Tuesday, April 23, 2013

T is for John Henry Twachtman. One of the first American Impressionists.


Dover Press
Twachtman is the artist for this book cover.  Her face and flowing red hair would not be out of place today.  But as I recall my Victorian literature, this lady is ready for bed, her hair is down, not up or in a bun.  And she is wearing a dressing gown, looking very sad somehow.  I have not read the book, the summary of which is on Wikipedia, (they have information about everything), but I like the Art Nouveau style, the flat style and curved lines and perhaps, in 1896, the cover would have encouraged me to buy the book.

John Henry Twachtman, 1853-1902) was one of America's first Impressionists.  A sample of his work is shown below.  Twachtman studied in Germany and Venice.  After returning to New York and not happy with his current art scene, he and others  formed "The Ten," a group of artists who exhibited their art and were more serious about their work than the current (at that time) art associations.  Not only did he create commercial art and fine art, he learned to etch and carried etching plates with him so he could use that technique outdoors. "His art, conversation, and teaching fueled the creative fires of his friends and students."  He died unfortunately of a brain aneurysm at the age of 49.  But he has a permanent place in American art history as his works are in the collections of The Metropolitan Museum of New York, The National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC and the Museum
of Fine Arts in Boston among others.



The  White Bridge, ca. 1895 by John Henry Twachtman














7 comments:

  1. That's new to me. Glad to know about it! Such lovely paintings, thanks for sharing them!

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    1. Thank you for coming by! Your signature, "Sunday Visitor" is intriguing -- powerful two words.

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  2. This was interesting, you so seldom hear about American Impressionism. I love the poster,
    Katie atBankerchick Scratchings

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    1. There is so much I don't know as opposed to when I was younger and knew everything! Thanks, BC.

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  3. Excellent book cover choice, and I agree with you on all counts that she's bound for sleepy-town and she's none too pleased about something. Twatchman... what a great name! Haven't talked about him since college. And OH "the ten". Doesn't that just BEG for a movie? Yes. Yes it does. Someone more skilled than me should get right on that. Great post!

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  4. Now I wish I had taken an art history course! If you Google the title, "The Damnation of Theron Ware," the synopsis of the book is there. There were all these little art colonies in the early 29th C, in the US, in Taos, NM and several back East. Great idea for a movie -- would there be interest though? It's so different now with the subject matter being vampires, Sci Fi, etc. Thanks for your comment.

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  5. Awesome picture! Thanks for pointing me to it. :)

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