William Hart – Scottish-born American landscape and cattle painter

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September 13, 2011

Another founder of the American Watercolor Society, who went on to become it’s president between 1870 and 1873, was William Hart.

Hart was born in Scotland in 1823 but was taken with his younger brother, James (who also became an artist) to America by their parents in 1830.  Hart began his career as a carriage and ornamental painter in Troy, New York,  and his first artistic experience was in decorating the panels of coaches with landscapes.  He also spent time travelling throughout Michigan as a portrait artist before returning to Scotland to study.

By the time he returned to America, Hart had shifted his energy to landscape painting. In 1848, he exhibited his first work at the National Academy of Design where he became an associate member in 1855 and a full member in 1858. In fact he continued to show his paintings there regularly through the mid 1870s.  He also exhibited at the Brooklyn Art Association and at major exhibitions around the country.

Like most of the major American landscape artists of the time, Hart settled in New York City, where he kept a studio, working out of the 10th Street Studio Building from 1859 to 1870.  His mature landscape style embraced the mannerism of the late Hudson River School by emphasizing light and atmosphere and he became particularly adept at depicting angled sunlight and foreground shadow.

 

However, as strong as Hart’s technical abilities were, he was also known for his prolific and occasionally formulaic paintings of cows. Cattle were a popular motif in Hudson River School art, and nearly every artist included them in at least some of their landscapes but some artists, including William and his brother made a speciality of cow portraits. These paintings, which were very popular with late-19th-century American collectors, typically featured several cattle grazing or watering in the foreground or middle distance with the landscape playing a supporting role.

Hart died at Mount Vernon, New York in 1894 but a collection of over 400 sketches, water colors, and sketch books which were retained en masse from the artist’s studio after his death are now held at the Albany Institute of History & Art.

Categories: American Artists, Watercolour Facts, Watercolour Societies.

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Founder of the American Watercolor Society – Samuel Colman

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September 7, 2011

As highlighted in our last post, Samuel Colman was one of the founders of the American Watercolor Society and became it’s first president between 1867 and 1871.

Colman was born in Portland, Maine in 1832  and moved to New York City with his family as a child where his father opened a bookstore.  It is thought that the literate clientele that the bookshop attracted is one of the main reasons Colman developed his artistic talent.

He is believed to have studied briefly under the Hudson River school painter, Asher Durand, and he exhibited his first work at the National Academy of Design in 1850.  By 1854 he had opened his own New York City studio, and the following year he was elected an associate member of the National Academy, with full membership bestowed to him in 1862.

'Storm King on the Hudson'

His landscape paintings in the 1850s and 1860s were heavily influenced by the Hudson River school – a mid-19th century American art movement embodied by a group of landscape painters whose work mainly depicted the Hudson River Valley and the surrounding area.  Colman is himself probably probably best remembered for his paintings of the Hudson River and one of his best-known works is his ‘Storm King on the Hudson’ (1866), now in the collection of the Smithsonian American Art Musuem in Washington, DC.

However Colman was also a keen traveller, and many of his works depict scenes from foreign cities and ports. He made his first trip abroad to France and Spain in 1860-61, and returned for a more extensive four-year European tour in the early 1870s in which he spent much time in Mediterranean locales. Colman often depicted the architectural features he encountered on his travels such as cityscapes, castles, bridges, arches, and aqueducts.

Colman’s artistic activities became more diverse late in life.  He became skilled at the medium of etching and published popular etchings depicting European scenes.  By the 1880s he worked extensively as an interior designer, collaborating with his friend, Louis Comfort Tiffany.   He also became a major collector of decorative Asian objects, and wrote two books on geometry and art.

Colman died in New York City on 26 March 1920.

Categories: American Artists, Watercolour Facts, Watercolour Societies.

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The History of the American Watercolor Society

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August 22, 2011

The American Watercolor Society (originally known as the American Society of Painters in Water Colors) is a nonprofit membership organisation devoted to the advancement of watercolor painting in the United States.

The organisation was founded in 1866 by a group of eleven artists who met in Gilbert Burling’s studio in the New York University Building and their purpose was singular – to promote the art of watercolor painting in America. Obviously, this was intended as a way of combating the feeling of many artists, as well as non-artists, who viewed watercolor only as a sketching medium.

Minutes of First Meeting - December 5 1866

Among those present were Samuel Colman, who was elected as the Society’s first president, William Hart, William Craig, and Gilbert Burling and one of their first actions was to plan an exhibition, which was held at The National Academy in conjunction with the Academy’s own winter exhibition of 1867-68.  The relatively young society profited hugely from the endorsement of the highly respected National Academy and it was the first truly watercolor exhibition in America. It opened on December 21, 1867, and remained open to the public for three months.

 

Requirements for membership to the Society were rigid, although the number of painters in watercolor was still relatively small. The Society wished to keep the quality of it’s membership high, but many top painters hesitated to join, because women had been allowed membership.

When William Hart, NA, became president of the Society in 1870 there were two categories of membership. They consisted of artists who lived within the city, called “Active Members,” and any others were known as “Associate Members.” This second category consisted of artists not residing in the city, and amateurs i.e. anyone whose major source of income was not based upon sales of their art work. This meant that non-resident artists were in the same category as amateurs. It is possible that this categorisation was based upon the prejudice that anyone living outside New York City could not possibly be as fine an artist as one residing within the city limits.

 

Categories: American Artists, Watercolour Facts, Watercolour Societies.

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John Varley – Watercolourist & Drawing Master

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July 20, 2011

In a few of our previous posts, we have made mention to John Varley in his capacity as an art teacher and the influence he undoubtedly had on his pupils, such as David Cox and Peter De Wint, so we thought it appropriate to learn a little more about this celebrated teacher who was also an excellent watercolourist in his own right.

John Varley was born in Hackney, London on 17 August 1778. His father, Richard Varley, had settled in London after the death of his first wife. For a brief time John Varley was employed by a portrait painter and then, at the age of 15 or 16, he attended an evening drawing school twice a week in Holborn, London run by Joseph Charles Barrow.  It was Barrow who took Varley on his first sketching tour to Peterborough from which he was to emerge as a professional painter.

Throughout his career he worked primarily in watercolour and was particularly skilled at the laying of flat washes of watercolour which suited the placid, contemplative mood that he often sought to evoke.

In 1798 he exhibited a highly regarded sketch of Peterborough Cathedral at the Royal Academy and became a regular exhibitor at the RA until the foundation of the Old Watercolour Society in 1805 (see previous article ‘History of the Royal Watercolour Society’).

As one of the founders of the OWS Varley exhibited many pieces there, over 700 drawings in total.  In between sketching expeditions to Wales and Yorkshire, he executed topographical views of towns, particularly of half-timbered buildings in Hereford, Leominster, Conway and Chester, drawn in the picturesque idiom of the late 18th century.

As previously mentioned, he also became a highly successful drawing master with pupils including David Cox, Copley Fielding and John Linnell but despite his success he was constantly in financial difficulties.

He died in London on 17 November 1842, aged 64.

 

 

Categories: English Artists, European Artists, Watercolour Societies.

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Peter De Wint – English Landscape painter

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July 3, 2011

In our previous posts detailing the history of the Royal Watercolour Society and the Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolours, we referred to some of the founder members of these Societies and in our next few articles, we will provide further background to some of these artists.

First up is Peter De Wint who is probably one of the most important figures in the history of the watercolour medium.  His work today is still represented in major public and private collections throughout the world and is one of the most popular and sought after of all the British Romantic watercolourists.

De Wint was born on 21 January 1784 in Stone, Staffordshire and was the son of an English physician of Dutch extraction.  In 1802 he was apprenticed to the engraver and portrait painter, John Raphael Smith and in 1806 in visited Lincoln for the first time where he met his future wife, Harriet Hilton as well as John Varley, the celebrated teacher and Dr Thomas Monro, who ran an informal academy for young artists.  Both Varley and Munro were major influences on the development of De Wint’s style.

De Wint first exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1807, and in 1809 he entered the Royal Academy schools. He was elected an Associate of the Old Watercolour Society in 1810 and was made a full member the following year. By that time, he had also built a very successful practice as a teacher and each summer would be spent teaching at the home of one of his patrons.

In 1812 he became a member of the Society of Painters in Watercolours, where he exhibited largely for many years, as well as at the Academy.

He frequently visited his wife’s home city of Lincoln, and many of his panoramic landscapes and haymaking scenes are set in Lincolnshire. He occasionally toured in Wales, and in 1828 travelled to Normandy.

He died in London on 30 January 1849.

De Wint’s life was devoted to art and he is quoted by his wife as often saying ” I do so love painting.  I am never so happy as when looking at nature.  Mine is a beautiful profession.”

 


Categories: European Artists, Watercolour Societies.

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Royal Watercolour Society – Forthcoming Exhibitions

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June 17, 2011

One of the key aims of the Royal Watercolour Society is to make the work of their members available to the general public and they achieve this by holding a number of exhibitions throughout the year, both solo exhibitions of individual artists but also exhibitions where all their members can display their latest work.

The two main Royal Watercolour Society exhibitions are held twice a year, in the spring and autumn at their home at the Bankside Gallery but they have two special exhibitions coming up this summer.

A Year in the Life of the Royal Albert Hall

This successful exhibition, which has been on show at the Royal Albert Hall (see our previous post dated May 1 for more details) is coming to the Bankside Gallery.  ’A Year in the Life of the Royal Albert Hall’ is the culmination of a partnership between the Royal Watercolour Society and the Royal Albert Hall and sees the ‘coming-together’ of these two Royal institutions, where for the first time, Members of the Royal Watercolour Society have been given access to the iconic building in order to capture the events which took place at this working venue over the period of one year, from on stage performances to behind the scenes.

The exhibition takes place at the Bankside Gallery from 28th June to 3rd July 2011.

High Watermark II

After 182 years of rivalry, the Royal Watercolour Society (RWS) and the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours (RI), who we have also previously featured on this site, will be temporarily joining forces for the second time, as they present an exhibition of paintings by both Societies’ Members under the same roof!

The biennial combined RWS/RI exhibition is rapidly becoming a must see event which showcases the best of contemporary watercolour painting by members of the two major Royal watercolour societies.  The exhibition begins at Bankside Gallery and concludes at the Mall Galleries (see below for schedule of dates).

Bankside Gallery – 8th to 24th July 2011
Mall Galleries – 16th to 20th August 2011

Royal Watercolour Society Autumn Exhibition

A bit of prior notice but this year’s Autumn exhibition by the Royal Watercolour Society will take place between 7th October and 5th November 2011 where you will be able to see it’s Members latest vibrant pieces.

Categories: European Artists, Exhibitions, Watercolour Societies.

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Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolours

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June 8, 2011

In our last post, we provided you with a brief history of the Royal Watercolour Society (RWS), and we made reference to another society calling themselves the New Society of Painters in Water Colours, who would go on to become the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours (RI).

Like the RWS, the Royal Institute of Painters in Water Colours is one of the oldest societies of professional watercolour painters and both societies were started at a time when the Royal Academy was refusing to accept watercolours as a suitable medium for serious artistic expression, despite its use by many highly regarded painters.

The RI was inaugurated in 1807 as an alternative to the RWS, who only exhibited the work of its own members. From the start the RI showed the work of non-members’ alongside that of members and their exhibitions attracted some of the foremost watercolourists of the time including David Cox, Peter De Wint, William Blake, Samuel Prout, Paul Sandby and Joseph Powell.  Financial problems caused them to fold in 1812 but in 1831, Joseph Powell, with several like minded artists, resurrected the New Society of Painters in Water Colours but unfortunately they decided to abandon the policy of exhibiting together both non-members and member’s work thus losing a vital component of the difference between themselves and the RWS.

In 1863 the New Society became the Institute of Painters in Water Colours and two years later a new group of watercolour painters was inaugurated, known as the Dudley, whose exhibitions were open to all-comers thereby filling the gap left when the New Society closed their doors to outsiders.  In 1883 the Institute and the Dudley joined forces and this amalgamation saw a significant change in the Institute’s  exhibition policy, and after many years of exhibitions limited to the work of members only, the RI once again opened their doors to all comers, a policy still followed today.  It was in 1885, by command of Queen Victoria, that the Institute was able to add the prefix ‘Royal’ to its title.

 

 

Categories: European Artists, Exhibitions, Watercolour Facts, Watercolour Societies.

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History of the Royal Watercolour Society

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May 30, 2011

Bankside Gallery - Home of the 'RWS'

In one of our previous posts entitled ‘Royal Watercolour Society Exhibition – A Year in the Life of the Royal Albert Hall’ we touched on the work of the Royal Watercolour Society and we thought it would be a good idea to give you a bit more history on the world’s oldest watercolour society.

Founded in 1804, essentially the Royal Watercolour Society originated as a protest group of watercolour artists who felt they were being poorly represented by the Royal Academy and were dissatisfied by the way in which their watercolour pictures were hung disadvantageously amongst the oil paintings. Also, the Royal Academy would not elect as their president an artist who painted only in watercolour.

This renegade group of artists therefore decided to form their own society for watercolours only and hence the Watercolour Society was born.

Another society calling itself the ‘New Society of Painters in Miniature and Watercolour’ was set up a couple of years later, and from this time the original group was called the ‘Old’ Watercolour Society, however later on they were given permission by Queen Victoria to use ‘Royal’ in their title, hence the name today ‘The Royal Watercolour Society’.

Founder members included John Varley, Joshua Cristall and George Barratt who were painters of landscape mostly in the Old Master tradition. Within a few years, David Cox, Peter de Wint and Copley Fielding joined the Society, bringing much needed vitality. As time went on artists such as William Hunt, Miles Birkett Foster, JF Lewis and Samuel Palmer also became members, and the society flourished.  There was no coherent ‘RWS style’ and it was not a school of painting in the sense of the French or Italian schools.

Instead it was simply a society that many of the finest painters in watercolour of the time wanted to join, whose only relation to each other artistically was the fact that they had elected each other to membership.  This tradition of electing members remains in place today and new members are elected by the current Membership of the Society based on the quality of their work alone.

Categories: European Artists, Exhibitions, Watercolour Facts, Watercolour Societies.

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