of Thomas Chambers. His given birth and death
dates are estimates with both 1808 and 1815 listed for him, but 1808 has
become the accepted date. It is known that he came to America in 1832,
likely without formal art training, and became a naturalized citizen.
About that same year, he went to New Orleans where he signed a
declaration of intention to become a citizen there. From 1834 to 1843,
he was listed in the New York City directory and advertised in the City
Directory as a marine and landscape painter and restorer of old
paintings. The ad read: "Fancy painting of every description done to
order"; from 1843 to 1851 in Boston; and then in Albany and back to New
York City. He may have lived beyond 1866, but it is thought he returned
to England and died there. Among the titles of his Hudson River
paintings are Staten Island and the Narrows (Brooklyn Museum), Villa on
the Hudson near Weehawken. (New York State Historical Association) Some
of his most dramatic paintings were naval battles of the American
Revolution and the War of 1812. He also did portraits, but none of them
have been found. Much that is known about his artwork comes from
knowledge of prints made from his originals.
Sources include: Michael David
Zellman, 300 Years of American Art Kathleen A. Foster: Thomas Chambers
(1808-1869, American Marine and Landscape Painter Peter Falk, Who Was
Who in American Art John Howat, The Hudson River and Its Painters
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Clays, P. J.
Belgian, 1817-1900
As a marine painter and a prolific artist, he was best known for his
paintings of the Scheldt.
He concentrated on the areas around the Lower Scheldt and the river
Thames, infusing both with references from 17th Century Dutch naval
painting. His early work was influenced by Realism before he fully
developed into his own style of painting. His painting is in
Previous Inventory.
Coffin, William
Anderson
American, 1855-1925
Landscape and figure painter William
Anderson Coffin was born in Allegheny, Pennsylvania in 1855. After study
at Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, he left for Paris in 1877 to
continue his art education. Coffin studied in the atelier of academic
artist Leon Bonnat, possibly for up to five years, where he painted the
figure and continued drawing and painting from casts of classical
sculpture that had first captured his interest at Yale. Coffin exhibited
in the Paris Salons of 1879, 1880 and 1882. The painting shown in 1879
represented the students at work in Bonnat's figure painting class. His
landscapes were influenced by the Barbizon School of French artists.
In 1883, Coffin came to live and work in New York City, participating in
many exhibitions, including the National Academy of Design in 1889. He
was a fixture in the art world of his day, a well-known art critic who
wrote articles for "Scribner's" and "Harper's Weekly", among other
publications. Coffin held the position of art critic for the" New York
Evening Post" from 1886-1891, and was art editor at the "New York Sun"
from 1896-1901.
Coffin was an important figure in both the Pan-American Exposition in
1901, and Panama- Pacific Exposition in 1915. He directed the Fine Arts
Division in the former, and helped organize the latter. He was also
involved in other artists' groups, holding office in several, including
the Municipal Art Society and the American Fine Arts Society.
His other memberships include the Lotos Club, Architectural League of
New York and the National Academy of Design. He received the Webb Prize
from the Society of American Artists in 1891. Coffin's work is in the
collections of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City and the
National Museum of American Art, Smithsonian Institution, in Washington,
D. C.
William Anderson Coffin died in New York City in 1925.
Source:
Michael David Zellman, "300 Years of American Art"
Corbiere, Roger
French, 1893-?
Corbiere is known for his landscape and coastal scenes.
Craig, Thomas Bigelow
American, 1849 - 1924
Known for his bucolic landscapes with grazing cows, Thomas Craig was
born in Philadelphia where he remained until 1889 and then moved to New
York City until 1899. He finally settled in Rutherford, New Jersey, but
maintained a summer studio in Woodland Valle, near Phoenicia, New York.
It is believed that Craig was largely self taught, but his activity in
the Philadelphia Sketch Club, 1873 to 1876, suggests he was a student of
Thomas Eakins. He frequently painted in the White Mountains of New
Hampshire and in the countryside of both Pennsylvania and New Jersey.
Mr. Craig's works are included in the Butler Institute of American Art,
The Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine
Art, The Washington County Museum of Fine Art, The State Museum of
Pennsylvania, the Mobile Museum of Art and the Newark Museum. He was a
Member of the National Academy, Salmagundi Club and Artists Fund Society
and exhibited at these venues as well as at the Pennsylvania Academy,
Philadelphia Art Club (1876), Philadelphia Exposition, Art Institute of
Chicago, Boston Art Club, Brooklyn Art Association and Society for
Independent Artists. He exhibited for forty-five years at the National
Academy of Design.
Sources include:
Peter Falk, Who Was Who in American Art William Patterson & David Zellin,
Thomas Eakins and His Fellow Artists at the Philadelphia Sketch Club
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Crane, Robert Bruce
American, 1857-1937
Robert Bruce Crane was born in New York City on October 17, 1857. The
son of Solomon Bruce Crane and Leah Gillespie, he was educated in New
York's public schools and was exposed to the city's galleries and
museums by his father, himself an amateur painter. By the age of
seventeen, Crane had moved to Elizabeth, New Jersey, where he was
employed as a draftsman by an architect and builder. He soon decided to
devote his career to painting, and about 1876 or 1877 sought the
guidance of the landscape painter Alexander H. Wyant, with whom he
subsequently shared a close friendship until Wyant's death in 1892.
Between 1878 and 1882, Crane attended
the Art Students League in New York and traveled to Europe for further
study. In the United States during this period, he painted in New
Jersey; East Hampton, Long Island; and the Adirondacks. He wrote to his
father from the Adirondacks that among the influential painters working
nearby at the time were Eastman Johnson, George and James Smillie, and
Samuel Coleman, and he described the dramatic terrain: "Went to the
famous Rainbow Falls which several artists have tried to paint . . .
Wyant and Hart among them . . . over the top comes tumbling the water
which strikes every few feet throwing a spray which catches the sun
giving a most charming as well as wonderful appearance."
Crane spent time in East Hampton, on
the eastern end of Long Island, during the summer of 1880 or 1881 and
possibly during other summers. From there he wrote his father that the
painters "Stimson, Dellenbaugh, Moran, Robbins and Coleman are here . .
. I have finished the study of an old house . . . and the artists say
that [it] is exceedingly good."
In another note he described some of
his typical subjects at this time: "I have been working on a 20 x 30
[inch] subject, a row of apple trees, gigantic in size . . . I commence
in a few days the study sheep."
In these early works, Crane
painstakingly reproduced the pastures, hayfields, and barnyards of rural
East Hampton. A critic later remarked that "Troubled or placid skies,
the bright luminous atmosphere of a summer's day, or the gray tones of
autumn were given in these pictures, not only with truth to nature and a
certain poetic sentiment, but with a brilliant sparkling quality of
effect.
Source: Clark, Charles Teaze; "Bruce Crane, Tonalist Painter", Antiques
Magazine, November, 1982.
Crawford,
Earl
American, 1891 - 1960
Earl Crawford was a landscape painter from Pittsburgh where he
maintained a studio at 7346 Whipple Street and in Detroit where he lived
on the East Side. Born in Johnstown, Pennsylvania on June 5, 1891,
Crawford studied at the Carnegie Institute, the University of Pittsburgh
and with Christian J. Walker. He was a member of the Golden Triangle
Association and the Associated Artists of Pittsburgh exhibiting at both
origination's annual exhibitions in the 1930s and 1940s. At the 32nd
exhibition of the Associated Artists in 1942 he received an honorable
mention, and at the 34th annual in 1944, Crawford was awarded the Ida
Smith Memorial Prize for best landscape in oil In a review of the show
by the origination's vice president, Clarence H. Carter, Crawford was
praised for his Slaymaker Farm, "in which the reds of the earth and the
blues of the sky are intensified and balanced in such a way that they
make for one of the most feeling and tasteful canvases to come from his
hand".
In 1946, Crawford received the honor of being invited to participate in
the Carnegie Institute's 13th annual Exhibition of Paintings by
Pittsburgh Artists. Popularly known as the Summer Show, the exhibition
was devoted exclusively to works in oils by artists who lived and worked
in Pittsburgh. Crawford also exhibited at the Butler Art Institute,
Youngstown, Ohio in 1944 and 1945; the Indiana State Teachers College,
Indiana, Pennsylvania, in 1945 (prize) and in 1946; and at Parkersburgh,
West Virginia, in 1945 and 1946. His works are included at the Steidle
Gallery at Penn State University.
Fox, Henry Charles
(British 1855 1929)
This London based artist is best known as a watercolorist and etcher who
exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1880 and continued thereafter for the
remainder of his life. His idyllic scenes of country life gained immense
popularity and the influence of W.H. Hunt and J.F. Lewis can be seen in
his paintings as shown by the stippling manner of his style. He did not
view the harsh facts of rural existence with the realism which Van Gogh
so much admired in such contemporize "graphic" artists as Holl and
Fildes. Rather, his softer vision belongs to the well-established
pastoral tradition practiced earlier in the century by such artists as
Palmer, Linnell and Calvery, and has an undeniable nostalgic charm.
Fredericks, Ernest
American, 1877 - ?
Born in McPherson, Kansas of Swedish parents in 1877, Ernest Fredericks
later moved to Chicago to study art, heavily influenced by Swedish
artist and fellow Kansan Birger Sandzen of Lindsborg. Earlier works were
signed Ernest Fredericks, a pseudonym. He made his way to Eureka
Springs, Arkansas in later life to paint and teach under his real name
of Fred Swedlun. Fred and his son Glenn Swedlun taught art classes in
the Ozarks. Many of the regional landscape paintings from Ernest are of
this area and are signed Fred Swedlun. He died in the 1950s.
Fulton, Samuel
Scottish, 1855-1941
Born in Glasgow, Fulton painted animals, chiefly dogs. His work is
characterized by broad, flat brushstrokes, with some of his work having
a very sketchy quality. His painting, "Fox Hounds" is in the Glasgow Art
Gallery. His name can be found in the Preferred Artist List
for Scotland,
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Gasser, Henry
Martin
American, 1909 - 1981
Painter, lecturer, teacher,
illustrator and author, Henry Gasser was born in Newark, New Jersey on
Oct. 31,1909. He lived, studied and worked in New Jersey for his entire
life. A Master at watercolor and oil his work consisted of, in his own
words, "everyday subjects that are available to most of us-street
scenes, back yards, trees, old houses, etc I looked for them in front of
houses, in backyards, public parks, and elsewhere". He also painted
numerous harbor and fishing village scenes. His work demonstrated a
sense of place and feeling that most could identify with. He often
"exhausted a subject" which becomes evident when viewing the body of his
work for many of his paintings are just slight variations of previously
completed compositions. His Paintings also contain a great deal of what
he called "solitary silence" created by chosen subject matter such as a
"Coming Storm", "Night in the Park", "Shadows"... He felt that Design
was very important and meant the difference between a mediocre work and
a truly professional one. It is here where Gasser excelled, his work
demonstrates a sense of composition that gained wide spread appreciation
for his work. He got his background in art studying at the Newark School
of Fine and Industrial Art and the Grand Central School of Art. This was
followed by study at the Art Students League of New York in the classes
of Robert Bracman. He later studied privately under John R. Grabach. He
is represented in over fifty museum collections and numerous important
private ones as well. Among the awards that Henry Gasser has received
are the Hallgarten Prize at the National Academy, the Zabriskie,
Osborne, and Obrig prizes at the American Watercolor Society, the
Philadelphia watercolor club prize, the Allied Artists Gold Medal at
Oakland, California and many others. He was a member of the National
academy of Design, the American Watercolor Society, the Royal Society of
Art (Great Britain), the Salmagundi Club, the Philadelphia, Baltimore
and Washington Watercolor Clubs and the New Jersey Watercolor Society.
He was a life member of the National Arts Club, Grand Central Art
Galleries and the Art Students League and others. He served as Director
of the Newark School of Fine and Industrial Art from 1946-54 then
continued lecturing and demonstrating for most of the remainder of his
life. He also wrote numerous books on painting. He died in Orange, NJ in
1981.
Source: Blake Benton Fine Art
Gechtoff,
Leonid
American, 1883 - 1941
An American artist who lived much of the time in Cairo, Egypt, Gechtoff painted in the American southwest and also had a close
affiliation with the state of Pennsylvania. His technique involved
very heavy impasto, and his subjects were landscapes including desert
scenes, Middle Eastern subjects, mosques, nude figures, and marine.
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Gorson, Aaron Harry
American, 1872-1933
Kovno
was a city with a thriving textile industry, and at age thirteen Gorson
was apprenticed to a tailor. In 1888 he emigrated to the United States
to join an older brother in Philadelphia. He soon found employment and
worked as a machine operator in a clothing factory during the day, while
at night he attended classes at the Spring Garden Institute to pursue
his dream of becoming a painter.
Gorson married in 1894 and enrolled at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine
Arts, studying under Thomas Anshutz and being trained in the school of
realism established by Anshutz's teacher Thomas Eakins. While attending
school between 1894-1896 and 1897-98, he continued to work and obtained
portrait commissions. One of his major patrons at this time was the
Rabbi Leonard Levy, who arranged for Gorson to study in Paris for a year
in 1899. In 1900, Gorson enrolled at the Academie Julian where he
received instruction from visiting lecturers from the Ecole de
Beaux-Arts, such as J. J. Benjamin constant and Jean-Paul Laurens.
Gorson also attended evening classes at the Academie Colarossi, a school
that was located near the studio of the one painter who probably
influenced him the most, James Abbott McNeill Whistler. He was a member
of the American Art Association of Paris and the Union International des
Beaux Arts et des Lettres, Paris. Later, in the mid-1910's, Gorson was
honored in Paris for his industrial landscapes.
Returning to Philadelphia, Gorson worked to receive portrait
commissions. He was accepted at the 1902 exhibition of the Pennsylvania
Academy of Fine Arts, and had his portrait of a violinist hung in the
Room of Honor. The same year he exhibited a life-size painting of a
young girl at the Art Institute of Chicago, and also received an award
from the American Art Society. Gorson left Philadelphia in 1903 and
moved to Pittsburgh. He began to paint the steel mills of Pittsburgh and
other industrial towns, a career that lasted almost 20 years.
Gorson exhibited at the Corcoran Gallery, the Art Institute of Chicago,
the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts, the Indianapolis Museum of Fine Arts,
the City Art Museum of St. Louis, and at Rochester's University Art
Gallery. He showed in fourteen exhibitions at the National Academy of
design between 1912 and 1933, at the Pan-American Exhibition in Los
Angeles in 1915, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in
Philadelphia, and also had his work shown in galleries in Boston,
Detroit, and New York.
In 1921, Gorson moved to New York City and began painting scenes of the
city and views of the Hudson River, and continued to produce paintings
of the steel mills of Pittsburgh. He was a founding member of the Grand
Central Art Galleries, and belonged to the American Federation of Arts,
the Brooklyn Society of Artists, the Art Alliance of America, and the
Salmagundi Club. His works were handled by the John Levy Galleries,
Cronyn & Lowndes Galleries, and Knoedler &Y Co., in New York, and by the
J. J. Gillespie Galleries and Wunderly's Gallery in Pittsburgh. He died
in New York at the age of sixty-one on October 11, 1933.
Gorson's paintings are in numerous private and public collections,
including the Carnegie Museum of Art; the Andrew W. Mellon Collection;
the Charles M. Schwab Collection; the Westmoreland County Museum of Art;
New York University; Mellon Bank Corporation, Pittsburgh; PPG
Industries, Inc.; the Duquesne club, Huntington, New York; and the
Pittsburgh Art Collection, owned by the Pittsburgh School Board, and was
included int eh exhibition of the collection at the Carnegie Institute
in November 1942.
In 1967 a retrospective exhibition of Gorson's paintings was held at the
Museum of Art, Carnegie Institute and at the Spanierman Gallery in New
York the following year. He was included in the "Art in Nineteenth
Century Pittsburgh" at the University of Pittsburgh Art Gallery in 1977.
In 1989, the Spanierman Gallery and the University held an exhibition of
thirty-six paintings in "The Power and the Glory: Pittsburgh Industrial
Landscapes by Aaron Harry Gorson (1872-1933)."
Ref: Falk, Who Was Who In American
Art; westbeth.org
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