Known originally as The Greenwich Society of Artists , the Greenwich Art Society is an organization dedicated to promoting arts education in the town of Greenwich, Connecticut . It was founded in 1912 by artists affiliated with the "Cos Cob School," and many associated with the development of the American Impressionist movement, who sought “the promotion and maintenance of the fine arts and the exhibition of works of art in Greenwich.”
20-537: As wealthy New Yorkers looked to move out of the city at the end of the 19th century, Greenwich evolved from a rural village to a bustling suburb with an established artists’ colony and a growing market for art. Theodore Robinson and John Henry Twachtman taught summer art classes at the Bush-Holley House , and Twachtman and Leonard Ochtman were living in Greenwich full-time. The first president of
40-521: A National Academy exhibition in 1877; painters Walter Shirlaw , Robert Swain Gifford , Albert Pinkham Ryder , John La Farge , Julian Alden Weir , John Henry Twachtman , and Alexander Helwig Wyant ; and designer and artist Louis Comfort Tiffany . In 1897, Laura Coombs Hills became the first miniature painter elected to the Society of American Artists (and one of very few women). Eventually most of
60-661: A center of French impressionist art under the influence of Claude Monet . Historians are unclear when Robinson met Monet, but by 1888 their friendship was enough for Robinson to move in next door to the famous impressionist. Robinson's art shifted to a more traditional impressionistic manner during this time, likely due to Monet's influence. While a number of American artists had gathered at Giverny, none were as close to Monet as Robinson. Monet offered advice to Robinson, and he likewise solicited Robinson for opinions on Monet's own works in progress. Not only did he take to heart Monet ´s theoretical admonitions and his requirement to portray
80-599: A studio in New York and became a professional painter and art teacher, and in the same year became a member of the Society of American Artists . During this time Robinson painted in a realist manner, loosely brushed but not yet impressionistic, often depicting people engaged in quiet domestic or agrarian pursuits. In 1884 Robinson returned to France where he lived for the next eight years, visiting America only occasionally. Robinson gravitated to Giverny , which had become
100-869: A teaching post with the Brooklyn Art School and conducted summer classes in Napanoch, New York , near the Catskill Mountains , where he painted several canal scenes. He also taught at Evelyn College in Princeton, New Jersey , and later at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia. With New York City as his base, Robinson circulated among a growing number of American artists pursuing Impressionism. He
120-495: A writer and art critic who wrote for the Daily Tribune , as well as Helena de Kay Gilder's brother, Charles de Kay who was an art columnist and editor of The New York Times . Journalists played a large role in helping to organize the group and spread its message of being a liberal alternative to traditional artist groups. Some of the first members included sculptor Augustus Saint-Gaudens , whose work had been rejected from
140-702: The Bruce Museum . Until 1926, the Society continued to organize all of the Bruce Museum’s exhibitions, and the core of the museum's permanent collection grew through purchases and gifts from these exhibitions. In 1928, the Annual Members' Exhibition of the society was moved to the art gallery of the Greenwich Library. In 1956, the Society expanded its mission: “to further art education and to awaken and stimulate interest in arts and crafts in
160-652: The Corcoran Gallery of Art , Washington, D.C.; and the Art Institute of Chicago . Society of American Artists The Society of American Artists was an American artists group. It was formed in 1877 by artists who felt the National Academy of Design did not adequately meet their needs, and was too conservative. The group began meeting in 1874 at the home of Richard Watson Gilder and his wife Helena de Kay Gilder . In 1877 they formed
180-630: The Cos Cob Art Colony . A number of these artists were active in other influential organizations at that time, including the Association of American Painters and Sculptors, the group responsible for the 1913 Armory Show . Dorothy Ochtman served as Secretary of the Society from 1928-1946, and President from 1947-1948. The Society held its first show in September 1912 in a house donated to the town by Robert M. Bruce, which would become
200-616: The National Academy of Design and the Art Students League . In 1876 he traveled to Paris to study under Carolus-Duran and at the École des Beaux-Arts , with Jean-Léon Gérôme . He first exhibited his paintings at the 1877 Salon in Paris, and spent the summer of that year at Grez-sur-Loing . After trips to Venice and Bologna , he returned to the United States in 1879 for several years. In 1881 he moved into
220-751: The Greenwich Society of Artists was Edward Clark Potter , best known as the sculptor of the lions at the New York Public Library Main Branch ; Leonard Ochtman served as the first vice-president. Other notable early Society members include John Plumer Ludlum, Elmer Livingston MacRae , William Bunker Tubby , Joseph Howland Hunt, Sr. , Dorothy Ochtman , Mina Fonda Ochtman , Matilda Browne , Charles Henry Ebert , Florence W. Gotthold , George Wharton Edwards , Henry Bill Selden , J. Alden Twachtman (son of John Henry Twachtman ) and other artists and patrons affiliated with
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#1732783913180240-438: The Society, and subsequently held annual art exhibitions. Helena de Kay Gilder, one of the founders, started the group after showing one painting at The National Academy of Design 's annual show, where she was a student, and receiving a poor location within the show. Helena de Kay Gilder felt her paintings location reflected the academy's reluctance to accept new types of art. The group received public support from Clarence Cook ,
260-671: The Town of Greenwich by means of classes, demonstrations, lectures and exhibitions.” The name was changed the Greenwich Art Society in 1958 when it was incorporated as a non-profit organization and began providing art instruction year-round. The Greenwich Art Society continues today as an active organization that continues to provide art classes and programs for adults and children, exhibitions for its members, workshops, and gallery trips. Theodore Robinson Theodore Robinson (June 3, 1852 – April 2, 1896)
280-459: The beauties and mystery of nature in a manner stringently truthful to one's personal vision, but he also studied works that were available to him in "The Master´s" studio. For instance, Capri , painted in 1890, was probably inspired by Monet ´s paintings of the cliffs at Varengeville, Pourville, and Etretat and the rocks at Bell-Ile of the early 1880s. At Giverny, Robinson painted what art historians regard as some of his finest works. These depicted
300-738: The exhibition "In Monet's Light." In 1895, Robinson enjoyed a productive period in Vermont, and in February 1896 he wrote to Monet about returning to Giverny, but in April he died of an acute asthma attack in New York City. He was buried in his hometown of Evansville, Wisconsin . He was 43 years old. Today Robinson's paintings are in the collections of many major museums including the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City;
320-629: The quality of his work. Throughout his career, Theodore Robinson kept meticulous diaries, but only the last several years of the diaries are known to exist. These are in the collection of the Frick Art Reference Library in New York and available to scholars. The art historian Sona Johnson, of the Baltimore Museum of Art , plans to publish an annotated edition of the Robinson diaries. In the last year of his life he
340-496: The surrounding countryside in different weather, in the plein air tradition, sometimes with women shown in leisurely poses. His Winter Landscape won the 1890 Webb Prize . Another example of his mature work during this period is La Débâcle (1892) in the collection of Scripps College , Claremont California. Robinson left France and Monet for the final time in 1892, although he meant to return. Back in America, Robinson obtained
360-612: Was an American painter best known for his Impressionist landscapes. He was one of the first American artists to take up Impressionism in the late 1880s, visiting Giverny and developing a close friendship with Claude Monet . Several of his works are considered masterpieces of American Impressionism . Robinson was born in Irasburg, Vermont . His family moved to Evansville, Wisconsin , and Robinson briefly studied art in Chicago . In 1874 he journeyed to New York City to attend classes at
380-528: Was asked to contribute to the book of essays titled Modern French Masters by the editor and art historian John Charles Van Dyke . He wrote an essay on the Barbizon painter Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot and, because of his friendship with the French Impressionist, he wrote and illustrated the essay on Claude Monet . The book was published in 1896 and his illustration of Monet was featured in
400-554: Was particularly close to John Henry Twachtman and Julian Alden Weir , and spent time at the nearby Cos Cob Art Colony in Connecticut. There he painted a series of boat scenes at the Riverside Yacht Club which have come to be regarded as among his finest works. While his reputation as an important American Impressionist was growing, Robinson still needed to teach to support himself. He also harbored doubts about
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