Fitz Henry Lane and the Sea

The artist I have chosen to write about today is Fitz Henry Lane. This artist is not a new artist but recently discovered by me. I discovered Lane while reading a guidebook on masterworks of American Art.






Fitz Henry Lane lived from 1804 – 1865. Fitz Henry Lane was known as Fitz Hugh Lane for several years. There was an error in recording his name was discovered recently. Lane was a self-taught American artist. He was a printmaker and marine painter. He worked as an apprentice at a Boston Lithographic firm.



After working in Boston for a short while where he established himself as a printmaker, he returned later to Gloucester where he was born. Lane spent most of his life in Gloucester, Massachusetts. He entered many exhibitions and was commissioned to do seascapes and ship portraits.



Lane produced many beautiful marine paintings during his life time. Some believe the reason his paintings were so popular was because of his great sense of light and his attention to detail. His paintings reside at several major museums including the Timken Museum of Art in San Diego as well as the Boston Museum of Art.

Discovering Joshua Johnston

 

I have added Joshua Johnston to my list of newly discovered artist.   Joshua Johnson is known as America’s first recognized free African American visual artist.  He was born in the West Indies about 1765 and received his freedom in 1790.

Johnston focused on portrait painting to wealthy plantation owners.  The aristocratic landowners and merchants in Maryland and Virginia during this time desired their portraits to reflect their English heritage.   His work has been compared to Charles Wilson Peale.  Johnston’s work clearly showed to popular eighteenth-century British styles. 

Joshua Johnston’s paintings from the early days have survived over the years.  Johnston painted portraits until his death in 1830.   There are more than 80 paintings by Johnston exists today  in private collections or museums and galleries.

Discovering Cornelia Kuemmel

The newly discovered artist I am writing about today is Cornelia Kuemmel. While Ms. Kuemmel is not a new artist I have just been made aware of her paintings. Cornelia Kuemmel was born in 1863 in a small town in Missouri.  She took art lessons at Pritchett Institute in Glasgow, Missouri.  She taught art from 1883 to 1891 at Pritchett Institute.   She attended Washington University School of Fine Art in St. Louis in 1891 to 1895.  Cornelia Kuemmel died in 1938.

Cornelia Kummel was inspired by literature, fashion and nature.  One of my favorite paintings by the artist is Pandora’s Box.  Her oil paintings reflected the outdoors.  She loved the woods and his and she created many nature scenes of using vibrant colors.  Kuemmel’s paintings have been exhibited in several museums and galleries.

Although not very well known, Cornelia Kuemmel’s paintings that are available to view today provide us with beautiful scenes of natural settings of a Midwestern life and the people that lived during her time.

Versatile Daria Dorosh

The newly discovered artist today is Ukraine born artist, Daria Dorosh. This artist was discovered while looking at an exhibition catalog displaying digital prints and ceramic constructions.  Like other artists I have written about recently, Dorosh is not a new artist but her work is new to me.  Daria Dorosh has called an artist, educator and activist.

Daria Dorosh lives and works in New York City.  She studied at the Cooper Union School of Art and Architecture and the Institute of Technology. She has held many exhibitions and is a professor at the Fashion Institute of Technology in New York.  Dorosh was a co-founder of A.I.R. gallery, the first professional gallery in the country to show work of women artist.

What is most interesting about this artist is that she has produced a variety of work.  Dorosh uses a variety of materials.  I believe her photo-based work is her most successful.  Dorosh used digital prints to capture history as well as certain memories.

Discovering Bill Jensen

I recently discovered the artist Bill Jensen. Although Jensen is probably known to many, I first had the opportunity to few some of his work while browsing though an old magazine. Bill Jensen is an abstract painter and has combined the Western abstract style with an Asian esthetic. He was born in Minneapolis, Minnesota in 1945.




After completing school Jenson moved to New York where he found success with his abstract paintings. His abstract paintings often contrasted light colors with dark and included bold images throughout the 1980’s Jenson was part of the Five Painters of New York. His work was widely exhibited and he received the National Endowment for the Arts Fellowship.



One interesting point about Jensen’s paintings is that he makes how own paint. This enables him to use a broad spectrum of colors and deep saturation. A painting that I find interesting is Kuroscuro I. This oil on linen painting was created 1999 – 2001. This painting is a classic example of Jenson’s unusual abstract style.



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Discovering Carleton E. Watkins

My newly discovered artist today is 19^th century photographer, Carleton E. Watkins. Watkins was born in 1829 in upstate New York.  He eventually moved to California to live in the 1860’s. There he fell in love with the western landscape.

Carleton E. Watkins is most known for his conservatory work of Yosemite Valley in California and his contribution to the establishment of National Parks.  Watkins specialized in landscape photography and often experimented in the early years of photography with new equipment.

According to many accounts, during Watkins’ lifetime he experienced a small amount of success as a photographer.  He lost his studio in the San Francisco earth quake and was poor when he died in 1926.   In recent years a photograph among an album of 51 prints, entitled Photographs of the Columbia River and Oregon, was sold an auction for $100,000.  At that time, it was the most expensive property sold at an auction. 

Willard L. Metcalf - Pioneer

Willard L. Metcalf is another newly discovered artist. Although this artist is not well known, he has been credited with being a pioneer of Impressionism.  He specialized in landscape painting.  Metcalf worked with oils, pastels and watercolors.

Metcalf was born in Lowell, Massachusetts in 1858.  He studied art in Boston and spent a great deal of time working with landscapes.   He studied in France and was influenced by Monet.  While in France, Metcalf learned to paint en plein air. After returning to America, Willard Metcalf he began merging his old with his new influences.  This resulted in what some believe is the most important framework for American Impressionism.

Metcalf’s New England landscapes are considered to be his best work.  Although I admire many of his New England landscapes, my favorite painting by Metcalf is Indian Summer, Vermont.  This oil on canvas was created in 1922 and resides at the Dallas Museum of Art.    I love the brilliant use of color and brushwork.

Willard L. Metcalf’s paintings are often exhibited in galleries. Like many great artist, his work seems to be timeless.

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