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FOREWORD.
This bulletin is the result of an increased public demand for biogra-
phies of American artists and other information relative to the growth
of art in America. An examination of the list of material to which
reference has been made will show the faithful work which has been
done by the compiler. Miss Helen L. Earle, of this department.
MARY C. SPENCER,
State Librarian.
266109
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Abbreviations - - 17
Bibliography - - — 239
Biographical sketches . 21
Etchers.- - - - — ._ 13
- 12
. -. 15
.. - .-._ 16
14
- 14
9
11
Illustrators. - -
Members of the Legion of Honor
Michigan artists. —
Miniature painters . ..
Mural painters and stained glass designers.
Painters —
Sculptors -
rORTR.VITS
John White Alexander
Edwin Austin Abbey
George Inness "
John LaFarge.... "
J. Gari Melchers "
Elizabeth Nourse "
Augustus Saint-Gaiidens. "
John Singer Sargent "
Henry Ossawa Tanner . "
James Abbott McNeill Whistler •'
Frontispiece
Facing Page. 21
115
127
145
158
186
188
207
231
PAINTERS
Abbey, Edwin Austin
Alexander, John White
Alls ton, Washington
Anschutz, Thomas Pollock
Armstrong, D. Maitland
Baker, Elizabeth Gowdy
Baker, Ellen Kendall
Barlow, Myron
Beaux, Cecilia
Beckwith, James Carroll
Belcher, Hilda
Bellows, George Wesley
Benson, Frank Weston
Bierstadt, Albert
Bisbing, H. Singleton
Blakelock, Ralph Albert
Blashfield, Edwin Rowland
Blum, Robert Frederick
Blumenschein, Ernest Leonard
Blumenschein, Mary Shepard Green
Bogert, George
Borglum, J, Gutzon M.
Bouguereau, Elizabeth Gardner
Bowen, Benjamin James
Breckenridge, Hugh Henry
Breuer, Henry Joseph
Bridges, Fidelia
Bridgman, Frederick Arthur
Browne, George Elmer
Brush, George DeForest
Carlsen, Emil
Carpenter, Francis Bickwell
Cassatt, Mary
Champney, James Wells
Chapman, John Gadsby
Chase, William Merritt
Church, Frederick Edwin
Church, Frederick Stuart
Clarke, Thomas Shields
Cole, Thomas
Coman, Charlotte Buell
Cooper, Colin Campbell
Cooper, Emma Lampert
Copley, John Singleton
Couse, Eanger Irving
Cowles, Genevieve Almeda
Cox, Kenyon
Cox, Louise
Crane, Bruce
Crowninshield, Frederic
Curran, Charles Courtney
Dabo, Leon
Dabo, Theodore Scott
Daingerfield, Elliott
Dannat, William T.
Da vies, Arthur B.
Davis, Charles Harold
Deakin, Edwin
Dearth, Henry Golden
DeCamp, Joseph Rodefer
DeHaven, Frank
DeKay, Helena
Deming, Edward Willard
Dessar, Louis Paul
Dewey, Charles Melville
Dewing, Maria Oakey
Dewing, Thomas Wilmer
Dillaye, Blanche
Dodson, Sarah Paxton Ball
Donoho, Gaines Ruger
Dougherty, Paul
Dufner, Edward
Dunlap, Mary Stewart
Duveneck, Frank
Eakins, Thomas
Eaton, Charles Harry
Eaton, Wyatt
Elliott, Charles Loring
Elliott, John
Enneking, John Joseph
P^arny, Henry
Fenn, Harry
Fisher, William Mark
Foote, Will Howe
10
Forbes, Edwin
Foster, Ben
Fournier, Alexis Jean
Fowler, Frank
Frieseke, Frederic Carl
Fromuth, Charles Henry
Fuller, George
Garber, Daniel
Gaul, William Gilbert
Gay, Walter
Genth, Lillian Matilda
Gibson, Charles Dana
Gies, Joseph W.
Giflford, Robert Swain
Glackens, William J.
Grayson, Clifford Provost
GroU, Albert Lorey
Gruppe, Charles Paul
Guerin, Jules
Gutherz, Carl
Haggin, Ben Ali
Harding, Chester
Harding, George
Harrison, Lovell Birge
Harrison, Thomas Alexander
Hassam, Childe
Hawthorne, Charles Webster
Healy, George Peter Alexander
Henri, Robert
Higgins, Eugene
Hitchcock, George
Homer, Winslow
Hopkin, Robert
Horton, William Samuel
Hovenden, Thomas
Howe, William Henry
Hubbell, Henrj' Salem
Hunt, William Morris
Hutchens, Frank Townsend
Inman, Henry
Innesfi, George ^1 v
InncKs, George, Jr.
Isham, Samuel
Ives, Halsey Cooley
Ive«, Percy
JohantKm, John Christen
Johnson, Eastman
JohuHon, Marshall
Johnston, John Humphreys
Jones, Hugh Holton
Keith, William
Kendall, William Sergeant
Kirk, Maria \a)U\hc
Knight, Daniel Ridgway
Kost, Frederick
LaFarge, John
Lauber, Joseph
Leroy, Anita
Leutze, Emanuel
Lie, Jonas
Little, J. Wesley
Loeb, Louis
Longpre, Paul de
Low, Will H.
Lucas, Albert Pike
Luks, George Benjamin
MacCameron, Robert
MacEwen, Walter
McLane, M. Jean
MacMonnies, Frederick W.
Macomber, Mary L.
Marin, John
Marshall, William Edgar
Martin, Homer Dodge
Melchers, J. Gari
Metcalf, Willard Leroy
Miller, Richard
Millet, Francis Davis
Minor, Robert Crannell
Mitchell, John James
Monks, John Austin Sands
Mora, F. Luis
Moran, Edward
Moran, Peter
Moran, Thomas
Mosler, Henry
Murphy, John Francis
Nast, Thomas
Newcomb, Maria Guise
NichoUs, Rhoda Holmes
Nordfeldt, Bror J. Olsson
Nourse, Elizabeth
Ochtman, Leonard
Osthaus, Edmund Henry
Page, Walter Gilman
Palmer, Walter Launt
Pape, Eric
Parker, Edgar
Parrish, Stephen
Par ton, Arthur
Paulus, Francis Petrus
Pax ton, William McGregor
Peale, Charles Watson
Pearce, Charles Sprague
Peixotto, Ernest Clifford
Penfold, Frank C.
11
Perrault, I. Marie
PickncU, William Lamb
Piatt, Alethea Hill
Pope, Alexander
Potthast, Edward Henry-
Powell, William Henry
Prellwitz, Edith Mitchell
Prellwitz, Henry-
Proctor, Alexander P.
Pyle, Howard
Ranger, Henry Ward
Redfield, Edward Willis
Reid, Robert
Remington, Frederic
Reuterdahl, Henry
Richards, William Trost
Robinson, Theodore
Rolslioven, Julius
Ryder, Albert Pinkham
Sargent, John Singer
Sartain, William
Schille, Alice
Schneider, Otto J.
Schofield, W. Elmer
Scott, Emily Maria Spaford
Shannon, James Jebusa
Shinn, Everett
Shirlaw, Walter
Shulz, Adolph Robert
Simmons, Edward Emerson
Sloan, John
Smedley, William Thomas
Smillie, James D.
Smith, Francis Hopkinson
Smith, Jessie Willcox
Smith, Letta Crapo
Sonntag, William Louis
Stanley, James M.
Steele, Helen McKay
Sterne, Maurice
Sterner, Albert E.
Stewart, Julius L.
Stuart, Gilbert
Sully, Thomas
Tanner, Henry Ossawa
Tarbell, Edmund C.
Taylor, William Ladd
Thayer, Abbott Henderson
Tiffany, Louis Comfort
Trumbull, John
Tryon, Dwight William
Turner, Ross S.
Twachtman, John Henry
Ulrich, Charles Frederick
Vail, Eugene
Van Elten, Kruseman
Vedder, Elihu
Vinton, Frederic Porter
Volk, Douglas
Vonnoh, Robert William
Walden, Lionel
Walker, Henry Oliver
Walker, Horatio
Walter, Martha
Watkins, Susan
Waugh, Frederick J.
Webster, Herman
Weeks, Edwin Lord
Weir, Julian Alden
Wendt, Julia M. Bracken
Wendt, William
Wentworth, Cecile de
Whistler, James Abbott McNeill
White, Thomas Gilbert
Whittredge, Worthington
Wiggins, Carleton
Wiles, Irving Ramsey
Williams, Frederick Ballard
Woodbury, Charles Herbert
Woodwell, Joseph R.
Wyant, Alexander Helwig
SCULPTORS.
Adams, Herbert
Aitken, Robert I.
Ball, Thomas
Barnard, George Grey
Bartlett, Paul Wayland
Baxter, Martha Wheeler
Beach, Chester
Bitter, Karl Theodore
Blumenschein, Mary Shepard Green
Borglum, John Gutzon M.
Borglum, Solon Hannibal
Boyle, John J.
Brenner, Victor David
Cadwalader-Guild, Emma Marie
12
Clarke, Thomas Shields
Couper, William
Crunelle, Leonard
Dallin, Cyrus Edwin
Donoghue, John
Donoho, Gaines Ruger
Duveneek, Frank
Eberle, Abastenia St. Leger
El well, Frank Edwin
Ezekiel, Moses Jacob
Eraser, James Earle
French, Daniel Chester
Grafly, Charles
Hosmer, Harriet
Hyatt, Anna Vaugh
Kelly, James Edward
Kemeys, Edward
Konti, Isidore
Ladd, Anna Coleman
Lamb, Ella Condie
Lauber, Joseph
Lewis, Edmonia
Longman, Evelyn Beatrice
Lopez, Charles Albert
Lucas, Albert Pike
Macdonald, James Alexander Wilson
MacMonnies, Frederick W.
MacNeil, Carol Brooks
MacNeil, Hermon Atkins
Mears, Helen Farnsworth
Ney, Elizabeth
Niehaus, Charles Henry
Pope, Alexander
Potter, Edward Clark
Potter, Louis
Pratt, Bela L.
Proctor, Alexander P.
Remington, Frederic
Rhind, J. Massey
Rogers, John
Roth, Frederick G. R.
Ruckstuhl, Frederick Wellington
Saint Gaudens, Augustus
Scudder, Janet
Taft, Lorado
Vedder, Elihu
Vonnoh, Bessie Potter
Ward, John Q. A.
Warner, Olin L.
Weinman, Adolph Alexander
Wendt, Julia M. Bracken
Yandell, Enid
Young, Mahoni
ILLUSTRATORS.
Abbey, Edwin Austin
Ahrens, Ellen W.
Bellows, George W.
Birch, Reginald Bathurst
Blashfield, Edwin H.
Blum, Robert F.
Blumenschein, Ernest Leonard
Borglum, J. Gutzon M.
Chandler, (Jeorge W.
Christy, Howard Chandler
Church, Frederick S.
Clark, Walter Appleton
Cory^ Fatuiy Y.
Cox, Kenyon
Cox, I^uifie
CrownitiHhield. Frederic
Daingerfield. Elliott
Deming. lulward William
Dewing, Muria Oakey
Dielman, Fre
Dillaye, Blanche
Eaton, Charles Harry
Elliott, John
Emmet, Lydia Field
Fenn, Harry
Fisher, Harrison
Flagg, James Montgomery
Fournier, Alexis J.
Fowler, Frank
Frost, Arthur Burdett
Gaul, William Gilbert
Gibson, Charles Dana
Glackens, William J.
Green, Elizabeth Shippen
Guerin, Jules
Harding, George
Harrison, L. Birge
Hitchcock, George
Hitchcock. Lucius Wolcott
Hutt, Henry
13
Keith, William
Keller, Arthur I.
Kelly, James Edward
Kemble, Edward Windsor
Kinney, Margaret West
Kinney, Troy
Kirk, Maria Louise
Lamb, Ella Condie
Leroy, Anita
Loeb, Louis
Low, Will H.
McCarter, Henry
McLane, M. Jean
Maynard, George W.
Millet, Francis Davis
Mora, F. Luis
Moran, Thomas
Nast, Thomas
Nicholls, Rhoda Holmes
Oakley, Violet
Pape, Eric
Parrish, Maxfield
Peixotto, Ernest Clifford
Pennell, Joseph
Potthast, Edward Henry
Pennell, Joseph
Preston, Mary Wilson
Pyle, Howard
Reinhart, Charles Stanley
Remington, Frederic
Reuterdahl. Henry
Robinson, Theodore
Seton, Ernest Thompson
Sherwood, Rosina Emmet
Shinn, Everett
Shinn, Florence Scovel
Sloan, John
Smedley, William Thomas
Smith, F. Hopkinson
Smith, Jessie WlUcox
Steele, Helen McKay
Stephens, Alice Barber
Sterner, Albert Edward
Stilwell, Sarah S.
Taylor, William Ladd
Turner, Ross S.
Vedder, Elihu
Wenzell, Albert Beck
Wright, M. Louise Wood
Yohn, Frederick Coffay
ETCHERS.
Bacher, Otto
Beatty, Jolm W.
Blum, Robert F.
Brown, George Loring
Cassatt, Mary
Chandler, George W.
Chapman, John Gadsby
Church, Frederick S.
Dielman, Frederick
Dillaye, Blanche
Duveneck, Frank
Farrer, Henry
Fenn, Harry
Forbes, Edwin
Gifford, Robert Swain
Greatorex, Eliza
Hornby, Lester G.
Hyde, Helen
Lauber, Joseph
Loeb, Louis
MacLaughlin, Donald Shaw
Merritt, Anna Lea
Mielatz, Charles Frederick William
Mitchell, John James
Monks, John Austin Sands
Moran, Mary Nimmo
Moran, Peter
Moran, Thomas
Nordfeldt, Bror J. Olsson
Parrish, Stephen
Paulus, Francis Petrus
Pennell, Joseph
Pitts, Lendall
Potter, Louis
Schneider, Otto J.
Sloan, John
Smillie, James D.
Sterne, Maurice
Stevens, Helen B.
Van Elten, Kruseman
Washburn, Cadwallader
Webster, Herman A.
Whistler, James A. McNeill
u
MINIATURE PAINTERS.
Ahrens, Ellen Wetherald
Aid, George Charles
Baer, William J.
Baker, Elizabetli Gowdy
Baker, Martha Susan
Baxter, Martha Wheeler
Bayliss, Lillian
Beckington, Alice
Coudert, Amalia Kusener
Dix, Eulabee
Emmet, Lydia Field
Fuller, Lucia Fairchild
Hallowell, George H.
Hills, Laura Coombs
Humphreys, Marie Champney
Inman, Henry
Josephi, Isaac E.
Kendall, Margaret Stickney
Malbone, Edward Greene
Otis, Amy
Peixotto, Ernest Clifford
Redfield, Heloise Guillou
Schille, Alice
Sherwood, Rosina Emmet
Southwick, Elsie Whitmore
Stanton, Lucy May
Thayer, Theodora A.
Welch, Mabel R.
Whittemore, William John
Wright, M. Louise Wood
MURAL PAINTERS AND STAINED GLASS DESIGNERS.
Abbey, Edwin Austin
Alexander, John White
Armstrong, D. Maitland
Ballin, Hugo
Benson, Frank Weston
Blashfield, Edwin H.
Blum, Robert F.
Cowles, Genevieve Almeda and Maud
Alice
Crowninshield, Frederic
Cox, Kenyon
Daingerfield, Elliott
Deming, Edwin Willard
Dewing, Thomas Wilmer
Dielman, Frederick
Dodge, W. DeLeftwich
Duveneck, Frank
Elliott, John
Frieseke, Frederic Carl
Grover, Oliver Dennett
Guerin, Jules
Gutherz, Carl
Heinigke, Otto
Hunt, William Morris
LaFarge, John
Lamb, Charles RoUison
Lamb, Ella Condie
Lamb, Frederick Stymatz
Lathrop, Francis
Lauber, Joseph
Low, Will H.
MacEwcn, Wolter
McLane, M. Jean
Marsh, Fred Dana
Maynard, George W.
Millet, Francis Davis
Mora, F. Luis
Mowbray, Henry Siddons
Oakley, Violet
Parrish, Maxfield
Pearce, Charles Sprague
Peixotto, Ernest Clifford
Potthast, Edward H.
Reid, Robert
Robinson, Theodore
Sargent, John Singer
Sears, Taber
Sewell, Robert V. V.
Shirlaw, Walter
Simmons, Edward E.
Sperry, Edward Peck
Steele, Helen McKay
Thayer, Abbott H.
Tiffany, Louis Comfort
Tillinghast, Mary E.
Turner, Charles Yardley
Van Ingen, William B.
Vedder, Elihu
Walker, Henry O.
Weir, J. Alden
Whistler, James A. McNeill
Wiles, Irving Ramsey
Willet, William
15
AMERICAN ARTISTS
OF THE
LEGION OF HONOR.
(The Legion of Honor of France is the most vital and democratic
order in the world. It is an order of merit and has a genuinely inter-
national significance.
In the Paris salon the insignia of the order — the "red ribbon" — is the
highest award given to exhibitors.
The following American painters and sculptors have received this
coveted prize.)
Abbey, Edwin Austin
Alexander, John White
Armstrong, D. Maitland
Bartlett, Paul Wayland
Bierstadt, Albert
Bisbing, H. Singlewood
Bridgman, Frederic Arthur
Cassatt, Mary
Dannat, William T.
Gay, Walter
Harrison, T. Alexander
Howe, William Henry
Johnston, John Humplu"eys
Knight, Daniel Ridgway
LaFarge, John
MacCameron, Robert Lee
MacEwen, Walter
MacMonnies, Frederick William
Melchers, J. Gari
Millet, Francis Davis
Mosler, Henry
Pearce, Charles Sprague
Saint-Gaudens, Augustus
Sargent, John Singer
Stewart, Julius L.
Tiffany, Louis Comfort
Vail, Eugene
Wentworth, Cecile de
Whistler, James A. McNeill
16
MICHIGAN ARTISTS.
Barlow, Myron. = Ionia, 1873
Church, Frederick Stuart Grand Rapids, 1842
Couse, E. Irving Saginaw, 1866
Dabo, Leon Detroit, 1868
Dabo, T. Scott Detroit, 1870
Foote, William Howe.. .— ...Grand Rapids, 1874
Frieseke, Frederic Carl Owosso, 1874
Gies, James W Detroit,
Hort-on, William Samuel Grand Rapids, 1865
Ives, Percy .....Detroit, 1864
Melchers, J. Gari Detroit, 1860
Newell, George Glen _. Berrien County, 1870
Paulus, Francis P.. Detroit, 1862
Perrault, I. Marie ...„ Detroit,
Pitts, Lendall Detroit,
Rolshoven, Julius Detroit, 1858
Smith, Letta Crapo Flint, 1862
Wenzell, Albert B Detroit, 1864
White, Thomas Gilbert Grand Rapids,
17
ABBREVIATIONS.
P. — painter
S. — sculptor
I. — illustrator
E. — etcher
Min. P. — miniature painter
W. C. — water color
Arch rec — Architectural record
Art & P — Art and progress
Arts & D — Arts and decoration
Bkmn — Bookman
Brush & P — Brush and pencil
Canad M — Canadian magazine
Cent — Century
Chaut — Chautauquan
Cosmopol — Cosmopolitan
Cur lit — Current literature
Delin — Delineator
Harp — Harper's monthly magazine
Ind — Independent
Int studio— International studio
Mo illus — Monthly illustrator
New Eng M — New England magazine
No Am — North American review
Outl— Outlook
Pub opin — Public opinion
Quar ills — Quarterly illustrator
R of Rs — Review of reviews
Scrib M — Scribner's magazine
W work — World's work
BIOGRAPHICAL SKETCHES
Copyright by J. E. Purdy, Boston.
EDWIN AUSTIN ABBEY.
BICGRAPHICAL SKETCHES.
Abbey, Edwin Austin, (P., I., Mural decorator) b. Philadelphia, Pa.,
April 1, 1852; d. London, England, August 1, 1911. At the age of four
he produced pen sketches worthy of more than passing attention and when
not more than fourteen. Harper accepted some of his pen illustrations. He
studied a year in the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and in 1871,
went to New York, where he joined Haiper's art staff. In 1878 he was sent
by that publishing house to England to gather material to illustrate Herrick's
poems. His first painting in oil, "May day mom;" was exhibited at the
Royal Academy, London, in 1890 and ' 'Fiametta's song" in 1894. He was
unexcelled by any living artist in rendering mediaeval subjects. His notable
paintings in this line are "Richard III and Lady Anne," "Hamlet," "Trial
of Queen Katherine," "The penance of Eleanor," "Daughters of King Lear,"
"Crusaders sighting Jerusalem," "Columbus in the new world."
The series of decorations in the Boston Public Librarj- embodying the
stor>' of the "Holy Grail" is the most popular wall-painting in America.
Caffin says of these scenes: "They are presented with, an archeological
exactness of costume and accessories and with much dramatic action and
regard for individual characterization."
In 1909 he was commissioned to paint the coronation scene of King Edward
VII. This painting now hangs in Windsor Castle. He declined the in-
vitation to paint the ofl&cial picture of Isjng George's coronation.
ilr. Abbey was honored by membership in the leading art societies of
Europe and America and received decorations from several European gov-
ernments in recognition of his artistic ability. He had a marvelous techni-
que, was an illustrator of the greatest power and originality and has been
mentioned as one of the four greatest draughtsmen of the 19th centur3^
Of his brushwork, Heniy Strachey says: "He knows how to wield the
magic of the brush so that his painting apart from its color or form is elo-
quent."
At the time of his death he was engaged upon the commission from the
state of Pennsylvania for decorative panels in the state capitol at Harrisburg;
less than half of the work had been accomplished.
Royal Cortissoz, the art critic, says: "He was veiy gay and likeable,
you felt in him honesty and force and you could see just how his sterling
nature poured itself into his work. In it he sought the truth, he wanted
to make it live; with all his strength and with all his conscience he strove
21
22
for a reality that would touch men, making them think and feel. He achieved
this aim and made his best monument in the decorations at Harrisburg."
In a late number of the Craftsman, Louis A. Holman, closes an article
on the late Mr. Abbey and his work as follows: "I feel confident Abbey
will hold his place as one of America's foremost colorists, as one of her rarest
draughtsmen, as the most poetic painter of mediaeval subjects in his time
and as the greatest illustrator that America has yet produced."
Adams, Herbert, (S.) b. West Concord, Vt., January 28, 1858. Studied
sculpture five years under Mercie, Paris. On his return to the United States
in 1890, he engaged as art instructor in the Pratt Institute, Brooklyn, N. Y.,
where for eight years he criticised the modeling. Is a member of the Society
of American Artists and vice president of the National Academy of Design.
Associate member National Academy of Design, 1898; full member, 1899.
Hartmann says: "The best bust ever made in America is, in my opinion,
Herbert Adams' bust of his wife."
Taft in his "History of American sculpture," says: "In Mr. Herbert
Adams, the whole fraternity recognizes a master almost unequaled in a
certain form of sculpture as rare as it is exquisite — the creation of beautiful
busts of women There is nothing so distinctive in his figures of
men."
Mr. Adams' experiments in coloring his busts are exceedingly interesting.
He has sho^ATi a beautiful color bust of "St. Agnes," a "Portrait of a young
lady" in tinted marble in bronze decorations, and the "Rabbi's daughter"
in pink marble, with dress and ample wide spread sleeves in wood with gold
decorations. "It is in his choice and treatment of these heads that Mr.
Adams reveals his true personality." (Lorado Taft.)
In his love of details he is closely akin to M. Dampt and M. Riviere-Theo-
dore, the French sculptors.
Ahrens, Ellen Wetherald, (Min P., 1) b. Baltimore, Md., June 6, 1859.
Pupil Boston Museum of Fine Arts under Grundemann; Pennsylvania Aca-
demy of the Fine Arts under Eakins; Drexel Institute under Pyle.
Received second Toppan prize School of Pennsylvania Academy of the
Fine Arts, 1884, and other prizes for oil painting and miniatures.
Aid, George Charles, (Min P.) b. Quincy, 111. A pupil of Laurens and
Benjamin-Constant in Paris. Received silver medal at St. Louis Exposition,
1904. A member of the Paris American Artists Association and the American
Miniature Painters.
AiTKK.v, Robert I., (S.) b. San Francisco, California,^! ay 8, 1878. Pupil
of Mark Hopkins In.stitute, San Francisco. Won the Barnett prize of the
National Academy of Design, 1908. Is a member of the National Sculpture
23
Society and was elected an associate member of the National Academy in
1909.
Mr. Aitken began his art work by painting. After studying sculpture
for six months under a French master, he decided to work alone. Later he
went to Paris. His monuments to the navy and to President McKinley are
among the finest works of art in San Francisco. He has completed a statue
of the late Frederic Remington to be placed at the new station of the Boston,
Westchester & N. Y. R. R., which runs through the Remington property
at New Rochelle, N. Y. (American Club Woman, Nov., 1912.)
Alexander, John White, (P., Mural P.) b. Allegheny, Pa., October 7,
1856. Pupil of Prof. Benczur of the Royal Academy, Munich, and of Frank
Duveneck in INIunich, Venice and Florence. Has been awarded many medals
and won much distinction at home and abroad. Was elected chevalier of
the Legion of Honor, 1901 ; is member of Societe Nationale des Beaux Arts,
Paris, Munich Secessionists, International Society of Artists, London, and
Vienna Society of Painters; president of the National Society of Mural Paint-
ers; associate member of National Academy of Design, 1901; full member,
1902, and later president.
Mr. Alexander is a painter of portraits, of mural decorations and of many
figure pictures with a distinct decorative purpose. His "Woman in gray"
hangs in the Luxembourg; ''The green bow" and "The picnic" have also
been purchased by the French government. His "Pot of basil" reveals
his talent for ideal figure subjects. Of his "Sunlight" which was awarded
first-class medal at the 1911 spring exhibition of the Carnegie Institute, it
was said: "For grace of lines, relative beauty of color and tone, and illusion
of light — sheer necromancy of the painter — this work is without a peer in
the exhibition."
Other characteristic pictures are:
"The mirror " "A butterfly "
" Woman in pink " "A rose "
"Flowers" "Pandora"
" The piano " " Quiet hour "
"A summer day" "In the cafe"
" A ray of sunHght " "A little mother "
" Peonies " " Study in black and white "
" The blue bowl " " The ring "
"Memories" "Autumn"
"Tenth muse" "A meadow flower"
"A toiler" "The gossip"
His artistic instinct is decorative, but his portraits of Mrs. Alexander,
August Rodin, Walt Whitman, Prof. Chandler of Columbia, Mrs. Wheaton
and others, show he can also master character.
24
Armand Dayot, the French critic, says: "From simply caressing the
canvas, his brush has become penetrating and the pictures he now shows
us possess — and this we consider the highest praise that can be bestowed
upon his talent — not only the charm of life but also an intensity of thought."
"He sees, as did Constable, only the beautiful, and the beautiful life is
normal."
His mural paintings, "Apotheosis of Pittsburgh" in the Carnegie Institute,
and "The evolution of the book" in the Library of Congress (both represent
the glorification of labor) are among the noteworthy achievements of this
branch of art in America.
His combination of piquancy of form and piquancy of color is known as
the "Alexander liquid style." "This liquidity is simply music expressed
in terms of painting." With Mr. Alexander the real subject is a pictorial
harmony based on the human form. (Outl. 95:171.)
"The distinguishing traits of Mr. John W. Alexander as a painter of por-
traits are quality of line, candor of impression and novelty of tone." (Har-
rison S. Morris, Scrib. 25:340.)
Allston, Washington, (P.) b. Waccamaw, S. C, November 5, 1779; d.
Cambridge, Mass., July 9, 1843. At six years of age his favorite amuse-
ment was making little landscapes about the roots of an old tree near his
home. In 1800 he graduated from Harvard and in company with Edward
Green Malbone soon after went to London where through the assistance of