Figure 1.--Edward Henry Potthast was an American impressionist artist. He was born in Cincinnati, Ohio (1857). He studied under Thomas Satterwhite Noble (1879-81) and continued his studies at the Royal Academy in Munich with the American-born instructor Carl Marr. He returned to Cincinnati and continued his his studies with Noble (1885). He then headed to Paris where he studied with Fernand Cormon (1886). Finally he haded for New York (1895). Here he remained and conducted his artistic carer. He is bstbknown for his destinctive broad brush stroke, colorful images of Americans enjoying their leisure in Central Park and especially on the beaches of New York and New England at the turn-of-the 20th and early 20th century. Many of his scenes include children.
America of course has a very recent art history. Here some of the most valuable work was done by primitive or naive artists in the late 17th and early-mid 19th century before the advent of photography. These artista while their perspective was often weak often did provide very detailed reproductions of clothing in their portaits which is of emense value in assessing historical fashion trends. Perhaps the American artist most associated with children is Mary Cassat. Of course the greatest American portratist has to be John Singer Seargent, but unfortunately he painted only a small number of children. This is, of course, only a preliminary list. We hope that HBC readers will suggest other American artists that we should included on this list.Over time we have developed an extensive list of American artists, including foreign-born immigrants. Until mid-centyury virtually all trained artists werre foreigners or Americans who studied in Europe. Here are the American artists that we have found. Of course these are the artists which have left portraits and genre works with images of children that can be useful in assessing period fashions or assessing childhood in different periods. This is of course especially important in the period before the invention of photograpy. Unfortunastely many early works, especially early-19th century naive paintings are unsigned. We continue to add artists to our list. These artists have left us an invaluable social record.
Alfred Henry Maurer was the son of Louis Maurer, a German immigrant and noted American illustrator/lithographer. Some of his mid-19th century politcal illustrations are archived on CIH. His work reflected a passion for new homeland and American values. His son became a moderist artist. Alfred was born in New York City (1868). His father by this time with a partner had founded a commercial lithography business. Alfred had to quit school and work at his father's company. Eventually he was able tyo contine his studies. He studied both sculpting (John Quincy Adams Ward) and painting (William Merritt Chase). Maurer went to Paris (1897). Here he immersed himself in great master works. He joined a circle of American and French modernist artists. He began studying at the Academie Julian, but was not happy there. He primarily devoted himself copying work in the Louvre. He began working like his father in a conventional, realist style. Gradually he developed an impresionist, modernist style. He exhibited his work in avant-garde circles, both internationally and when he trurned home New York City. He was active during the early-20th century. He achieved limited critical or commercial success. He committed suiside shortly after the death of his father. While his paintings were little recognized in his life, they are today admired by many critics.
We have found a portrait of a boy in a sports collar, probably painted in the 1930s. We date it based on the open sports collar that the boy wears. We believe the boy is a German boy. All we know for sure is that the portrait was dated by O. Merkell. We are sure about this because the portrait is signed "O. Merkell". We were not familiar with this artist. (One auction house thought he was German.) Hapily one of our well informed HBC readers tells us that Merkell is an American artist. He writes, " Otto Merkel was an American painter. I have seen a woman's portrait painted in 1921, simular to the one of this boy. Unfortunately I have no more information about the artist." We nothing more about him.
J.T. Mitchell was a well-known British-American miniaturist who exhibited in London between 1798 and 1830 and was also active in the United States. We note some portraits of children. We do not have confirmed portraits by him. We do note a minature that one dealer attributes to Mitchell, "Portrait of a Boy" (1801). The boy is unidentified, but we believe that he is English
HBC has virtually no information on this primative (naive) artist. We believe that he was American. We have one portrait done in 1853. It is of interest because it shows a boy wearing a tunic in what appears to be an early sailor style. This is one of the earliest American images that HBC has which shows that the sailor style that began in Britain had spread to America.
American prinitive artist Noah North painted many portraits, including families and children. Although he did not master perspective well, his detailed paintings provide a good record of early 19th century fashions before photography was developed.
Charles Willson Peale is one of tghe best known early American artists, regarded as the "artist of the American Revolution". He was born in Queen Anne's County, Maryland in 1741. He came to Annapolis at the age 9 to apprentice to a local saddler. He received no actual art training and taught himself to paint by watching portraitist John Hesselius work. He observed John Singleton Copley on a visit to Boston. At this time he began to get commissions for portraits from the the Annapolis gentry. We note a painting of the Stewart children which we believe was done by him, probably in the 1770s.
Robert Peckham (1785-1877) was a Deacon, a Radical Abolitionist and Temperance advocate. His work was largely ignored until art experts determined that several previously unatributed portraits were painted by Peckham. He is now considered to be one of the finest 19th century primitive artists. Not very many of his paintings have been found, but they are particularly detailed portraits, showcasing period fashions, toys, and houshold furnishings. We do not know why he did not do more such portraits. He clearly had natural skill, although he did not have any formal artistic training. Dale Johnson's work on 'The Children of Oliver Adams' led to the relization that several unattributed portraits were done by Peckham, including 'The Raymond Children', 'the Hobby Horse', 'Rosa Heyood', and 'Charles E. Eaton and His Sister'. Naive art is commonly unsigned, but is often attribued by art historians as a result of documentation by the families of the subjects painted. The Peckham portraits are similar to other naive work, but one art historian is struck by 'the arrting visual confrontation the eyes of the subjects make with the viewer'. And of course the attention to detail. [Johnson, p.27.] In addition to sylistic similarities, the individuals can be traced to the area around Worcester and Middlesex Massacusettes Counties where Peckham lived. And they can be dated to the 1830s-40s by the age of the subjects.
Maurice Pendergast at this time. He exhibited as a member of a famous group, The Eight, although the delicacy of his compositions and mosaic-like beauty of his style differed from the direction of the artistic intentions and philosophy of the group. Maurice and his twin sister, Lucy, were born at their family's subarctic trading post at St. John's, Newfoundland now part of Canada (1858). When the trading post failed, the family relocated to Boston. Mauruce and Lucy grew up in the South End. Mauruce's talent was recognized and he was apprenticed to a commercial artist. It was here that he developed the brightly colored, flat patterning effects that we see in his subsequent work. He was also influenced by Boston Impressionist Childe Hassam. Maurice was personally shy individual who became increasing deaf as he aged. Prendergast never married. He became closely attached to his younger brother Charles, who was also a noted post-impressionist painter. We do note a lovely image of chidren sailing their sailboats in a park (figure 1). Interestingly we notice another American artist, Edward Henry Potthast, who painted at the same time as Pendergast and also painted park scenes and even more so beach scenes, but with a brighter pallette.
Edward Henry Potthast was an American impressionist artist. He was born in Cincinnati, Ohio (1857). He studied under Thomas Satterwhite Noble (1879-81) and continued his studies at the Royal Academy in Munich with the American-born instructor Carl Marr. He returned to Cincinnati and continued his his studies with Noble (1885). He then headed to Paris where he studied with Fernand Cormon (1886). Finally he haded for New York (1895). Here he remained and conducted his artistic carer. He is bstbknown for his destinctive broad brush stroke, colorful images of Americans enjoying their leisure in Central Park and especially on the beaches of New York and New England at the turn-of-the 20th and early 20th century. Many of his scenes include children cavorting at the seaside.
American primitive painter was born in was born in Bath, Maine in 1806. He advertised his painting skills in the Maine Inquirer in 1827 and 1828. Prior prepared his own canvases, ground his own paints, and with the helpof his sons made some of his own frames. The artist produced some landscapes, but because of public demand, he was primarily a portrait painter. Prior's work is startling in the stlistic variations. His portraits range from near academic compositions to very primative naive works. The many portraits provide a very useful view of children's clorhes in the early 19th centuty.
Rockwell, Horace (United States, 1811-77)
We have found a naive portrait of the Dr. Lewis G Thompson family painted by Horace Rockwell (1811-77) about 1842-44. He has rather crammed everone togther, but the facial depictions and the clothing details are very good. We know very little about the artist. Horace Rockwell was an early itinerant artist to work in Indiana. He also did a portrait of the Judge Samuel Hanna family in 1843. Rockwell may be from New York and seems to have practiced in Philadelphia before going West. His career choice as an artist was not well timed because he had to compete with photography. He dabble in inventions and was killed when a flying machine he built did not fly.
Moses B. Russel was vorn in New Hampshire or Massachusetts (1810). Russell worked primarily in Boston (1831-53). He was wll known for his miatures. He was a prolific artist with many signed works. We notice a lot of minatures of infants and very young children. His wife, Clarissa Peters (1809-54), was also a succesful miniaturist. Even with advent of photography, she and her husband continued to dind a market for their charming minatures--the color, charm, and warmth attracted clients. After Clarissa died, Russel moved to Italy and lived there for nearly a decade. Presumably he was stydung the masters. He returned to Boston (1863). He worked on Boston as well as New York and Philadelphia for the remainder of his life. Their sonn, Aelbert Cuyp Russell, who they named after a 17th century Dutch painter, was an engraver and illustrator. A rare full-sized prtrait was the Wonson Twins. The boys wear red checked tunics with blur berets. A art historian writes, "The strong colors and bold decoration captured in the boys' attire and the props that surround them, were highly favored during the early Victorian period and contribute to this painting's lively composition."
John Singer Sargent is known for his dazling and often daring portraits portraits of British and American high society at the turn of the century. Most of his best known works are glamorous portraits of eminent or socially prominent people of the period and helped to shape our view of the era. At first he was considered to modern and to French in both England and America, but he was ecentually sought after by the rich and famous. He is now widely regarded as the leading portrait painter of his generation. He showed remarkable technical precocity as a painter. Sargent was often criticized for what some believed to be a superficial brilliance and his portraits were largely dismissed after his death. In more recent years, however, Sergent's works have been acclaimed for their naturalism and masterly technical skill. Sargent's work, unfortunately, includes few portraits of boys. Thus while there are many portraits illustrating the dress of women, girls, and men, there are only a few of boys to illustrate fashions in the late 19th and early 20 th Century. The two most interesting are Livingston Davis in a white sailor suit (1890) and ??? Meyer in a grey velvet jacket and ruffled collar (18??). For those of us who admire beauty in art, Sargents legacy are paintings of daziling technical skill, often showing radiently beautiful images of the Gilded Age.
Rosina Sherwood was a recognized artist and illustrator from the late 19th to the early 20th century. Rosina grew up in New York in an artistic family. Her mother self taught her. After a trip to Europe in the 12870s, she began formal art lessons. She worked in several mediums. Here we have a pastel of a boy wearing a short pants white sailor suit painted in 1922.
Allen Smith Jr. was born in 1810. We do not yet know much about his childhood. He grew up in New York where he studied art. Smith began workingin New York (about 1830). His early work was a mixture of landscape, still-life, and genre paintings as well as portraits. Smith settled in Cleveland, Ohio (1841). After moving to the Midwest, he shifted primarily to portraits because rhey sold the best. We are not sure that his portraits were his forte, but they sold the best. Apparently Americans wanted portraits of themselves and their family. He was good enough that iunlike many naive artists, he could compete with photographic studios. His important important portrait commissions came in the Midwest. He apparently liked to do genre scenes and ne of his best is "The Young Mechnic" (1848). He exhibited some of his genre paintings at the National Academy of Design (1842) and with the American Art-Union 1846-49). "The Young Mechanic" was exhibited at the Art-Union Ununion. Earlier genre paintings have apparently been lost. The realism impressed contempraries. We seen it as a view of America at mid-century just as America was embarking on the industrial revolution. His life span caught America's transition from an asgricultural country to an industrial titan. The word "mechanic" at mid-century seems to mean a skilled person who works with his hands,and not the modern context of woirking with maschinery. The title figure is the boy seated behind the counter of his father's workshop. His father probably was a carpenter. Presunably the working-class boy has been hired by the well dressed boy in the straw hat who needs a new mast for his toy sail boat. Trealism is what poractical Nid-Westerbers wanted. Other popular Midwestern artists were Cincinnati’s Lilly Martin Spencer (1822-1902) and James H. Neard. He was adversely affected by the Panic of 1857. He had to find work in James F. Ryder’s studio. He had eight children which meant that he needed a steady income.
This American primitive/naive artist painted many New England portraits, providing valuable information on individual fashion in a period in which photography was just beginning to provide images. Joseph Whiting Stock was born in Springfield, Massachusetts (1815). When he was 11 years old, an oxcart fell on him. As aresult, he was seriously injured, becoming a paraplegic. As a result of his accident, Jopseph began to study painting on the advice of his physician, something he was capable of physivally. He studied under Franklin White, a pupil of the painter Chester Harding, and was commissioned to do a series of anatomical drawings by Dr. James Swan (1834). Dr. Swan constructed a wheelchair which enabled Stock to paint large canvasses and be lifted on trains so as to travel to complete commissions. Stock accepted commissions for portraits throughput New England, working in Warren and Bristol, Rhode Island, New Bedford, Massachusetts, and Middletown, Goshen, and Port Jervis, New York. His studios were located in his hometown of Springfield. He was known for his portraits, miniatures, and landscape paintings, most of which were commissions. He died of tuberculosis in Springfield, only 40 years old. Hus paintings are sometimes confused with those of Clarissa Peters Russell, a miniaturist, as her style was similar, but her work is usually unsigned.
Julian Russel Story was born in Walton-on-Thames, Surrey, England (1857). He was the youngest child of noted sculptor and poet William Wetmore Story, and the brother of sculptor Thomas Waldo Story. His parents led a cosmopolitan life in the guilded age of pre-World War I Europe. They spent a great deal of time in Italy and we assume Jullian did also as a boy. He was educated at Eton College and Brasenose College, Oxford University. While his brother followed his father's focus on sculpture, Julian chose painting as an artistic career. He studied in Munich and Paris. He became a very competent portrait painter. His skills began to be recognized with notable rewards (1880s). His body of work is mostly portraits and include the Prince of Wales, the future Edward VII. We do not notice many portraits of children, but do notice a stunning portrait of Count Louis Vorow Zborowski (1898) as a child. Story emigrated to America after establishing his artistic reputation in Europe. We are not sure why. We suspect America's phenomenal economic suceess offered many lucrarive commissions as well as his American wife were factors. He setup his studionin Philadelphia. He married Emma Eames, a young American diva stunning American and European audiences (1891). She divorced him (1907). He then married Elaine Sartori Bohlen (1909). They divided their time between America and Italy. The marriasge produced three children. He died in Philadelphia (1919).
Thomas Sully is one of the most impoprtant American portratists. He painted individuals as diverse as Lafayette, President Andrew Jackson and a very young Queen Vuctoria. He is particularly noted for his full-lenghth portraits and sensitive depictions of women. He also painted many portraits with theatrical themes. We only know of one portrait of a boy at this time, but surely there must be more among his many portraits.
Edmund Charles Tarbell is among the most important Americam impressionists, although his many poertaits seem more relaistic than impressionistic. He was a major fixture in the Boston art worls and a central figure in the Bostin School. Edmund was born in West Groton, Massachusetts and raised by his grandparents in a Boston suburb, Dorchester. The boy exibited a talent for drawing, but was not particularly encouraged. He studied briefly at the Massachusetts Normal School, meaning prepartion for teching (1877-1878). As a teenager, he was apprenticed at the Forbes Lithographic Company (1877). At the time lithogrphy was how images including art work was printed. An this mean producing engravings of any images. Edmund spent 3 years at Forbes. He then entered the Boston Museum School where his artistic formation began (1880). Among the other students in Boston he met Frank W. Benson (1862-1951) and Robert Reid (1862-1929), and studied under Otto Grundmann (1844-90) and Frederick Crowninshield (1845-1918). For aspiring American artists, the great magnet was France. Tarbell sailed for France to study with Benson and Reid at the Academie Julian in Paris (1884). t the time, impressionism, at first a derogatory tterm, was all the rage. Their teachers included Gustave Boulanger (1824-88), Jules-Joseph Lefebvre (1836-1911), Adolphe William Bouguereau (1825-88), and American expatriate William Turner Dannat (1853-1929). It was in France that Tarbell became aware of the Impressionists. He also studued the Old Masters in the collection of the Louvre. Before returning to America, Tarbell and Benson togethe traveled through Italy and England and were able to experience the work of other great masters. Tarbell was an extremely prolific artist. Much of his work was beautiful women. It was hear tht his impressionism came out. He did many portraits, including family portraits. These were done in a more realistic style, presumably to suit the tastes of his clinents. Tarnbll is an important American artist, nd must be addresses in anu art history of American. He is less interesting to HBC as he pinted so few boys. We note one beach image and some boys in his family portaits.
A HBC reader tells us, "I am working on a documentary about the artist Bill Traylor, born into slavery in the 1850s. He started drawing drawing when he was in his 80s and homeless on the streets of Montgomery Alabama. He was 'discovered' 40 years after his death and now considered by the art world to be one of the great artists of 20th century America. Very little is known about Traylor the man which means his life has become a source for endless theorizing and speculation. One image that recurs in many of his drawings is that of little people tormenting big people with something that looks like prods which some anthropologists interpret as reflecting African cosmology (the 'little man' representing the soul). While that speculation might be valid, from my research of old court documents, slave-owner diaries and interviews with Traylor grandchildren and great grandchildren it is also known that Traylor had and raised 12 children. If that's the case, I've been wondering if perhaps some of the 'little men' might in fact be children." This is interesting to HBC as we have very little information on tethering in the 19th century or the prevalence of the practice among the lower social-economic sector.
Peter Waddell was born in Hastings, New Zealand (1955). He demonstrated artistic talent as a boy. And his parents, Colin and Penny, encouraged him to paint and draw. His father served with the New Zealand army in Egypt and Italy. His mother was a theatrical costumer and librarian. And this is relected in his paintings which include historical fashions. He worked as a artist in New Zealand before coming to the United States (1992). He came to learn as he describes it, 'secrets of the masters' by working as a copyist at the National Gallery. He quickly became enamored with America and its history. He thus has done a number of fascinating historical studies He became a naturalized American citizen (2002). He describes himself like a relgious convert as being more American than many Americans. And we see that in his work. He seems especially interested in the White House and has painted quite a number of historic White House scenes.
Walker, William Aiken (American, 1838-1921)
Slavery was not a common subject for American artist, but one artist did address the topic, William Aiken Walker. Unfortunaletly we have been unable to find any biographical information about him at this time. We note a paintaing of a slave mother and child done in 1862.
This female American primitive artist painted into the mid-19th century. She is the first female artist we have found so far. We note a painting of two brothers in rural America is a wonderful depection of children's fashions. Note the Eton collars showing that these collars were worn as early as the 1840s in America. There is often a wonderful depiction of the Lincoln children, but sisters rather than brothers. Of course not the President's children.
Benjamin West was the first American painter to rise to international prominence. He lead an astonishing life that led him from the American backwoods to the English Royal Academy and acceptance into the glitering halls of English aristocracy. This was an amazing accomplishment for a self-taught, largely uneducated colonial boy. He painted some important portraits, but he lavisged great attention to historical and alegorical scenes.
Grant Wood is an important American artist. He was not an artist I was very familiar with, except for "American Gothic". Another important painting is his ssartyrical painting of three Daughters of the American Tevolution (DAR). Wood like Mrs. Roosevelt had a iunplesant experiebce with the DAR. The Renwick Gallery in Washington during had an important exhibition on Wood which surveyed his impressive body of work. He did both portaits and pastoral landscapes. The portraits included a few children, done in is earlier period before he evolved into more styilized landscape painting. Wood is usually classed with other American painters such as Thomas Hart Benton and John Stuert Curry in a group known as "The American Scene" who were attracted to American rural subject matter. They became popular in the early 1930s during the Great Depression.
We note a naive American artist in the mid-1850s. He signed his name Wybrant. I'm not sure what his proper name was or if that was his last name. Wybrant was a rather elusive watercolor portrait artist that painted out of the Boston area in the 1850s. There are only a few known portraits. Here we have a portrait of an unidentified boy, presumably from the Bodton area. The portrait was painted in 1853. The boy wears a dress and holds a hat.
Sources
Howard, Hugh. The Painter's Chair: George Washington and the Making of American Art.
Johnson, Dale T. "Deacon Robert Peckham: 'Delineator of the Human Face Divine,'" American Art Journal Vol. 11, No. 1 (January 1979), pp. 27-36.
Wilson, James Grant and John Fiske, eds. "Leutze, Emanuel" Appletons' Cyclopædia of American Biography (New York: D. Appleton, 1892).
