Rl Digitized by the Internet Archive in 2015 https://archive.org/details/artartistsinconnOOfren_0 COL. JOHN TRUMBULL. FROM THE MARBLE BUST IN THE YALE ART GALLERY. The Pioneers of Art in America. ART AND ARTISTS IN CONNECTICUT. BOSTON : LEE AND SHEPARD, PUBLISHERS. NEW YORK: CHARLES T. DILLINGHAM. 1879. BY H. W. FRENCH. Copyright, 1878, H. W. FRENCH. ©etitcatioti. There is a custom, a very good and appropriate custom, of honoring heroes with laudations of one kind or another, that shall to some extent indicate their noble deeds. Certain considerations entitle Connecticut to the position of a heroine among her sister States. As such this tribute is offered, in the belief that a record of her art-life will be to her glory; and is respectfully dedicated to the people of the State. INTRODUCTION. ^HE history of the fine arts in a single State, at first thought, would appear either JL thoroughly insignificant, or so closely alhed to the art-life of other States as to be of no interest if isolated and prepared without reference to those others. Never- theless, the more careful the study bestowed upon the subject, the more evident it will become that there may be exceptions. One intimate with the history of the fine arts in Connecticut will be readily convinced that this State presents, to the lover of art, a romance richly meriting an individual chronicle. The subject is one which has been much neglected throughout the States, even by those who derive the most benefit and pleasure from the productions of art. This lack of interest is due in great part to ignorance and prejudice, which the good public will gladly do away with if it may be made apparent, together with a means of relief. We take a national pride in the perfection of that which comes in competi- tion with the productions of Europe. Strangely, in the arts of painting and sculp- ture, that most of all display the direct power of man's mind and hand, there is less interest and enthusiasm on the part of the pubhc than in any other production. Doubtless art depends upon justice for success. But the pubhc is not always just. Not that it is in the heart of man to abuse willingly, but that unintentionally many hinderances are placed in the way of art-progress, and much injustice done. The most comprehensive view of a landscape, a day, or a lifetime, is a retrospective view. If the signs of the times be true, that the love of art is waxing strong in the States, a glance backward, before too many steps are taken, may be of great value in secur- ing a progress which shall be warned by the failures of the past, advised by the experi- ments, encouraged and directed by the successes. We can more easily recognize and denounce injustice and prejudice when we see them in history than when they become a part of daily life and common custom. Cause and effect are then more clearly defined in their relationship. Just now is a time of unusual enthusiasm, a season of art-revival, such as in former days preluded the advent of men hke Apelles and Angelo. There will be grand results in the United States outgrowing from this ; and that State to set herself most systematically and emphatically to the task of taking the tide at its full flood will be the first to be led on to fortune. V vi Introduction, A local history of art, which, as in the case of Connecticut, covers but little over a century, cannot well be more or less than a biographical record of artists who have borne their part. Upon this conclusion such sketches have been carefully prepared. A few important facts are culled from former pubhcations ; but it has been possible to gather many personal recollections concerning almost every artist, and the greater part of each history given hereafter will be formed from entirely new matter. Every living artist has been consulted^ either personally or by letter ; the former being the case with a very large majority. If any thing in the coming papers shall prove of value, it is due to the fact that hardly an artist who has been consulted has expressed an unwillingness to assist in the preparation of the work j and, without exception, those whose names do most honor the history of art in Connecticut have been in equal ratio most ready to facihtate the collection of information. In a great variety of ways, from the abundant resources thrown open by artists and their friends, the facts, criticisms, and details have been obtained. To make a complete history of the art, it has appeared that others than simply natives of the State should be included, — such, for instance, as, having identified themselves with the State, either by long residence, by holding important positions as instructors in art, or by having produced in the State pictures of pre-eminent merit, have obviously imparted an important influence. While, among the practitioners in the arts of design, architects and engravers are as justly included as sculptors and painters, the large number of the latter two must exclude for the present the former : although, of the former, engravers do most emphatically belong to Connecticut ; for in the history they form such an important part, that, instead of neglect, they demand especial and individual attention. This they shall receive in a more appropriate manner hereafter. For the present, painters and sculptors alone form the topic of investigation. Among other difficulties, a great one has appeared in the absolute impossibility of grading the detailed accounts in any degree in accordance with the merits of the subjects in hand. The sketches must vary in length simply as matter of interest has been obtained bearing no relation whatever to the position of the artist in the art. In this connection it is most seriously regretted that throughout the State many ladies, undeniably superior artists, with knowledge, talent, and possibilities rarely combined, have insisted upon holding themselves aloof from art as a profession, embracing it in the studio, rebuking it in the street. That the right to chronicle their achievements is thus withheld is unfortunate. That the influence, inspiration, and enthusiasm with which proficient and intelligent ladies, in large force, might surround the art-life of the State, are refused, is more than unfortunate. It is a grave question, whether the ability of the artist, having been bestowed, is rightfully wrapped in a napkin, locked up in a private studio for the sole pleasure and benefit of a circle of friends. Those who can do the most for art are eminently those who have not the grinding necessity for bread as the principal pigment upon every palette. Yet those who can, free-handed, labor for glory, are oftener those who shrink into seclu- sion, letting the art go its way, reliant upon others less able, more willing, lor support, Introduction. vu so long as they receive the marvellous recreation and enchantment in its rare society. There is also a certain restraint naturally placed on any endeavor to speak plainly of the living. Nevertheless^ there being no incentive or desire either to flatter or defame the living or the dead, it must be suflicient explanation to state that those of the present will be regarded precisely as those of the past, and what is said be said with no more consideration that it will ever be read by the subject of the bio- graphy than if the last item of the record were taken from an inscription on a marble slab. A timely suggestion is contained in Whittier's lines : — " Of all sad words of tongue or pen, The saddest are these, ' It might have been.' " This thought is often, one might almost say always, present in one shape or another with the artist of sufficient merit to understand his own faults, and is with much truth attributed in some way to the lack of public sympathy. In view of this oftener just than unjust charge, it is but common charity that we base our estimates, especially in the case of artists who are dead, upon their excellences rather than their deficiencies. Such excellences it will - be the aim of these papers to detect, avoiding more than a mention of weaker points. The chief desire will be, neither to criticise, nor to fix any estimate of individual or comparative ability, but, in presenting all facts of interest that can be gathered concerning the art-Hfe of each devotee, to trust to the principle, that acquainting the public with the man may assist in the forming of individual criticisms and estimates that shall be of value not only for the past, but in the future. Therefore these papers, taking up the artist only as a part of art, shall make no pretensions whatsoever to any thing more. Nor shall the popular comparisons be instituted between the work of Connecticut artists and that of Euro- pean masters, either contemporary artists or of ages past, or with the work of other American artists. Such comparisons are entertaining ; when favorable, flattering ; when unfavorable, energizing, perhaps. But, on the whole, they are irrelevant ; and as, with possibly one branch excepted, the highest praise bestowable upon American art is that it approximates the work of certain old masters, jealousy tempts the subject into silence, while other methods are tested to raise the standard of art in our own dear land, till that time shall come, of which the hopeful prophets already detect betokenings, when America may beckon Europe, old masters and new, into realms unexplored by them, and an originality that shall be theirs to copy instead of ours to equal. The facts presented shall be only those concerning the artists as artists of Connecticut, and of which no known doubt exists. The pride and patriotism of the people of Connecticut must be depended upon, who, knowing the artist, or of him, and having seen his work, or at least being able to see it for themselves, shall appre- ciate a closer view of the homespun web that surrounds him ; and who, knowing him better, and his work better, shall perchance love him more, and prize his work with a more profitable appreciation. If this end be reached, a great success wifl have been gained. There are several important galleries of art in the State, of both public and pri- 0" viii Introduction. vate collection. It was an original intention to include a detailed account of them ; but the fact that most of the important pictures, not of foreign origin, embraced by them, will appear in the course of the biographies, urges the abandonment of the idea. Brief historical sketches of the two best known collections, in the Yale Art Building and the Wadsworth Athenaeum, will be alone inserted. CONTENTS. MISCELLANEOUS. PAGE Introduction . v Preamble i Outline of the Growth of Art 4 History of the Yale Art Gallery 7 History of the Wadsworth Art Gallery 9 History of the Art-Schools of Connecticut ii Water-Color Painting i6 Education in Art i8 The True Artist and his Work . 23 FEMALE ARTISTS. Bidwell, Miss Mary W. . . . ^ 165 BiDWELL, Mrs. A. H. . . . . . 166 Catlin, Miss Flora . . .167 Gilbert, Miss Sarah B 167 Griswold, Miss Carrie 167 Hall, Miss Anne 167 Jerome, Mrs. E. G 169 Johnson, Mrs. M. A 169 Lanman, Miss A. T. 170 Leffingwell, Miss Sarah 170 Loop, Mrs. H. A. . . . 170 Marsh, Miss A. E 171 McLean, Miss C. E. 171 Parmely, Miss Irene E. 171 PoMEROY, Miss Ellen M. . 171 Porter, Mrs. S. C 172 Pierson, Mrs. L. J. 173 ix X Contents. PACK Smith, Misses S. J. and E. L 173 Stocking, Mrs. L. Lyman 174 Tiffany, Miss M. A 174 Ward, the Misses 174 Warner, Mrs. L. G 175 Washburn, Mrs., and Mrs. Badge 175 Watson, Miss Minnie 17^ Weston, Mrs. Mary 17^ Wood, Miss E 176 PAINTERS AND SCULPTORS. Akers, Benjamin {Sculptor) . 125 Akers, Charles {Sculptor) 146 Alexander, Francis 62 Augur, Hezekiah {Sculptor) 47 Baker, George A 109 Baldwin, George 162 Bartholomew, E. S. {Sculptor) 112 Bartlett, T. H. {Sculptor) 145 Bellows, Albert F 138 Benson, Eugene c 149 Blackburn, J. B 29 Bottume, G. F 136 Brandegee, R. B 158 Bristol, J. B .127 Brownell, C. D. W 118 Bryant, Henry 79 Bunce, William Gedney 148 Burleigh, C. C, Jun 157 BuscH, Julius T no Candee, G. E 146 Cardelli, Georgio 49 Catlin, George 54 Cheney, Seth W 75 Church, F. E 127 CoE, Benjamin H 61 Cole, Thomas 63 Coles, John 43 CoLYER, Vincent 123 CoNRADS, Carl 162 Contents, xi PAGE Crocker, J. Denison 121 cummings, t. s 67 Curtis, Calvin 120 CusHMAN, George H. . 85 Danforth, M. I. . . 65 Dickinson, Anson 44 Dickinson, Daniel 56 DuNLAP, William 36 DuRRiE, George H. 108 Durrie, John 102 Earl, Ralph 31 Eldridge, C. W. 78 Elliot, Benjamin F 141 Elliott, C. Loring . 81 Ellsworth 72 Emmons, A. H. .90 Fairchild, Louis . . . . 66 Fairman, Col. Gideon . . .39 Fanning, Solomon 72 Fisher, Alvin . 54 Fitch, John L. . 145 Flagg, Henry C .81 Flagg, George W 91 Flagg, Jared B 106 Flagg, Montague 155 Flagg, C. Noel 159 Francis, George 46 Freeman, George 46 Gilbert, George A. ... . . . . . 88 God Bacchus 39 Hart, Alfred . , . .88 Hart, James M 137 Hekking 162 Hennessy, W. J 163 Hewins, Philip 71 Hicks, Thomas 121 Hine, Charles 135 Hinsdale, Richard 125 xii Contents. PAGE Holt, Samuel 66 HOTCHKISS, MiLO 66 HoTCHKiss, Wales . . . • 134 Hubbard, R. W '95 Huntington, Daniel o . 89 IsHAM, Ralph 109 Ives, Chauncey B. {Sculptor) 82 Jameson, J. S 152 Jewett, F. S 103 Jewett, William ^6 Jocelyn, Nathaniel ^6 Johnson, H. C 123 Jones, S. K 123 Kohner, William ^0 Kensett, John F Kessler, Otto 146 KiMBERLY, DeNISON 88 Lanman, Charles 104 Lawrence, W. R 140 Linton, William J 83 Loop, Henry A 142 Lyman, S. S 84 Malbone, E. G 43 Mitchell, John 78 Moore, E. A 160 Moore, N. A. . 122 Morse, S. F. B 50 MuNGER, George 45 MuNSON, Lucius 59 Nichols, Edward W 106 Osgood, S. S 60 Page, William 78 Parker, T. H. . 66 Pease, E. S 157 Pease, J. Ives 74 Contents, xiii PAGE Percival, Edwin 55 Plackett, E 157 Porter, C. E 159 Primus, Nelson 154 ROBBINS, H. W. 153 Ropes, Joseph 79 Rossiter, T. p. 102 Shattuck, a. D 144 Sheffield, Isaac 60 Shegogue, J. H 71 Shumway, H. C . -73 Shurtleff, R. M 146 Spencer, J. B 141 Sperry, R. T -157 Sperry, T. S Ill Stancliff, J. W 84 Steele, T. S 156 Stewart, Rev. J. R 31 Stone, William O. 141 Terry, Luther . . . 83 Terry, W. E , .163 Thompson, H. 1 147 TiSDALE, ELKANAH : .... 37 Trumbull, Gurdon 150 Trumbull, Col. John 33 Tryon, D. W i6o Walsh, Samuel , . 4^ Warner, O. L. {Sculptor) 1^6 Weir, J. F 152 Wheeler, W. R 143 White, Edwin 94 Wilson, M 162 Wiseman, R. W 163 Wood, T. W 121 Wright, George F 137 WuNDER, Adalbert 136 Wylie, J. Edward 163 CATALOGUE OF ILLUSTRATIONS. Col. John Trumbull (from the Bust in the Yale Gallery) . . . Frontispiece. Yale Art Building 8 Wadsworth Athen^um .10 "Bacchus" (from the Windham Jail) 40 Prof. S. F. B. Morse (Portrait) 50 "The Sisters." By S. F. B. Morse 52 Nathaniel Jocelyn (Portrait) 57 "Cinque." By Nathaniel Jocelyn 58 Benjamin H. Coe (Portrait) 61 "The Bracelet." By. Gen. T. S. Cummings . . . . . . . . .68 Gen. Cummings's House in Mansfield, Conn . . . -70 Henry C. Shumway (Portrait) 73 J. Ives Pease (Portrait) 75 "Memory." By Seth W. Cheney 76 Seth W. Cheney (Portrait) 77 Henry Bryant (Portrait) 80 Luther Terry (Portrait) 83 George H. Cushman (Portrait) 86 Daniel Huntington (Portrait) 89 A. H. Emmons (Portrait) . 90 George W. Flagg (Portrait) 92 " Hester Prynne." By George W. Flagg 93 "Evening Hymn of the Huguenot Refugees." By Edwin White .... 94 An Original Sketch. By R. W. Hubbard 96 An Original Sketch. By R. W. Hubbard . . 97 Charles Lanman (Portrait) 104 "A Deserted House." By Charles Lanman 105 Jared B. Flagg (Portrait) 107 George H. Durrie (Portrait) 108 E. S. Bartholomew (Portrait). — From a Pen-Sketch by Himself .... 112 XV xvi Catalogue of Illustrations. "Eve Repentant." By E. S. Bartholomew ii6 The Bartholomew Grave at Naples ii8 Charles D. W. Brownell (Portrait) "The Charter Oak." By Charles D. W. Brownell 120 "A Snow-Scene." By N. A. Moore 122 Vincent Colyer (Portrait) 124 "Getting a Bite." By R. Hinsdale 126 An Original Study. By F. E. Church 128 F. E. Church (Portrait) 130 Sketch from the Santa Isabel Valley. By F. E. Church 132 Wales Hotchkiss (Portrait) 13^ "The Drove at the Ford." By J. M. Hart 136 "On the Farmington River." By J. M. Hart 137 Albert F. Bellows (Portrait) 138 "A Connecticut Homestead." By A. F. Bellows 139 William Oliver Stone (Portrait) 142 "/Enone." By Henry A. Loop 143 A Study of Sheep. By A. D. Shattuck 144 A Library-Scene. By H. L Thompson 147 "A Critical Moment." By Gurdon Trumbuli 149 Gurdon Trumbull (Portrait) 150 Study of a Black Bass. By Gurdon Trumbuli 151 "At the Confessional." By J. F. Weir 152 John S. Jameson (Portrait) 153 IT W. Robbins (Portrait) 154 "Roadside Elms at Farmington." By H. W. Robbins 155 A Study of Fruit. By C. E. Porter 159 An Owl. By E. A. Moore 160 Mrs. Henry A. Loop (Portrait) 165 "After the War." By Mrs. Jerome 169 "A Bouquet for Mamma." By Mrs. H. A. Loop 171 Study of a Head. By Mrs. S. C. Porter . 172 ART AND ARTISTS IN CONNECTICUT. PREAMBLE. NE of the three pioneers in original art in America, Connecticut, \^^_^ entered more vigorously into the field than either of her sister States ; though she cannot claim at the outset to have attained the emi- nent artistic ability of one of her competitors. She produced the first, and for years almost all, of the standard historical works of the coun- try. She has given the world more artists of acknowledged ability than any other State ; and from the outset her sons have either led the van, or appeared in the front rank of the nation. The first academic art-school of the country is in Connecticut. In one year, five out of six successful applicants for the title of academician before the National Academy of Design were natives of the State ; and to-day over two hundred of the art- students in New-York City, aside from many abroad, are from Connecti- cut ; still the largest number in the field, so far as can be ascertained, from any of the States. Not only has she been thus productive of artists, but also a popular resort where many other great men in art have worked. In this way an important influence has been exerted over even the secluded portions by many of the leading artists of the nation. Coming in contact with the thoughts, theories, and work of masters in the profes- sion, an art-feeling has sprung up, of unusual depth and extent, even in many undisturbed villages. This intimacy has done what the school- master is not allowed to attempt. It has imparted a knowledge which no text-books of to-day contain. It is invaluable as an open-sesame to the richest blessings of civilization, and a promise of even more and better artists for the constantly-increasing facilities. It has planted in the hearts of the people an experimental knowledge and understanding love for that which is truest and best of the work of men's fingers. The arts of design are with man, and as truly a part of him as his life- blood ; frequently developed, but oftener sadly neglected. There is not 2 Art and Artists in Connecticut, to be found a nation where painting or picture-making after some fashion does not exist and has not existed. It is, in fact, in the case of every pre- historic nation, the first record of its Hfe, and the earliest chronicle of its being. It is also the invariable exponent of a nation's power. It indi- cates, through its relics of the past, the rise and decHne of its patron ; and, in the present, expands precisely as the nation rises in civilization. The history of art-unions, compared with the history of nations, and their relative positions in the scale of civilization, their chronological superiority, their individual popularity, their national importance, forms an excellent illustration of this fact.^ Holding such an important position, it is vitally unwise for either nation or individual to favor any measure that may prove discouraging to art, and eminently advisable to support such measures as shall stimulate it. It is a subject that cannot be handled with carelessness. It depends too entirely upon mutual support to be defrauded of one jot of patronage. Yet the course of America in this respect is something that may with propriety be questioned. The intelligent admirer is no less important to the success of art than the intelligent artist. Either without the other is an impossibility. Both must lie dormant if one will not rise. Progress cannot be made while the arts and the people fail to appreciate each other. The opinion of the sensible lover of art elevates the artist. The work of the good artist educates the critic. In this same connection, a most unfor- tunate obstacle is placed before the American artist. The true, profes- sional art-critic is the royal interpreter of art for the people, and the bearer of the people's opinion to the artist, — a most important person to both. In Germany, in England, his position is looked upon as next, if not equal, to the artist whose work he faithfully explains and criticises. In America there are many who would boldly assert that there is not a single native- art critic in the land. This may be overdrawn : it is to be hoped it is. But surely they are very few, who, with the knowledge and ability, have not been persuaded, either by fancy or bribery of some sort, to desert Ameri- can art altogether, unless to compare it disparagingly with imported work. Those who have not made themselves foreign-art critics, as a class spend their energy either in blindly lauding or maliciously slaughtering what- ever may fall victim to their pens. The same result is obtained in either case. Those true critics are yet wanting, in any number at least, who, 1 The United States is strangely an exception to this comparison. By one of those unaccountable per- formances of the government, the American Art Union, that, founded in 1839, in 1849 had 18,960 sub- scribers, an income of $96,300, and distributed over the United States 1,010 works of fine art from Ameri- can talent, was abolished under the act against lotteries. Thus a very large demand for home art-work was cut off. This is one of several causes for the fact that to-day nearly nine hundred American-born artists are living in foreign lands. Preamble, 3 gathering the beauties of a picture, will lay them before the public with an intelligent explanation, and who, with equal sincerity and clearness, will depict the faults. With such we might all in time become critics for ourselves, neither dependent upon the dealer, who, for the profit he obtains, is much more ready to dispose of a foreign than a native produc- tion; nor upon the popular critic of to-day, who, for various causes, is more willing to talk of foreign art ; nor upon ignorant guess-work, relying on the name of the artist or the depth of the frame for the quality of the picture. Hitherto the artists of America (there are a few illustrious examples) who have reached a point of excellence that must be acknowledged, that would be by foreign countries if not by their own, have done it by fight- ing against odds and the interposition of wholly unnecessary hinderances. They reach the goal, and receive their laurels, at a time when they care less for them than at any previous hour of their history. They look upon us as enemies and stumbling-blocks that have with difficulty been overcome. Of what value is our praise to them when they have literally forced it from us } It is but the sword of the conquered passed to the conqueror. They need it no longer. It has dulled its edge to thwart them, and failed. In the nature of things, they must continue to contemplate us as simply a vanquished foe, laving the feet of our victor. There is nothing healthful or satisfactory in this ; yet it is only a result of ignorance on the part of the public, inability to judge for themselves, and the necessity of taking others' opinions, biassed and prejudiced, as they may come. Though wealth makes honorable men, money cannot purchase that which lifts the man above the brute ; which raises one nation higher than another ; makes one man happier than his richer neighbor ; which gives a charm to life, softening its roughest edges, brightening its darkest hours, — love of the beautiful. That home is more artistic v/here the prints from weekly papers are tacked without frames to the walls, in a choice and system dis- playing at least an appreciation and sympathy, than the mansion where a host of pictures are indiscriminately hung and set, graded by, and apolo- gies for, the frames that surround them. Intelligent sympathy elevates the standard of art. Ignorance, no matter how sympathetic, is injurious. The artist who produces that which is. worthy of admiration, the critic who honestly translates it, the public bestowing honor where honor is due, — all conspire to the highest civilization ; and each endeavor tends equally to raise the art of the country to a higher standard. This growth of art in a state or a nation is very desirable : for art is not only a great civilizer ; it is a great moralizer. Ruskin says, " Art is not only moral, but little else than art is moral." He is at least right so far. 4 Art and Artists in Connecticut. that, without industry, a life is a life of guilt; and that, without art, industry is brutality. One reads more of history, chivalry, romance, or villany, in a glance at a picture, than in a day over a novel. A bad book may be read and forgotten, but a bad picture not. Every picture, no matter what it is, tells a story. It tells it more clearly, more concisely, more forcibly, and consequently more lastingly, than it can be told in any other way. This is the most powerful of all arguments for every public and private endeavor to elevate a nation's art ; and that history achieves a noble end, well repaying the arduous labor of compiling it, that, being a record of the past, becomes an inspiration for the future to warm a single breast with patriotic enthusiasm, create one new sympathizer for original talent, or recall a single patron of foreign art to a knowledge that infinite possibilities are centred in America. At present, America seems more ready to accept the work of a foreign- er, after paying the cost of importing, than the work of her own children, save of a very few who hold the highest grade. Millions of American money fall into European coffers for originals of the old masters, frauds on the old masters, copies of the old masters, in a mania that reaches even to absurdity, regardless of the continual blows paid thereby to American originality. European art may be better than American. In justice to cir- cumstances, it should be vastly better in comparison than it is. But there is a philosophy as well as policy in the patronage of art, that must sit in judgment with the knowledge even of an expert. There is more in the filling of a gallery than the collection of indiscriminate canvases to cover the space required. There are other matters for consideration than the individual merits of pictures. Justice, common consent, patriotism, de- mand more. That artist encouraged by the public will grow ; while he who is continually neglected, no matter what his genius may be, is belittled and injured. If we would have great men in art, we must make them great. They must win their laurels through us, by us, from us, not in spite of us. The task of the growing, aspiring artist is a hard one at the best. He has great excellences before him to rival if he would become a leader. There is every opportunity for effective, intelligent, sym- pathetic patronage. AN OUTLINE OF THE GROWTH OF ART IN CONNECTICUT. Strictly speaking, the arts of design never began, and will never end. From the fig-leaf aprons to the last sepulchre, they direct the labor of head and hand. The art of painting in America began with the red man's body frescoing, and in the colonies was hardly younger than the An Outline of the Growth of Art hi Connecticut, 5 earliest settlements. Cotton Mather speaks of an English limner and his sitter for a portrait in Boston in 1667. There have also been the briefest accounts brought down concerning a few native painters, not of sufficient merit to justify a memory, who lived in the early part of 1700. But there was not art-feeling enough in the world at that time to have warmed the soul of one Raphael. The first art-love and labor of importance, as leaving a record of influence behind, that sprang from the virgin soil of America, was not until the middle of the eigh- teenth century. In 1728 Dean Berkeley, the most potent of the early patrons of Yale, reached this country from Ireland, bringing in his party John Smybert, a painter. Art was at a low ebb in England, and Smybert was not a prodigy. He had studied from Vandyke, however, and in spirit brought his master's work for the first time to America. To such an extent was this true, that Benjamin West, one of the first to take up the mantle of Smybert, though he studied him probably only through his pictures, bore, in his earlier work, the most evident traces of Vandyke. Smybert was a better educated than talented artist. His famous work, "The Berkeley Family," now in the Yale Art Gallery, displays more the touch of a man who knew by experience and teaching what certain causes must effect, and whose brush was more the brush of a mechanic, than a man moving in a sphere of originality above his teachers. But it was wonderful work to be seen in America ; probably better than the average of the best English works of the day. It was an inspiration. There may have been many men before in whom the fire of Angelo wanted only a lighting-spark, but did not receive it. From 1728 to 1751 John Smybert divided his attention between New Haven, Conn., Newport, R. L, and Boston, Mass., settling at last in Boston ; leaving there when he died his son, Nathaniel Smybert. Old Yale — then New Yale — was the scene of his school-days, though he was only a temporary student. Boston claims him as being the grandson of Dr. Williams, the old Latin teacher of the Hub. There his best work was done, and there his bones were laid. He promised a most remark- able future, but died while hardly on the threshold of his career. Black- burn (of Connecticut), Benjamin West and Copley, Col. Trumbull and Ralph Earl (of Connecticut), Gilbert Stuart, Malbone, and Washington Allston, in chronological order, retain the glory of being the first great artists of America. Strictly speaking, then, the history of original art in Connecticut begins with the influence of John Smybert, Blackburn, Col. Trumbull, and Ralph Earl. The standard of art in the State has been affected by various vicissi- 6 Art and Artists in Connecticut. tudes ; but the tendency has been upward. There has not always been a national leader from Connecticut so boldly in front as Trumbull of the first, and Church of the last generation ; but prominent men throughout have represented her, and left a record of increasing numbers and ability. The position of Blackburn is uncertain, as will be seen hereafter : but after him it is certain that Earl and Trumbull followed, as direct results of Smybert and Copley's influence ; and Copley was taught by Blackburn. Malbone, following this influence, in the very last of the eighteenth century visited Connecticut with his famous talent devoted to miniature - portrait painting. Tisdale was the next in succession. His art-feeling was due in part to his townsmen Trumbull and Earl, they being prominently figure and historic painters, and Tisdale's first work the same, but chiefly to Mal- bone, whose miniature portraits he copied, and in which branch he devel- oped his strongest power. The country was now reviving from the terri- ble devastation and depression of the Revolutionary war. A strange fact noticeable to every student of cause and effect and practical results in the world's history, though apparently inconsistent, is an increase of refine- ment, a revival in cesthetics, a marked progress in the fine arts, after every such conflict and the melancholy season following. The present enthu- siasm in art-interests, following upon the Rebellion, is no exception, but perhaps according to an invariable rule. This strong head-block for the art of Connecticut, in Trumbull, Earl, and Tisdale, and Stewart (J. R.), in fact, who, though not superior in art, was much for the time, was planted directly after the Revolution. Gideon Fairman, John Coles, Anson Dickinson, Munger, Waldo, George Free- man, followed in rapid succession in the three departments in which examples had been set them. Samuel Morse, then in Yale College dili- gently laying the foundation for his vast achievements in telegraphy, came within this circle ; and the native talent that had exhibited itself when he was but four years old was fired to such an extent, that, when the day for his selection of a profession came, he wrote to his father, I am cut out to be an artist." His teacher, Allston, introduced him in London to the wonderful art of modelling in clay. With this knowledge, illustrated in his world-renowned "Dying Here ales," he returned to New Haven. Hezekiah Augur was by nature endowed with the requisite qualities ; but it was not until he received the direct advice from the lips of Morse that he turned the ability toward marble, and became the first native sculptor of Connecticut. Thus another branch was introduced. The chain so firmly fastened now rapidly became strong with many good links. Fisher, William Jewett, Daniel Dickinson, Jocelyn, Munson, Osgood, Shefifield, and Alexander, born within the eighteenth century, all definitely drew A History of the Yale Art- Gallery, 7 their inspiration from the same sources. Seth Cheney, having learned at home the art of engraving, and being a natural draughtsman, went to Paris, the paradise of crayon-drawing, to pursue his studies of engraving. He could not have avoided drifting into the use of the crayon, and returned to champion, not only in Connecticut, but in America, another branch of art. Thus crayon-drawing was virtually first introduced into the State, and soon obtained many devotees. Thomas Cole next visited Hartford, as, in a sense, a protege of Daniel Wadsworth. Cole was pioneering the way into landscape-painting, and thus virtually introduced another branch as an individual study. H. C. Flagg and F. S. Jewett, both sailors born, were the first distinctive marine-artists of the State. Born in the last half of the eighteenth century were twenty-three native Connecticut art- ists, nineteen of them after the Revolution. Born in the first quarter of the nineteenth century were forty-eight male and fifteen female artists. Now the field is open wide. There is no longer a possibility of tracing the influence in individual cases, except by individual testimony or dis- tinguishing characteristic ; nor any longer a possibility of defining the pre- cise progress and course in the state as severed from the nation. The time has fortunately passed when passion shall lie dormant for want of inspiration ; when ignorance shall crush the artist born, unless, from sheer impossibility to remain under a bushel, the enthusiasm burst its confines in a struggle for the light. The days are dead, happily dead, when the child of art must fight perhaps his hardest battles with himself, not so much as knowing what art is, nor having seen a single valuable picture. Groping in the darkness after light is the most discouraging of all labor. Doubtless many have given up the task, and lived and died comparatively worthless in the world, not even themselves knowing what they were lacking. Hence much of the spice of romance is lost from the artist's life that savored it a century ago. The struggle, the groan, the flush of victory, the shout of triumph, are not so frequent to-day ; and to the artist himself his career seems even more prosaic, as a rule, than to his friend. There is an importance, however, in every step of progress made, and every new toiler for glory, that still shrouds each history of a life with intensest interest to the lover of art. A HISTORY OF THE YALE ART-GALLERY. The first important art collection in Connecticut was opened to the public in 183 1, under the, control of Yale College. The gallery was in a small building erected for the purpose at a cost of four thousand dollars. It consisted of a few works of art from time to time gathered by the uni- 8 Art and Artists in Connecticut, versity, including Smybert's Dean Berkeley's Family " and the Trum- bull Gallery, just secured to the college. The manner in which Yale be- came possessed of the Trumbull pictures has been presented in various lights, but is of no great importance. Col. Trumbull professed to think that he gave them. Yale College supposed that she bought them. This was only two ways of describing the same transfer. Col. Trumbull being left a widower, and finding old age impairing the cunning of his right hand for new productions, half in anger, half in melancholy generosity, offered his entire remaining collection (doubtless containing some of his most admirable work) to Yale College, on condition that he should be YALE ART-BUILDING. paid fifteen hundred dollars a year for the rest of his life, either from the income of exhibition or some other source. This proposition was accepted, and the first public art-gallery begun. Of the artist much will be said hereafter. His gift consisted of several large pictures too intimately known to the people of Connecticut to warrant comment, and two hundred and fifty portraits. Most of the portraits are especially val- uable as being of the prominent men of the Revolution with whom Col. Trumbull was personally acquainted, and having been painted from life. They are the first copies, made while collecting portraits for his many The Wadsworth Athenceum Gallery. 9 famous historical works. Other pictures have been occasionally bought by the college, and others from time to time added by gift and loan. The collection received no marked impulse until the year 1857. Then an inci- dent occurred described later, in connection with the Yale Art School, which brought about in its time a munificent donation by A. R. Street for the present elaborate building, where the gallery was placed in 1866. In 1867 a temporary exhibition of loaned works of art, under the manage- ment of a committee of public-spirited citizens of New Haven, was held, and did much to introduce this new feature to public notice, and to inter- est the people in its growth. The proceeds amounted to over four thou- sand dollars, — seven hundred dollars in excess of expenses. This was de- voted to the purchase of a series of casts illustrative of different stages of plastic art among the Greeks, designed to be the foundation of a collection covering the whole history of sculpture. In the spring of 1868 the well- known " Jarves Collection," illustrative of Italian painting from the tenth to the sixteenth century, was placed in one of the galleries for a term of years. This was a very important accession to the means of instruction in the school, a complete gallery in itself, and an addition that naturally attracted much attention from visitors. A few years since this fine collec- tion was purchased by the institution on favorable terms, and now forms part of the permanent gallery. The Jarves Collection consists of about one hundred and twenty pictures, a few of which are by unknown artists, painted on wood, with gold backgrounds. They are illustrative of the rise of Christian art in Western Europe. The progress of Italian paint- ing is closely followed in this collection. The series commences with contemporaries of Cimabue and Giotto, and contains those of Veronese and Giorgione, illustrating the most interesting period of modern art. Many of the best pictures in the gallery, not belonging to these two spe- cific collections, are from the brushes of Connecticut artists, and will be referred to during the course of the biographies. Beside the paintings there is a large collection of casts and marbles, including some exceeding- ly interesting and valuable original work. Bartholomew's bas-reliefs of ''Adam and Eve," designed for the pedestal of his famous *'Eve Repent- ant," form an important feature. THE WADSWORTH ATHEN^UM GALLERY. The Athenaeum Art Association in Hartford, like all progress in art a half-century ago, was slow to obtain shape, even after the idea assumed proportions of dignity. Daniel Wadsworth, son of Col. Jeremiah Wads- worth of Revolutionary fame, was, in his early life, the most influential art- lO Art and Artists in Connecticut, lover in the State. Col. Trumbull was an uncle of Mrs. Wadsworth ; and his influence may in part account for the fine taste engendered in her hus- band, as displayed not only in his choice selections, but in his eagerness to extend the benefits of his collection beyond his immediate circle of friends. The subject had long been under discussion in one form or another, when, in 1842, Daniel Wadsworth offered to contribute a lot, facing one hundred and twenty feet on Main Street and one hundred and twenty feet deep (this was extended fifty feet in depth when the demands of the building were estimated), toward the founding of a place that should be devoted to the collection and exhibition of the fine arts. This land was the site of the residence of his father. Col. Wadsworth. In accord- ance with this the present Athenaeum building was erected, the original WADSWORTH ATHENAEUM. design being extended, through the influence of Alfred Smith, to compre- hend a wing for a library, and another for an historical collection. Mr. Wadsworth finished the gallery at his own expense, and contributed as a loan a number of excellent paintings. Col. Trumbull's works in posses- sion of the Art-Union Gallery had been sold at auction, with the excep- tion of thirteen pictures. Among these were some of great value as good specimens of the artist's work. A subscription was taken up, in which James B. Hosmer, Alfred Smith, and Daniel Wadsworth, were large con- tributors ; and these pictures were purchased. This, with a few other loans and purchases by subscription, formed the gallery, which was opened to the public early in 1844. The paintings were still private prop- A History of the Art- Schools of Connecticut, 1 1 erty, or owned proportionately by subscribers. On the death of Mr. Wads- worth, it became evident that the gallery was in danger of going to pieces. Many of the remaining subscribers presented their portions to form an association, and raised by subscription sufficient to purchase the shares of those less generous. The collection comprises some superior works of art. Connecticut names are prominent in the list. Among the works from out of the State deserving especial attention are Wichelo's Destruction of Jerusalem," Vanderlyn's ''Death of Miss M'Crea," a portrait of Rem- brandt Peale by candle-light, a full-length portrait of Benjamin West when president of the Royal Academy by Sir Thomas Lawrence, and many others. This gallery, if not the birthplace, has been at least the cradle, of many ideas in art. Frederick Bartholomew did his first work there while acting as custodian, using the small unoccupied room as a studio that now contains the world-renowned casts and marbles of his later production. These were purchased after his death, and, with occasional additions, — to- gether with a large marble figure of his Eve Repentant," which was pro- duced after his death, on an order for the Athenaeum, from his original model, and by workmen who had helped him upon the first, — form an interesting collection of plastic art. A large subscription toward this purchase was made by Col. Samuel Colt. The Wadsworth Athenaeum Association possesses in all two hundred and seventy-five works of art, representing a value of from sixty to eighty thousand dollars. Unfortunately this gallery is not self-supporting; which fact is used by many as an argument against the expenditure of any thing more upon it. The people will not appreciate what they have, it is said : why do more } There is a certain amount of infant philosophy in this, and much lack of common sense. A gallery, to be attractive, should constantly present something new, — not necessarily every thing new. The public is not, and under the present system cannot be, well enough educated to study one picture untiringly for a much longer time than the artist worked in painting it. There is no inducem.ent to make repeated visits to the same old collection, when one sees but the outlines that apparently make up a picture. The attention of the authorities should also be called to the fact, that, for a valuable gallery, the pictures are very improperly cared for. A HISTORY OF THE ART-SCHOOLS OF CONNECTICUT. The Yale Art School, the first and in many respects still the most prominent school of the sort in the United States, is at least an excellent example of the extent to which this valuable system of culture has been adopted in America. Following is a brief sketch of its birth, growth, 12 Art and Artists in Comtecticut, and present condition. The Yale Gallery had been in existence for some time, when, in 1858, an incident of comparatively little moment proved of great importance, as forerunner and instigator of the Yale School of Art. Members of the Yale Linonian (literary) Society had determined to expend a certain sum on a work of art to adorn their hall. Frederick Bartholomew the sculptor, then in Rome, was asked to make the selection ; and through his influence two copies of marble statues from the antique were purchased, — ''Demosthenes" and "Sophocles." To welcome the arrival of such royal strangers, a loan exhibition was arranged and held in Alumni Hall for two months in the summer of 1858. Seven thou- sand visitors examined the collection. Such an enthusiasm was created, that the exhibition resulted in a recognition, on the part of the officers and friends of Yale, that the important influence which art-culture might exert upon college students rendered it desirable as a branch of study in an academic course. Another result was a course of art-lectures, delivered by Professor Salisbury of* New Haven, Mr. Deming of Hartford, Professor Greene of New York, Professor A. D. White of Michigan (now President of Cornell University), and Donald G. Mitchell. This movement led to a renewed interest throughout the community, and a more urgent desire on the part of the leading men of the college to establish a separate depart- ment of art for broader and more varied culture. This desire had been felt for some time; yet the way was not opened for such a movement until the summer of 1863, when Augustus Russell Street, a wealthy and public- spirited citizen of New Haven, came forward with the generous offer to erect, at his own expense, a building to be devoted to art and artistic studies. Just here Nathaniel Jocelyn, still a venerable and energetic upholder of art in New Haven, should not be forgotten. Mr. Jocelyn's influence has been powerful for art throughout his long residence in the city ; and Mr. Street many times confessed that it was chiefly through sug- gestions and appeals of Mr. Jocelyn that the fact of this important lack was impressed upon his mind. Hence, in a sense, the art-school owes its exist- ence no less to Mr. Jocelyn than to its founder, Mr. Street. This was the first practical expression of the growing conviction that the study of art came within the scope of a great university. His aim was, not simply to found a museum, but to establish a school for practical instruction in art for those of both sexes who were desirous of pursuing the fine arts as a profession, and to awaken and cultivate a taste for and appreciation of the arts among the undergraduates and others. The corner-stone of the large and costly edifice now known as the Yale Art Building was laid in November, 1864. It was completed in 1866, under supervision of the architect of the National Academy of Design in A History of the Art- Schools of Connecticut. 13 New York. It is of revived Gothic, — an adaptation of the thirteenth century to the customs and materials of to-day. The basement contains drawing and modelling rooms. The first story has studios, class-rooms, and library. In the second story is the gallery, well lighted from the roof. The expense of the building was ^175,000. The founder died a few months before its completion. The greatest want that now appeared for the perfecting of this design was a thoroughly competent head, capable of conceiving what such an institution should be, and of shaping its incipient developments, as well as of directing art-instruction in theory and in practice. Such a man was found in Professor John F. Weir, an artist of established reputation, who was elected to the directorship of the school in 1869, and immediately returned from his studies and travels in Europe to enter upon the duties which he has since successfully fulfilled. At the same time, Professor Eaton, a graduate of Yale College of the class of i860, was appointed to fill the chair of the history of art. In 1870 a second general exhibition of pictures was opened. It may prove of interest hereafter, that, at this second exhibition, among the noteworthy guests were R. W. Hubbard, the celebrated landscape-painter of New York (a native of Middletown), and the late John F. Kensett. In 1870 a large purchase of casts was made in Europe, and from time to time the collection has steadily increased with the addition of well- selected examples of plastic art. In October, 1871, an endowment was secured for a professor of drawing ; and John H. Niemeyer, a student of the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, Paris, was appointed to fill the position. Sub- sequently Mr. Frederick R. Honey was appointed instructor of geometry and perspective. The chair of anatomy is filled by Dr. J. P. C. Foster, resident-physician of New Haven ; the chairs of sculpture and architect- ure being still vacant. The general objects of the school, as stated in the college catalogue, are the cultivation and promotion of the formative arts, painting, sculpture, and architecture, through practice and criticism. The school is open to all above the age of fifteen, without regard to sex. It already affords a thorough system of instruction in drawing and painting ; while courses of lectures on the philosophy, history, and practice of art, are delivered during the college-year. The school possesses a collection, numbering over three hundred, of Braun's " autotypes," which are of great value in promoting its objects. The art-movement at Yale has advanced until the aggregate of property represented by this department amounts to over ^300,000, originating with perhaps the largest single gift from a private source, for the promo- tion of an institution for instruction in art, in any country. The benefits 14 Art and Artists in Connecticut. ' of this institution are open to the whole country ; for the department, while connected with the college on the one hand, on the other receives into its schools all who desire its instructions. A charge of twelve dollars per month for each student is made, and this furnishes the means of pro- viding the necessary models for instruction. The same privileges are extended to students in this department as those accorded students in all other departments of the university. Notwithstanding all of the facilities, however, the lack of home patronage and sympathy still appears. There are a large number of Connecticut students abroad ; there are over two hundred Connecticut students in New-York City ; while there are but * thirty-two regular students in New Haven. Perhaps they are waiting for the Yale school to grow, till it shall become the fashion to attend there. It would be the same stamp of reasoning whereupon we are waiting, and always have waited, for our artists to grow. There was a struggle toward a school of art in Hartford in 1862. After meeting, and gravely discussing the needs and results of an artists' asso- ciation, it was decided to compose such a society, and that the study of an egg should be the standard of admission, with various requirements and limitations. Officers were chosen, and the artists very generally entered upon the competitive examination. Some excellent oil eggs are upon canvases scattered over the United States to-day, immortelles of that trial. Some found an egg too high art for them. Some who might have found it too high considered it too low, and did not attempt it. Alto- gether, like its nursery-famed predecessor, Humpty Dumpty, this art-egg had a great fall ; and, as there were no king's oxen and no king's men in a republic, no one ever attempted to set it up again. The Connecticut School of Design presents an interesting corpse that much needs reviving. The society was formed in 1871 under the name of "The Hartford Art Association." The experiment seemed to promise suc- cess ; and the association was incorporated in May, 1872, as the Connecti- cut School of Design, with full powers, and a sufficient capital for begin- ning work. The members and honorary members included the best artists and many prominent men. There was considerable enthusiasm created at its birth. The exhibition of 1872 in the Charter-Oak Life-insurance Building was a complete success. One hundred and twenty-eight paint- ings were loaned, and all tokens seemed to promise fair weather and good speed to the young art-school. Among the artist-members to contribute to this exhibition were W. R. Wheeler, R. M. Shurtleff, Henry Bryant, J. W. Stancliff, N. A. Moore, George F. Wright, S. S. Lyman, D. W. Tryon, Robert Brandigee, G. R. Turnbull, O. Abbiati, Charles N. Flagg, Bryant and Rogers, R. T. Sperry, E. C. Kellogg, T. H. Bartlett, C. H. Meuth, A History of the Art- Schools of Connecticut. 15 Miss Ellen M. Pomroy, and Miss E. A. Marsh. But the Connecticut school was started a few years too early to insure success. The tide was not at its flood. The remaining workers in the good cause became weary, and little more than the skeleton of the corporation for instruction in art remains. Still the fact that there is such a society in legal form, pos- sessing a fine selection of casts and a good array of members, and repre- senting a high grade of artistic talent, should inspire the public to an enthusiastic movement in its behalf. There is no danger of overdoing the matter of art-education. What the public-school system will not attempt, through timidity and other equally good causes, the people should do for themselves by the aid of art-associations. The free school, which for three years was held in the Connecticut Mutual Building by this soci- ety, should be resumed. The casts alone are too valuable to lie idle. A society and museum of great promise and importance appeared with the centennial year in New Haven, under the title of "The Connecticut Museum of Industrial Art." The benefits to be derived by the artisan from a fundamental education in art need not be repeated. It is sufficient to assert that the objects of this school are to promote the prosperity and artistic advancement of the industries of the State. The plan is the same, on a limited scale, as that upon which the South Kensington Museum is founded, a sketch of which is given elsewhere. The Kensington Mu- seum was the outgrowth of shame on the part