The Green Fan (Girl of Toledo, Spain), 1912, by Robert HenriOil on canvas; 41 x 33 inches; Gibbes Museum of Art, Museum Purchase from the artist.
Robert Henri (1865 – 1929) was an American painter and teacher. He was a leading figure of the Ashcan School in art. For biographical notes on Henri see part 1. For earlier works see parts 1-4. This is part 5 of 6-part post on the works of Robert Henri: 1916 The Laundress oil on canvas 90 x 74 cm 1916 Young Buck of the Tesuque Pueblo oil on canvas 61 x 50.8 cm 1917 Gregorita with the Santa Clara Bowl oil on canvas 1917 Juanita oil on canvas 61.3 x 50.8 cm 1917 Juanita oil on canvas 81.3 x 66 cm 1917 Julianita Ready for the Dance oil on canvas 81.3 x 66 cm 1917 Miguel of Tesuque oil on canvas 61.3 x 51.44 cm 1917 Portrait of Mary Fanton Roberts oil on canvas 32 x 26 in 1917 The Goat Herder oil on canvas 61 x 51 cm 1917 Upper Hudson oil on canvas 46 x 56 cm 1918 Fay Bainter oil on canvas 104.1 x 83.8 cm 1918 Sketchers in the Woods pastel on paper 31 x 50 cm 1919 Beatrice Whittaker oil on canvas 81.3 x 66 cm 1919 Portrait of Jean McVitty oil on canvas 61 x 50.8 cm 1920 Mata Moana oil on canvas 81.3 x 66 cm 1921 Agnes in Red oil on canvas 61 x 51 cm 1921 Agnes oil on canvas 61 x 50.8 cm 1921 Boy in Blue Overalls oil on canvas 61 x 50.8 cm 1921 Carl Schleicher oil on canvas 61 x 50.8 cm 1921 Francine oil on canvas 61 x 50.8 cm 1921 Isolina Maldonado - Spanish Dancer oil on canvas 81.3 x 66 cm 1922 Berna Escudero oil on canvas 61 x 50.8 cm 1922 Boy with a Green Cap ( aka Chico ) oil on canvas 61 x 51 cm 1922 Young Sport oil on canvas 61 x 50.8 cm 1923 Dorita oil on canvas 132 x 101.6 cm 1923 Francisquita oil on canvas 32.5 x 26.2 cm 1923 Segovia Man in Fur-Trimmed Hat oil on canvas 104.1 x 83.8 cm 1923 Zara Levy, Nude oil on canvas 81.3 x 66 cm c1923 Old Spaniard - "Lagartija," Florencio Rodriques oil on canvas 81.3 x 66 cm 1924 Buck O'Malley ( Charles ) oil on canvas 61 x 50.8 cm 1924 Johnnie Patten oil on canvas 59.7 x 49.5 cm 1924 Listening Boy oil on canvas 61 x 50.8 cm 1924 Moira oil on canvas 1924 Portrait of Catherine O'Malley oil on canvas 61 x 50.8 cm 1924 Portrait of Mary Patten oil on canvas 81.3 x 66 cm 1924 Sarah B. oil on canvas 59 x 75.2 cm 1924 Seated Woman pencil on paper 24.8 x 15.5 cm 1924 Sissy in Yellow oil on canvas 61.6 x 51.4 cm 1924 Smiling Tom 1924 Tommy ( Thomas Cafferty ) oil on canvas 73.7 x 63.5 cm 1925 Annie Beg oil on canvas 61 x 50.8 cm
Robert Henri (1865-1929), painter and teacher, one of the most influential American artists of the early twentieth century. Photo: Gertrude Käsebier, 1907, colorized by painters-in-color
Robert Henri (1865 – 1929) was an American painter and teacher. He was a leading figure of the Ashcan School in art. For biographical notes on Henri see part 1. For earlier works see parts 1-3. This is part 4 of 6-part post on the works of Robert Henri: 1913 Mary O'Dee oil on canvas 61 x 50.8 cm 1913 Mary of Connemara oil on canvas 104.1 x 83.8 cm 1913 Mary oil on canvas 61.3 x 50.8 cm 1913 My Friend Brien oil on canvas 104.1 x 83.8 cm 1913 Nora oil on canvas 61 x 50.8 cm 1913 Nora oil on canvas 61 x 51 cm 1913 O'Malley Home oil on panel 31 x 39 cm 1913 Old Johnnie oil on canvas 61 x 52 cm 1913 Old Johnnie's Wife oil on canvas 79 x 63 cm 1913 Pat oil on canvas 81.3 x 66 cm 1913 Road to Corrymore oil on panel 31 x 41 cm 1913 Sis oil on canvas 61 x 50.2 cm 1913 The Guide to Croaghan oil on canvas 104.8 x 83.8 cm 1913 The Little Irishman oil on canvas 61 x 50.8 cm 1913 Thomas in his Red Coat oil on canvas 81.3 x 66 cm 1913 West Coast of Ireland oil on canvas 66 x 81.3 cm 1914 Chinese Girl with Fan oil on canvas 61 x 50.8 cm 1914 Chow Boy oil on canvas 81.3 x 66 cm 1914 Mildred Clarke von Kienbusch oil on canvas 61 x 51 cm 1914 Nelson oil on canvas 61 x 50.8 cm 1914 Po-Tse-Water Eagle oil on board 84 x 104 cm 1914 Sylvester - Smiling oil on canvas 61 x 51 cm 1914 Tam Gan oil on canvas 61 x 50.8 cm 1914 The Beach Hat oil on canvas 61 x 50.8 cm 1914 Viv in Blue Stripe oil on canvas 81 x 66 cm 1915 Edna oil on canvas 81.3 x 66 cm 1915 Laughing Gypsy Girl oil on canvas 61 x 50.8 cm 1915 Lily Cow and the Queen oil on canvas 61 x 50.8 cm 1915 Patience oil on canvas 45.7 x 38.1 cm 1915 Patience oil on canvas 61 x 50.8 cm 1915 Sammy and His Mother oil on canvas 81.3 x 66 cm 1915 Thammy oil on canvas 61 x 50.8 cm 1915 The Model Nude oil on canvas 81.3 x 66 cm 1915 The Young Girl oil on canvas 104.1 x 83.8 cm 1915 Viv ( New York ) oil on canvas 104.1 x 83.8 cm c1915 Edna Smith in a Japanese Wrap oil on canvas 20 x 24 in 1916 Betalo, Nude oil on canvas 83.8 x 104.1 cm 1916 Boy with Plaid Scarf oil on canvas 61 x 50.8 cm 1916 Dancer of Delhi ( Betalo Rubino ) oil on canvas 97.8 x 146 cm 1916 Gertrude Vanderbilt oil on canvas 127 x 182.9 cm 1916 Indian Girl 61 x 50.8 cm 1916 Reclining Nude ( Barbara Brown ) oil on canvas 83.8 x 111.8 cm
Robert Henri and his wife, Linda, made their first trip to Spain in 1900. They spent six weeks in Madrid, where Henri lingered at the Prado copying paintings by Velázquez.
Robert Henri (1865 – 1929) was an American painter and teacher. He was a leading figure of the Ashcan School in art. For biographical notes on Henri see part 1. For earlier works see parts 1-4. This is part 5 of 6-part post on the works of Robert Henri: 1916 The Laundress oil on canvas 90 x 74 cm 1916 Young Buck of the Tesuque Pueblo oil on canvas 61 x 50.8 cm 1917 Gregorita with the Santa Clara Bowl oil on canvas 1917 Juanita oil on canvas 61.3 x 50.8 cm 1917 Juanita oil on canvas 81.3 x 66 cm 1917 Julianita Ready for the Dance oil on canvas 81.3 x 66 cm 1917 Miguel of Tesuque oil on canvas 61.3 x 51.44 cm 1917 Portrait of Mary Fanton Roberts oil on canvas 32 x 26 in 1917 The Goat Herder oil on canvas 61 x 51 cm 1917 Upper Hudson oil on canvas 46 x 56 cm 1918 Fay Bainter oil on canvas 104.1 x 83.8 cm 1918 Sketchers in the Woods pastel on paper 31 x 50 cm 1919 Beatrice Whittaker oil on canvas 81.3 x 66 cm 1919 Portrait of Jean McVitty oil on canvas 61 x 50.8 cm 1920 Mata Moana oil on canvas 81.3 x 66 cm 1921 Agnes in Red oil on canvas 61 x 51 cm 1921 Agnes oil on canvas 61 x 50.8 cm 1921 Boy in Blue Overalls oil on canvas 61 x 50.8 cm 1921 Carl Schleicher oil on canvas 61 x 50.8 cm 1921 Francine oil on canvas 61 x 50.8 cm 1921 Isolina Maldonado - Spanish Dancer oil on canvas 81.3 x 66 cm 1922 Berna Escudero oil on canvas 61 x 50.8 cm 1922 Boy with a Green Cap ( aka Chico ) oil on canvas 61 x 51 cm 1922 Young Sport oil on canvas 61 x 50.8 cm 1923 Dorita oil on canvas 132 x 101.6 cm 1923 Francisquita oil on canvas 32.5 x 26.2 cm 1923 Segovia Man in Fur-Trimmed Hat oil on canvas 104.1 x 83.8 cm 1923 Zara Levy, Nude oil on canvas 81.3 x 66 cm c1923 Old Spaniard - "Lagartija," Florencio Rodriques oil on canvas 81.3 x 66 cm 1924 Buck O'Malley ( Charles ) oil on canvas 61 x 50.8 cm 1924 Johnnie Patten oil on canvas 59.7 x 49.5 cm 1924 Listening Boy oil on canvas 61 x 50.8 cm 1924 Moira oil on canvas 1924 Portrait of Catherine O'Malley oil on canvas 61 x 50.8 cm 1924 Portrait of Mary Patten oil on canvas 81.3 x 66 cm 1924 Sarah B. oil on canvas 59 x 75.2 cm 1924 Seated Woman pencil on paper 24.8 x 15.5 cm 1924 Sissy in Yellow oil on canvas 61.6 x 51.4 cm 1924 Smiling Tom 1924 Tommy ( Thomas Cafferty ) oil on canvas 73.7 x 63.5 cm 1925 Annie Beg oil on canvas 61 x 50.8 cm
THE INTERNATIONALISM OF IMPRESSIONISM: Friends of Canadians Abroad Between the 1870s and the onset of the First World War most of Europe enjoyed a period marked with a relatively positive aura and peacefulness. This allowed people to focus their efforts on culture, art, literature, science, and technology compared to during the wartimes that flanked either end of this period. The Franco-Prussian War ended in 1871 and World War I broke out in 1914. At the end of the 19th century there was an explosion of interest in restaurants, theatres, cabarets, ballets and art. There were some who thought pessimistically about the extra-frivolity of society at this time, however the two great wars that ravished across Europe afterwards made the lifestyle of the Belle Époque seem enviable. The phrase the joy of living, often expressed in its original French as Joie de Vivre, has since been associated with this interwar period. Despite France’s loss in the Franco-Prussian War, its end was welcomed. A new middle and upper class, the bourgeoisie, began to enjoy life to its fullest. Paris was the epicentre of Belle Époque culture. Pierre Bonnard The Large Garden 1895(Musee d'Orsay) and Edouard Vuillard Repast in the Garden 1898 (National Gallery, Washington DC) Artists gravitated to the creative and joyful atmosphere of Paris. They also visited equally enjoyable surrounding areas of retreat, such as coastal towns in Normandy and Brittany, Barbizon, or closer haunts like Giverny, the Bois de Boulogne and the Forest at Fontainebleau. The Parisian atmosphere drew artists from all around the world to study at the origin of cutting edge art movements. This period in time spans movements and ideologies from the earliest en plein air artists of the Barbizon School, through impressionism, to many branches of post-impressionism. Thus, not only was the French atmosphere appealing to foreigners, they looked to the talented exceptional paintings being created by these new French schools. Artists from across the Commonwealth, Europe, Asia and America flocked to enjoy and learn in Paris and attend art schools. Some made only temporary visits to go to school, such as Emily Carr; others became expats of their countries, such as Canadian’s Blair Bruce and J.W. Morrice. Others returned for art-related visits and sketching trips over and over, such as Suzor-Cote, Clarence Gagnon, and Maurice Cullen. We have discussed the migration of Canadians to Europe in earlier blogs, especially to Paris in this period. So I will not go into more detail about their art again. However there seems an endless amount of topics to discuss from this fruitful period in the history of Canadian or European art history. In the last blog I talked about the International art community coming together in International biennials and fairs. Artists come together at various shows to interact, mingle, share artistic ideas, and make global friendships. Looking back to Belle Époque Paris, I felt that the way the worldwide art community gathers at fairs today to forge friendships correlates to the way in which artists from around the World gathered in Paris at the turn of the 20th century. This led me to ponder not about Canadians specifically, but who taught them, mentored them, befriended them, and made travel companions with them when they were in France. The International peers of Canadians in France are occasionally mentioned in passing in the literature, but I thought it might be interesting to gather imagery from many of the friend’s from other countries and look at their art together. What sort of art did their teachers do? What were friends painting side-by-side with our country’s cherished artists? The first wave of Canadians to travel to Paris included William Brymner, Robert Harris, Paul Peel, and William Blair Bruce. The latter two never returned to Canada, and both married Scandinavians. Brymner and Harris would both return home and go on to teach subsequent talents in Montreal and Toronto. They were advocates of further Parisian training for their gifted students. They all trained at the Academie Julian, where many foreign students were trained under great French artists, such as William Bouguereau. Bouguereau was an artist with unbelievable technicality and ability in capturing expressions in the moment. William Bouguereau Au Pied de la Falaise (Memphis Brooks Museum) and Les Noisettes (Detroit Institute of Arts) Blair Bruce joined a primarily American group of artists abroad that socialized together. Bruce first befriended Theodore Robinson and together they visited Barbizon. Along with these American expats he rented a barn at Giverny in the summer of 1887. Some of these friends included John Leslie Breck, Willard Metcalf, Henry Fitch Taylor, Theodore Wendel, and Louis Ritter. They were at Giverny whilst Claude Monet was there, and somewhat naturally they gravitated to his new style of painting. John Leslie Breck Field of Poppies 1889 Toulouse-Lautrec At the Moulin Rouge 1895 J.W. Morrice moved to Paris to study at the Academie Julian a few years after the first wave of Canadians discussed above. He blended into the art scene with ease. His art was highly regarded and he seemed to be accepted as ‘the real deal.’ He was mingling in Montmartre with the historical character Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, and got involved in the antagonist salons that were emerging to combat the stale and stagnant ways of the traditional academic salons. Morrice was involved in the first 1903 Salon d’ Automne, the Salon Nationale, and the related Societe Nationale. He engaged in these organizations with his very good Australian friend Charles Conder, and then-established French artists of the time: Jacques Emile Blanche, Charles Cottet, Lucien Simon, and Gaston La Touche. Charles Conder Hayfield, France 1894 Jacques Emile Blanche Tamara Karsavina for thr cover of Jugend Magazine Three works by Charles Cottet Douarnenez dimanche matin 1905 (Gallery Hermain), Evening light at the Port of Camaret 1892 and Lamentation des femmes de Camaret au tour de la Chapelle brulee de Rocamadour Gaston La Touche Pardon in Brittany 1896 (Art Institute of Chicago) and Maiden in Contemplation 1898 Beyond this, Morrice had expat companions who travelled around Europe with him. Morrice loved Venice, which is evident through his exceptional art of the time. However, it is also clear that his travel buddies loved it too; especially his American friend Maurice Prendergast. Prendergast produced some exquisite works while in Venice alongside Morrice. Morrice also went again with an American illustrator, Joseph Pennell. Three Venetian watercolours (1898-99) by Maurice Prendergast in the MFA Boston and the Addison Gallery of American Art, Massachusetts Joseph Pennell Towers of St. Martin, Tours circa 1899(Metropolitan Museum) He also spent time with American artists Robert Henri and Everett Shinn. His closest friends were the Irish artist, Roderick O’Connor, and the Australian, Charles Conder. To my delight, I learned that the Norwegian painter Fritz Thaulow was a sketching buddy of Morrice too. Thaulow and Morrice were both founding members of the Champs de Mars Salon. Thaulow had a studio in Dieppe as well. Morrice also went to Dieppe with the famous English artist Walter Sickert. Other English acquaintances of Morrice were Sir Gerald Kelly and W. Lee Hankey. A Robert Henri sketch Charles Conder Coogee Bay 1888 and Roderick O'Connor Farm at Lezaven 1894 Two French riverscapes and The Grand Canal Venice 1885 by Norwegian Fritz Thaulow Sir Gerald Kelly Beach at Etretat 1908 (Tate Gallery) W. Lee Hankey Morlaix, Brittany 1936 (sold at auction 2016) So much of the blog is devoted to Morrice’s friends because his life abroad is so well documented in G. Blair Laing’s biographical book about Morrice. But I will finish with a British Columbian favourite, Emily Carr. According to biographer Doris Shadbolt, when Carr went to Europe in 1910-1911 she went to see what all the fuss was about regarding the newly emerging abstract art but fell in love with post-impressionism. She ended her trip in Brittany, first at St. Efflam and then in Concarneau. Two important people influenced her art at this time and were dear friends of hers. She stayed with her British mentor Henry Phelan Gibb in St. Efflam first. She then spent six weeks in Concarneau with the New Zealand artist Frances Hodgkins. Henry Phelan Gibb Landscape 1907 (Towner Art Gallery) Frances Hodgkins At the Window (1912) There are so many more artists from Canada that travelled to Paris, and other parts of Europe (such as London and Antwerp for art school) that the blog could be a multi-biographical novel. For those who are interested in looking a bit more at the internationalism of impressionism, a great start is the monumental publication World Impressionism: The International Movement 1860-1920. I hope you enjoy looking at the paintings of Canadian companions and spotting the stylistic similarities and differences between them. BY: JILL TURNER
Jan Baptist Huysmans - Harem Anders Zorn - From Algiers Harbor Charles Louis Lucien Müller - The Odalisque Ernst Berger - In the Harem Robert Henri - Roshanara Frederick Arthur Bridgman - An Afternoon’s Amusement Mozart Rottmann - Harem Women Edouard Frederic Wilhelm Richter - Scheherazade Filippo…
Description: Henri holding paintbrushes. Henri, Robert, 1865-1929 Creator/Photographer: Unidentified photographer Medium: Black and white photographic print Dimensions: 35 cm x 26 cm Date: c. 1908 Persistent URL: www.aaa.si.edu/collections/images/detail/robert-henri-2534 Repository: Archives of American Art Collection: 1913 Armory Show, 50th anniversary exhibition records, 1962-1963 Accession number: aaa_munswilp_4914
Robert Henri (1865 – 1929) was an American painter and teacher. He was a leading figure of the Ashcan School in art. For biographical notes on Henri see part 1. For earlier works by see parts 1-2 also. This is part 3 of 6-part post on the works of Robert Henri: 1910 Fisherman's Daughter oil on canvas 61.28 x 51.44 cm 1910 La Madrelenita oil on canvas 104.1 x 84.5 cm 1910 La Madrelenita oil on canvas 185.4 x 83.8 cm 1910 La Madrilenita oil on canvas 61 x 50.8 cm 1910 Laughing Girl oil on canvas 61.2 x 51.1 cm 1910 Morning Reflections oil on canvas 96.5 x 71.1 cm 1910 O in Black with Scarf oil on canvas 196.2 x 94 cm 1910 Portrait of Eulabee Dix ( Becker ) in Her Wedding Gown oil on canvas 212.1 x 109.2 cm 1910 Portrait of a Girl, Checkered Blouse oil on canvas 61.1 x 51.2 cm 1910 The Laughing Boy ( Jobie ) oil on canvas 61 x 50.8 cm 1910 The Red Top oil on canvas 61 x 50.8 cm 1910-12 For Arts' Sake pen and ink on paper c1910-19 The Green Coat oil on canvas 61 x 50.8 cm c1910s Nude Perched on Chair red chalk and crayon on paper 30.6 x 20.2 cm 1911 George Wesley Bellows oil on canvas 81 x 66 1911 Girl in Rose and Gray, Miss Carmel White oil on canvas 195.6 x 94 cm 1911 Lady in Black Velvet oil on canvas 195.9 x 93.8 cm 1911 Marine - Break over Sunken Rock, Storm Sea oil on panel 29.2 x 38.1 cm 1911 Marine - Storm Sea oil on canvas 28.6 x 38.1 cm 1911 Monhegan Island, Maine oil on board 29 x 38 cm 1911 Portrait of Dorothy Wagstaff oil on canvas 96.2 x 94.5 cm 1911 The Brown Wrap oil on canvas 81.3 x 66 cm 1911 The Masquerade Dress oil on canvas 194.3 x 92.1 cm 1912 Blind Singers oil on canvas 84.4 x 104.6 cm 1912 Blind Spanish Singer oil on canvas 104 x 84 cm 1912 La Montera, Segovia Girl in Fiesta Costume oil on canvas 81.5 x 66.3 cm 1912 La Mora oil on canvas 104.1 x 83.8 cm 1912 Segovian Girl oil on canvas 61 x 50.8 cm 1912 Segovian Girl, Half-Length oil on canvas 76 x 64 cm 1912 Spanish Girl of Segovia oil on canvas 104 x 84 cm 1912 Spanish Girl oil on canvas 81.3 x 66 cm 1912 The Green Fan ( Girl of Toledo, Spain ) oil on canvas 41 x 33 in 1912 The Spanish Gypsy oil on cardboard 103.5 x 83.8 cm 1913 A Village Boy oil on canvas 61 x 50.8 cm 1913 Catherine oil on canvas 61 x 51 cm 1913 Corrymore oil on canvas 51 x 61 cm 1913 Herself oil on canvas 81.3 x 66 cm 1913 Himself oil on canvas 81.9 x 66.4 cm 1913 Irish Girl ( Mary Lavelle ) oil on canvas 40.6 x 31.7 cm 1913 Irish Lad oil on panel 81.3 x 66 cm 1913 Irish Landscape oil on panel 33 x 40.6 cm 1913 Irish Lass oil on canvas 61 x 5.8 cm
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THE INTERNATIONALISM OF IMPRESSIONISM: Friends of Canadians Abroad Between the 1870s and the onset of the First World War most of Europe enjoyed a period marked with a relatively positive aura and peacefulness. This allowed people to focus their efforts on culture, art, literature, science, and technology compared to during the wartimes that flanked either end of this period. The Franco-Prussian War ended in 1871 and World War I broke out in 1914. At the end of the 19th century there was an explosion of interest in restaurants, theatres, cabarets, ballets and art. There were some who thought pessimistically about the extra-frivolity of society at this time, however the two great wars that ravished across Europe afterwards made the lifestyle of the Belle Époque seem enviable. The phrase the joy of living, often expressed in its original French as Joie de Vivre, has since been associated with this interwar period. Despite France’s loss in the Franco-Prussian War, its end was welcomed. A new middle and upper class, the bourgeoisie, began to enjoy life to its fullest. Paris was the epicentre of Belle Époque culture. Pierre Bonnard The Large Garden 1895(Musee d'Orsay) and Edouard Vuillard Repast in the Garden 1898 (National Gallery, Washington DC) Artists gravitated to the creative and joyful atmosphere of Paris. They also visited equally enjoyable surrounding areas of retreat, such as coastal towns in Normandy and Brittany, Barbizon, or closer haunts like Giverny, the Bois de Boulogne and the Forest at Fontainebleau. The Parisian atmosphere drew artists from all around the world to study at the origin of cutting edge art movements. This period in time spans movements and ideologies from the earliest en plein air artists of the Barbizon School, through impressionism, to many branches of post-impressionism. Thus, not only was the French atmosphere appealing to foreigners, they looked to the talented exceptional paintings being created by these new French schools. Artists from across the Commonwealth, Europe, Asia and America flocked to enjoy and learn in Paris and attend art schools. Some made only temporary visits to go to school, such as Emily Carr; others became expats of their countries, such as Canadian’s Blair Bruce and J.W. Morrice. Others returned for art-related visits and sketching trips over and over, such as Suzor-Cote, Clarence Gagnon, and Maurice Cullen. We have discussed the migration of Canadians to Europe in earlier blogs, especially to Paris in this period. So I will not go into more detail about their art again. However there seems an endless amount of topics to discuss from this fruitful period in the history of Canadian or European art history. In the last blog I talked about the International art community coming together in International biennials and fairs. Artists come together at various shows to interact, mingle, share artistic ideas, and make global friendships. Looking back to Belle Époque Paris, I felt that the way the worldwide art community gathers at fairs today to forge friendships correlates to the way in which artists from around the World gathered in Paris at the turn of the 20th century. This led me to ponder not about Canadians specifically, but who taught them, mentored them, befriended them, and made travel companions with them when they were in France. The International peers of Canadians in France are occasionally mentioned in passing in the literature, but I thought it might be interesting to gather imagery from many of the friend’s from other countries and look at their art together. What sort of art did their teachers do? What were friends painting side-by-side with our country’s cherished artists? The first wave of Canadians to travel to Paris included William Brymner, Robert Harris, Paul Peel, and William Blair Bruce. The latter two never returned to Canada, and both married Scandinavians. Brymner and Harris would both return home and go on to teach subsequent talents in Montreal and Toronto. They were advocates of further Parisian training for their gifted students. They all trained at the Academie Julian, where many foreign students were trained under great French artists, such as William Bouguereau. Bouguereau was an artist with unbelievable technicality and ability in capturing expressions in the moment. William Bouguereau Au Pied de la Falaise (Memphis Brooks Museum) and Les Noisettes (Detroit Institute of Arts) Blair Bruce joined a primarily American group of artists abroad that socialized together. Bruce first befriended Theodore Robinson and together they visited Barbizon. Along with these American expats he rented a barn at Giverny in the summer of 1887. Some of these friends included John Leslie Breck, Willard Metcalf, Henry Fitch Taylor, Theodore Wendel, and Louis Ritter. They were at Giverny whilst Claude Monet was there, and somewhat naturally they gravitated to his new style of painting. John Leslie Breck Field of Poppies 1889 Toulouse-Lautrec At the Moulin Rouge 1895 J.W. Morrice moved to Paris to study at the Academie Julian a few years after the first wave of Canadians discussed above. He blended into the art scene with ease. His art was highly regarded and he seemed to be accepted as ‘the real deal.’ He was mingling in Montmartre with the historical character Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, and got involved in the antagonist salons that were emerging to combat the stale and stagnant ways of the traditional academic salons. Morrice was involved in the first 1903 Salon d’ Automne, the Salon Nationale, and the related Societe Nationale. He engaged in these organizations with his very good Australian friend Charles Conder, and then-established French artists of the time: Jacques Emile Blanche, Charles Cottet, Lucien Simon, and Gaston La Touche. Charles Conder Hayfield, France 1894 Jacques Emile Blanche Tamara Karsavina for thr cover of Jugend Magazine Three works by Charles Cottet Douarnenez dimanche matin 1905 (Gallery Hermain), Evening light at the Port of Camaret 1892 and Lamentation des femmes de Camaret au tour de la Chapelle brulee de Rocamadour Gaston La Touche Pardon in Brittany 1896 (Art Institute of Chicago) and Maiden in Contemplation 1898 Beyond this, Morrice had expat companions who travelled around Europe with him. Morrice loved Venice, which is evident through his exceptional art of the time. However, it is also clear that his travel buddies loved it too; especially his American friend Maurice Prendergast. Prendergast produced some exquisite works while in Venice alongside Morrice. Morrice also went again with an American illustrator, Joseph Pennell. Three Venetian watercolours (1898-99) by Maurice Prendergast in the MFA Boston and the Addison Gallery of American Art, Massachusetts Joseph Pennell Towers of St. Martin, Tours circa 1899(Metropolitan Museum) He also spent time with American artists Robert Henri and Everett Shinn. His closest friends were the Irish artist, Roderick O’Connor, and the Australian, Charles Conder. To my delight, I learned that the Norwegian painter Fritz Thaulow was a sketching buddy of Morrice too. Thaulow and Morrice were both founding members of the Champs de Mars Salon. Thaulow had a studio in Dieppe as well. Morrice also went to Dieppe with the famous English artist Walter Sickert. Other English acquaintances of Morrice were Sir Gerald Kelly and W. Lee Hankey. A Robert Henri sketch Charles Conder Coogee Bay 1888 and Roderick O'Connor Farm at Lezaven 1894 Two French riverscapes and The Grand Canal Venice 1885 by Norwegian Fritz Thaulow Sir Gerald Kelly Beach at Etretat 1908 (Tate Gallery) W. Lee Hankey Morlaix, Brittany 1936 (sold at auction 2016) So much of the blog is devoted to Morrice’s friends because his life abroad is so well documented in G. Blair Laing’s biographical book about Morrice. But I will finish with a British Columbian favourite, Emily Carr. According to biographer Doris Shadbolt, when Carr went to Europe in 1910-1911 she went to see what all the fuss was about regarding the newly emerging abstract art but fell in love with post-impressionism. She ended her trip in Brittany, first at St. Efflam and then in Concarneau. Two important people influenced her art at this time and were dear friends of hers. She stayed with her British mentor Henry Phelan Gibb in St. Efflam first. She then spent six weeks in Concarneau with the New Zealand artist Frances Hodgkins. Henry Phelan Gibb Landscape 1907 (Towner Art Gallery) Frances Hodgkins At the Window (1912) There are so many more artists from Canada that travelled to Paris, and other parts of Europe (such as London and Antwerp for art school) that the blog could be a multi-biographical novel. For those who are interested in looking a bit more at the internationalism of impressionism, a great start is the monumental publication World Impressionism: The International Movement 1860-1920. I hope you enjoy looking at the paintings of Canadian companions and spotting the stylistic similarities and differences between them. BY: JILL TURNER
THE INTERNATIONALISM OF IMPRESSIONISM: Friends of Canadians Abroad Between the 1870s and the onset of the First World War most of Europe enjoyed a period marked with a relatively positive aura and peacefulness. This allowed people to focus their efforts on culture, art, literature, science, and technology compared to during the wartimes that flanked either end of this period. The Franco-Prussian War ended in 1871 and World War I broke out in 1914. At the end of the 19th century there was an explosion of interest in restaurants, theatres, cabarets, ballets and art. There were some who thought pessimistically about the extra-frivolity of society at this time, however the two great wars that ravished across Europe afterwards made the lifestyle of the Belle Époque seem enviable. The phrase the joy of living, often expressed in its original French as Joie de Vivre, has since been associated with this interwar period. Despite France’s loss in the Franco-Prussian War, its end was welcomed. A new middle and upper class, the bourgeoisie, began to enjoy life to its fullest. Paris was the epicentre of Belle Époque culture. Pierre Bonnard The Large Garden 1895(Musee d'Orsay) and Edouard Vuillard Repast in the Garden 1898 (National Gallery, Washington DC) Artists gravitated to the creative and joyful atmosphere of Paris. They also visited equally enjoyable surrounding areas of retreat, such as coastal towns in Normandy and Brittany, Barbizon, or closer haunts like Giverny, the Bois de Boulogne and the Forest at Fontainebleau. The Parisian atmosphere drew artists from all around the world to study at the origin of cutting edge art movements. This period in time spans movements and ideologies from the earliest en plein air artists of the Barbizon School, through impressionism, to many branches of post-impressionism. Thus, not only was the French atmosphere appealing to foreigners, they looked to the talented exceptional paintings being created by these new French schools. Artists from across the Commonwealth, Europe, Asia and America flocked to enjoy and learn in Paris and attend art schools. Some made only temporary visits to go to school, such as Emily Carr; others became expats of their countries, such as Canadian’s Blair Bruce and J.W. Morrice. Others returned for art-related visits and sketching trips over and over, such as Suzor-Cote, Clarence Gagnon, and Maurice Cullen. We have discussed the migration of Canadians to Europe in earlier blogs, especially to Paris in this period. So I will not go into more detail about their art again. However there seems an endless amount of topics to discuss from this fruitful period in the history of Canadian or European art history. In the last blog I talked about the International art community coming together in International biennials and fairs. Artists come together at various shows to interact, mingle, share artistic ideas, and make global friendships. Looking back to Belle Époque Paris, I felt that the way the worldwide art community gathers at fairs today to forge friendships correlates to the way in which artists from around the World gathered in Paris at the turn of the 20th century. This led me to ponder not about Canadians specifically, but who taught them, mentored them, befriended them, and made travel companions with them when they were in France. The International peers of Canadians in France are occasionally mentioned in passing in the literature, but I thought it might be interesting to gather imagery from many of the friend’s from other countries and look at their art together. What sort of art did their teachers do? What were friends painting side-by-side with our country’s cherished artists? The first wave of Canadians to travel to Paris included William Brymner, Robert Harris, Paul Peel, and William Blair Bruce. The latter two never returned to Canada, and both married Scandinavians. Brymner and Harris would both return home and go on to teach subsequent talents in Montreal and Toronto. They were advocates of further Parisian training for their gifted students. They all trained at the Academie Julian, where many foreign students were trained under great French artists, such as William Bouguereau. Bouguereau was an artist with unbelievable technicality and ability in capturing expressions in the moment. William Bouguereau Au Pied de la Falaise (Memphis Brooks Museum) and Les Noisettes (Detroit Institute of Arts) Blair Bruce joined a primarily American group of artists abroad that socialized together. Bruce first befriended Theodore Robinson and together they visited Barbizon. Along with these American expats he rented a barn at Giverny in the summer of 1887. Some of these friends included John Leslie Breck, Willard Metcalf, Henry Fitch Taylor, Theodore Wendel, and Louis Ritter. They were at Giverny whilst Claude Monet was there, and somewhat naturally they gravitated to his new style of painting. John Leslie Breck Field of Poppies 1889 Toulouse-Lautrec At the Moulin Rouge 1895 J.W. Morrice moved to Paris to study at the Academie Julian a few years after the first wave of Canadians discussed above. He blended into the art scene with ease. His art was highly regarded and he seemed to be accepted as ‘the real deal.’ He was mingling in Montmartre with the historical character Henri de Toulouse-Lautrec, and got involved in the antagonist salons that were emerging to combat the stale and stagnant ways of the traditional academic salons. Morrice was involved in the first 1903 Salon d’ Automne, the Salon Nationale, and the related Societe Nationale. He engaged in these organizations with his very good Australian friend Charles Conder, and then-established French artists of the time: Jacques Emile Blanche, Charles Cottet, Lucien Simon, and Gaston La Touche. Charles Conder Hayfield, France 1894 Jacques Emile Blanche Tamara Karsavina for thr cover of Jugend Magazine Three works by Charles Cottet Douarnenez dimanche matin 1905 (Gallery Hermain), Evening light at the Port of Camaret 1892 and Lamentation des femmes de Camaret au tour de la Chapelle brulee de Rocamadour Gaston La Touche Pardon in Brittany 1896 (Art Institute of Chicago) and Maiden in Contemplation 1898 Beyond this, Morrice had expat companions who travelled around Europe with him. Morrice loved Venice, which is evident through his exceptional art of the time. However, it is also clear that his travel buddies loved it too; especially his American friend Maurice Prendergast. Prendergast produced some exquisite works while in Venice alongside Morrice. Morrice also went again with an American illustrator, Joseph Pennell. Three Venetian watercolours (1898-99) by Maurice Prendergast in the MFA Boston and the Addison Gallery of American Art, Massachusetts Joseph Pennell Towers of St. Martin, Tours circa 1899(Metropolitan Museum) He also spent time with American artists Robert Henri and Everett Shinn. His closest friends were the Irish artist, Roderick O’Connor, and the Australian, Charles Conder. To my delight, I learned that the Norwegian painter Fritz Thaulow was a sketching buddy of Morrice too. Thaulow and Morrice were both founding members of the Champs de Mars Salon. Thaulow had a studio in Dieppe as well. Morrice also went to Dieppe with the famous English artist Walter Sickert. Other English acquaintances of Morrice were Sir Gerald Kelly and W. Lee Hankey. A Robert Henri sketch Charles Conder Coogee Bay 1888 and Roderick O'Connor Farm at Lezaven 1894 Two French riverscapes and The Grand Canal Venice 1885 by Norwegian Fritz Thaulow Sir Gerald Kelly Beach at Etretat 1908 (Tate Gallery) W. Lee Hankey Morlaix, Brittany 1936 (sold at auction 2016) So much of the blog is devoted to Morrice’s friends because his life abroad is so well documented in G. Blair Laing’s biographical book about Morrice. But I will finish with a British Columbian favourite, Emily Carr. According to biographer Doris Shadbolt, when Carr went to Europe in 1910-1911 she went to see what all the fuss was about regarding the newly emerging abstract art but fell in love with post-impressionism. She ended her trip in Brittany, first at St. Efflam and then in Concarneau. Two important people influenced her art at this time and were dear friends of hers. She stayed with her British mentor Henry Phelan Gibb in St. Efflam first. She then spent six weeks in Concarneau with the New Zealand artist Frances Hodgkins. Henry Phelan Gibb Landscape 1907 (Towner Art Gallery) Frances Hodgkins At the Window (1912) There are so many more artists from Canada that travelled to Paris, and other parts of Europe (such as London and Antwerp for art school) that the blog could be a multi-biographical novel. For those who are interested in looking a bit more at the internationalism of impressionism, a great start is the monumental publication World Impressionism: The International Movement 1860-1920. I hope you enjoy looking at the paintings of Canadian companions and spotting the stylistic similarities and differences between them. BY: JILL TURNER
Robert Doisneau - Fondation Henri Cartier-Bresson
