The Woods Are Lovely, Dark, and Deep: National Academy of Design

Showing posts with label National Academy of Design. Show all posts

Friday, August 28, 2015

Charles Partridge Adams

Charles Partridge Adams

Born in Franklin, Massachusetts, Charles Partridge Adams moved with his mother and two sisters to Denver, Colorado, in 1876 in an effort to cure the two girls who suffered from tuberculosis.

In Denver, Adams found work at the Chain and Hardy Bookstore. He received his first, and only, art training from the owner’s wife, Helen Chain. Mrs. Chain, a former pupil of George Inness, provided instruction and encouragement to the young artist and introduced him to other artists in the area including Alexander Phimister Proctor.

In 1890, Charles married Alida Joslin Reynolds and the couple honeymooned in Estes Park, Colorado. That same year, he exhibited for the first time at the National Academy of Design. Three years later, the artist opened his first studio on Larimer Street in Denver.

In 1905, the couples dream of living in Estes Park was realized when Adams completed construction on a home and studio there. He referred to the studio as “The Sketch Box” and the family summered there every year.

In 1914 the couple sailed to Europe where they spent five months touring. Three years later, Charles suffered from a near-fatal illness.

In 1920, Charles Partridge Adams moved to California where he opened a studio first in Pasadena and later in Laguna Beach. He became a member of the Laguna Beach Artists Association and began painting marine subjects.

Adams died in California in 1942.

Monday, August 17, 2015

Francis A. Silva

Born in New York City, F. A. Silva (1835-1886) was forbidden to paint artistically by his father so he became a successful sign painter. Unfulfilled, at the outbreak of the Civil War, he enlisted in the New York State Militia, serving until 1866. Soon after the war he listed himself as 'artist' in New York, devoting himself to marine views. Essentially self taught, early success awarded him the privilege of exhibiting with the National Academy of Design, the Brooklyn Academy of Art and the American Institute of Art.

Traveling frequently to his favored locations for subject matter, Silva's works often show both New York and New London harbors, Westchester, Narragansett Bay, and a single known western work of Lake Michigan. Later in life, he traveled to Venice, creating marine views there. Around this time he arrived at his mature style, often directly compared with the "vigor and breadth of Winslow Homer."

His luminous paintings are appreciated for their 'meticulous realism' with a tranquil atmospheric elements. In his manipulation of color while avoiding 'artificial prettiness', he instead intensified the genuine effects of nature while expressing personal emotion. Alongside foremost American seascape artists A. T. Bricher and William Trost Richards, Silva represents the pinnacle of American sea painters.

Francis A. Silva

H. Bolton Jones

H. Bolton Jones

Hugh Bolton Jones began his art studies at the Maryland Institute and was later a pupil of Horace Robbins. He first exhibited in 1874 at the National Academy of Design and was a regular contributor to their annual shows for the rest of his career.

Beginning in 1876, Jones traveled and painted in Europe for four years. Although the majority of his activity centered on the artists' colony at Pont Aven in Brittany, he also sketched in Spain, England, Italy, and Morocco. While abroad, he exhibited in London, at the Paris Salon of 1878, and the Universal Exposition in Paris of the same year.

Upon his return in 1880, Jones shared a studio with his younger brother, Francis, in New York. He became a member of the Society of American Artists in 1881, and was elected an Academician at the National Academy of Design in 1883.

A prolific painter represented in several major public collections in the eastern United States, Jones concentrated his finest efforts before the turn of the century on a series of landscapes reflecting the flat meadows of New Jersey and New England. He experimented with the palette and broken color of the Impressionists during the final decades of his life.

Saturday, August 15, 2015

Hayley Lever

Hayley Lever

American artist Hayley Lever (1876-1958) was born in Adelaide, New South Wales, Australia. After his artistic studies in Paris, London, and New York, he settled permanently in Manhattan in 1911. By 1915 he was considered one of the most celebrated artists in New York City.

Profoundly influenced by the works of Vincent Van Gogh, Lever’s paintings immediately began to attract the attention of American collectors across the country. He soon developed a solid reputation as one of the leading painters of his time, creating strong impressionistic works filled with dramatic light and color.

His inclusion in many of the country's most acclaimed public collections and his extensive exhibition and award history among the most prestigious venues of his day such as the National Academy and the National Arts Club, attest to Lever's unique talent.

Friday, August 14, 2015

Andrew Winter

A native of Sindi, Estonia, Andrew Winter (1893-1948) spent his early years as a mate on a variety of American and British ships, an experience that intensified his appreciation for marine scenery and ways of life.

Following his seafaring career, Winter enrolled at the National Academy of Design in 1921 and continued his artistic studies in 1925 on a traveling scholarship to Paris and Rome.

He exhibited extensively from the 1920s until the 1950s, consistently earning medals and awards, and became a member of numerous artistic societies, including the National Academy and the American Watercolor Society. During his career, Winter discovered a constant source of inspiration in the remote and rugged scenery of Monhegan Island, a place he continued to visit throughout his lifetime.

Andrew Winter