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This article is about the early twentieth-century portrait painter. For the late nineteenth-century landscape painter, see Frederic Edwin Church.
F. Edwin Church
Born
Frederic Edwin Church

October 25, 1876
Brooklyn, NY
DiedJuly 15, 1975
Locust Valley, New York
EducationArt Students League of New York, Académie Julien, and Columbia University
Notable workThe Peacock Girl
StylePortraits with Japanese influence
SpouseAlice Slocum Nichols
AwardsThomas B. Clarke Prize by the National Academy of Design for best figural composition for his painting, The Peacock Girl, 1916
ElectedAllied Artists of America, American Museum of Natural History, Architectural League of New York, Audubon Artists, Lyme Art Association, National Audubon Society, New York Zoological Society, and Salmagundi Club
Websitehttps://fedwinchurch.com

F. Edwin Church (October 25, 1876 – July 15, 1975) was an American painter best remembered for his portraits with Japanese influence. Church's oeuvre also encompassed impressionist landscapes, undersea paintings, floral still life, and sculpture.

Church was named after Frederic Edwin Church[1] (1826–1900), the Hudson River School artist, by his father E. Dwight Church (1836 – 1908). His father knew the artist but they were not related. To avoid confusion with the prominent artist, Church signed most of his paintings F. Edwin Church.[2]

Background

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Born in Brooklyn, New York, Church was the youngest of four sons. He grew up in the Greenpoint Historic District next to the East River. On a summer visit to Middletown, Connecticut, he met his future wife Alice Slocum Nichols, great-granddaughter of Major Abrahm Caleb Truax,[3] founder of Trenton, MI. Following their 1901 marriage in Detroit,[4] they lived in New Rochelle.

Church's grandfather, Austin Church (1799 – 1879), was a co-founder[5] of Church & Dwight, the manufacturer of Arm & Hammer products. Church's three brothers, Elihu Dwight, Jr., Austin, and Charles all worked for the company.

Church's father, E. Dwight Church (1836–1908), studied drawing at the National Academy of Design in New York City, and during the 1850s, taught drawing in the public schools.[6] By the late 1870s he began collecting rare and valuable books of early Americana and English literature. In 1911, Henry E. Huntington[7] purchased his collection[8] which became the foundation for the American[9] collections at the Huntington Library.

Education and influences

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A series of his watercolor botanical studies show the influence of Paul de Longpré whose work Church admired. He studied architecture at Columbia University in New York in 1897. Finding that architecture didn't suit him, he enrolled in classes at the Art Students League of New York.[10] His class instructors included Kenyon Cox, Frank Dumond,[11] and John Henry Twachtman.

Church attended the Académie Julien[12] in 1905 and studied under Jean-Paul Laurens. In 1906, a portrait of his wife, noted in the catalogue as Madame C. was accepted to the Salon (Paris).[13] While studying in Paris, Church developed a passion for Japanese print collecting.[14] He assembled a comprehensive reference library and a portfolio of fine, rare, and important Japanese woodblock prints.[15] Like his father, E. Dwight Church, he joined the Grolier Club in New York City and developed lifelong friendships with two avid print collectors, Howard Mansfield[16] and Louis V. Ledoux.[17]

The reference library on Japanese print collecting[18] was sold at Walpole Galleries[19] in New York in 1922. Church's Locust Valley, Long Island house, designed in 1928 by Harrie T. Lindeberg, was paid in part by the sales of a portion of his print collection. The first sale in 1929 was a group of Hiroshige bird and flower prints, sold to Abby Aldrich Rockefeller, who later gifted them to the Rhode Island School of Design.[20] Encouraged by Mansfield, another sale was made to the Metropolitan Museum of Art. Later, in 1946, Parke-Bernet Galleries (now Sotheby's) handled the auction of another large group of prints. As the authority, Church was asked to write the sale catalogue, which was edited by Ledoux.

Memberships

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By 1909 he was a member of the Salmagundi Club. Memberships in the Lyme Art Association, Allied Artists of America,[21] and the Architectural League of New York followed in the next few years. When he was in his seventies, he joined Audubon Artists.[22] Church also held life memberships in the National Audubon Society, the New York Zoological Society, and the American Museum of Natural History.

An active member of the art community, Church was present during the formation of Allied Artists of America in 1914. His lifelong friend, Charles Bittinger, a board member, nominated Church for membership in the first induction of eleven members.[21] Also included in this group were Church's friends Harry L. Hoffman and Everett Warner.

Awards

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In 1916, at the age of 38, Church was awarded the Thomas B. Clarke Prize by the National Academy of Design for best figural composition for his painting, The Peacock Girl. Reflecting his interest in Japanese prints, he created a colorful composition of a red-haired girl in a blue and green floral kimono-inspired dress. Behind her, a peacock is perched with an outstretched wing in a possessive posture. The New York Times (March 26, 1916),[23] Harper's Weekly (April 8, 1916),[24] and Vogue magazine (May 1, 1916)[25] featured the painting in their publication's pictorial sections.

After the award, The Peacock Girl went on a tour of exhibitions starting at the Detroit Museum of Art[26] followed by Toledo Museum of Art, Ohio State University, Art Institute of Chicago,[27] and Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. It was later shown at Lyme Art Association[28][29] in 1921 and the artist's 1975 Retrospective.

WWI Contributions

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United in Sacrifice, Service & Sharing, We Dedicate the Works of Our Hands During All our Working Hours to Winning Democracy, item no. 62.5.11, Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum

Church participated in the war effort, enlisting in the New York National Guard. He achieved the rank of Second Lieutenant, Ninth Coast Artillery Corps (CAC).[30] Like many artists, he painted camouflage and also had involvement with the United States Food Administration (USFA).

In 1917, President Woodrow Wilson assigned Herbert Hoover as head of the USFA to handle food distribution during World War I (WWI). It was determined that libraries across the country would be used to distribute food conservation ideas to the populace. Edith Guerrier, a Boston librarian, was selected to organize the libraries where food posters, pamphlets and associated information would be made available. After Hoover gave his popular speech, “Food Control – A War Measure”[31] in April 1918, he approved her idea of having top United States artists create paintings to illustrate twelve key points. These would tour state fairs[32][33] throughout the country as part of the government’s war exhibit.

Artists were contacted by Charles Dana Gibson (1876-1944), of Gibson Girl fame, President of the Society of Illustrators. He had been assigned to the Division of Pictorial Publicity (DPP),[34] which was spearheading the production of war posters in New York City. Church was one of 55 artists[35] selected at the Salmagundi Club where the DPP met regularly. Five artists were assigned to each principle of the speech. The resulting sixty paintings were completed in less than three months, in time for the first fairs in August. These were divided into five circuits[36] and displayed to an estimated 8 million people that summer.

Fred’s painting, described as “B-12: Man, woman, and child around flag,” was among those exhibited in January 1919 by the Toledo Museum of Art. The paintings were then transported to Stanford University where the Hoover archives were being assembled. In 1962, they were transferred to the Herbert Hoover Presidential Library and Museum.

Notable exhibits

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Church had three exhibitions of significance, the first being his one-man show in New York City at Montross Gallery[37] in January 1927. The show featured portraits, still lifes, and views of the Saint-Jean-de-Luz region of France.

This was followed in December by a show of his undersea and landscape paintings of Haiti[38] at Ainslie Galleries.[39] Along with two other artists, Helen Damrosch Tee-Van (illustrator) and Vladimir Pierlieff,[40] he had accompanied William Beebe[41] on the 10th Expedition of the New York Zoological Society[42] (now known as the Wildlife Conservation Society.) After closing, the Haitian exhibit then relocated to the American Museum of Natural History in 1928.[43]

The third, a Retrospective, was held in 1975 at the Country Art Gallery[44] in Locust Valley, New York, shortly before his death at the age of 98. It was held to benefit the North Shore Wildlife Sanctuary[45] where he was a founding member[46] and had donated land.[47] The show included portraits of family members, prominent citizens, local landmarks, and the model of his only known sculpture, Great Blue Heron. A bronze casting stands in the sanctuary.[48]

Other public works are: A portrait of Ellsworth Everett Dwight in The Portrait Collection of the New York Genealogical and Biographical Society; Peonies and The Lilypond at Bailey Arboretum; and A Game of Pelota at the National Art Museum of Sport.

Exhibitions

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References

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  1. ^ "New York Times/Times Machine". The New York Times. July 17, 1975.
  2. ^ "F. Edwin Church, 98, Dies". The New York Times. July 18, 1975.
  3. ^ "History of Trenton". www.trentonmi.org. Retrieved 2024-02-20.
  4. ^ "Oct 24, 1901, page 5 - Detroit Free Press at Detroit Free Press". Detroit Free Press. 24 October 1901. p. 5. Retrieved 2024-04-09.
  5. ^ "Timeline of Brand History - Church and Dwight". www.churchdwight.com. Retrieved 2024-04-09.
  6. ^ "The Brooklyn Daily Eagle 06 Sep 1908, page Page 11". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2024-02-20.
  7. ^ "Henry E. Huntington (1850-1927), collector | The Institute of English Studies". ies.sas.ac.uk. Retrieved 2024-04-09.
  8. ^ "Early Printed Books | The Huntington". huntington.org. Retrieved 2024-04-09.
  9. ^ "American History | The Huntington". huntington.org. Retrieved 2024-04-09.
  10. ^ "F. EDWIN CHURCH, PAINTER, 98, DIES; Nature Artist Was Founder of North Shore Sanctuary". The New York Times. Retrieved 2024-04-02.
  11. ^ "Our History - Ridgewood Art Institute of Bergen County, NJ". 2013-10-05. Archived from the original on 2013-10-05. Retrieved 2024-04-09.
  12. ^ Archives, the (2023-11-09). "Revitalizing a Lost Artist: F. Edwin Church (1876–1975)". www.aaa.si.edu. Retrieved 2024-04-02.
  13. ^ "F. Edwin Church | Questroyal". www.questroyalfineart.com. Retrieved 2024-04-09.
  14. ^ "F. EDWIN CHURCH, PAINTER, 98, DIES; Nature Artist Was Founder of North Shore Sanctuary" (PDF). The New York Times. Retrieved 2024-04-09.
  15. ^ "JSTOR, The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin, Vol. 17, No. 6, Jun., 1922, Front Matter". JSTOR 3257013.
  16. ^ "Archives Directory for the History of Collecting". research.frick.org. Retrieved 2024-04-09.
  17. ^ "Century Archives – The Century Association Archives Foundation". centuryarchives.org. Retrieved 2024-02-20.
  18. ^ "Japanese Print for $440" (PDF). The New York Times.
  19. ^ The Fine Reference Library on Japanese Print Collecting of F. Edwin Church, New York ...: To be Sold at 8 O'clock, on Friday and Saturday Evenings, November 10, 11, 1922 ... The Walpole Galleries, New York. Walpole Galleries. 1922.
  20. ^ "Hiroshige Selections from the Collection". RISD Museum.
  21. ^ a b c "Allied Artists of America records, 1914-1977 | Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution". www.aaa.si.edu. Retrieved 2024-02-20.
  22. ^ a b "Audubon Artists | Believing in artistic progress since 1942". Retrieved 2024-02-20.
  23. ^ "Academy Opens Its Spring Show". The Brooklyn Daily Eagle. 19 March 1916. p. 77.
  24. ^ "Harper's Weekly, April 8, 1916, vol 62, no. 3094, 1916 April 8, from the F. Edwin Church papers, circa 1882-2012 | Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution". www.aaa.si.edu. Retrieved 2024-02-20.
  25. ^ "Vogue magazine, May 1, 1916, page 85, The Spring Exhibition of the National Academy, photograph and caption for The Peacock Girl". archive.org. Retrieved 2024-09-11.
  26. ^ "Detroit Evening News, Saturday, May 20, 1916, page 5".
  27. ^ "Exhibits at Institute".
  28. ^ Lyme Art Association (1921). TWENTIETH ANNUAL EXHIBITION Paintings and Sculpture.
  29. ^ ""The Peacock Girl" F. Edwin Church". Internet Archive. 1921.
  30. ^ "Google Books. The Minute Men of '17". 1922.
  31. ^ Hoover, Herbert (1918). "Google Books. United States Food Administration. Food Control A War Measure".
  32. ^ "Newspapers. Rushville Republican. To be Interesting State Fair Feature".
  33. ^ "The Pharos-Tribune. U.S. Food Exhibit Will Be State Fair Feature".
  34. ^ "JSTOR. The Division of Pictorial Publicity in World War I". JSTOR 25224029.
  35. ^ "Internet Archive. The Library Journal".
  36. ^ "Topeka Daily Capital, Big Government Exhibit at the Kansas Free Fair".
  37. ^ "The Brooklyn Daily Eagle 23 Jan 1927, page 67". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2024-02-20.
  38. ^ "Old Masters of Diverse Character and Quality" (PDF). The New York Times.
  39. ^ a b "New York Evening Post 3 December 1927 — The NYS Historic Newspapers". nyshistoricnewspapers.org. Retrieved 2024-02-20.
  40. ^ "Vladimir Perfilieff - Biography". www.askart.com. Retrieved 2024-02-20.
  41. ^ "Beebe Artists, The New York Times" (PDF).
  42. ^ "BEEBE ARTISTS" (PDF). The New York Times. Retrieved 2024-02-20.
  43. ^ "Annual report of the New York Zoological Society". New York Zoological Society. March 12, 1927 – via Internet Archive.
  44. ^ a b "The Leader, A Great Day for Frederick Church". locustvalley.advantage-preservation.com. Retrieved 2024-02-20.
  45. ^ "North Shore Wildlife Sanctuary".
  46. ^ a b "North Shore Wildlife Sanctuary" (PDF). The New York Times. Retrieved 2024-02-20.
  47. ^ "The Locust Valley Leader". locustvalley.advantage-preservation.com. Retrieved 2024-02-20.
  48. ^ "F. Edwin Church - Sculpture". fedwinchurch.com. Retrieved 2024-02-20.
  49. ^ "The New York Times, December 11, 1927, page 202/Local Notes" (PDF). The New York Times.
  50. ^ "Annual Exhibition by Allied Artists at the Fine Arts Building, The New York Times" (PDF).
  51. ^ "The Brooklyn Daily Eagle, May 7, 1899, page 11 Art Students' League".
  52. ^ "The Second Annual Exhibition of Selected Paintings by America Artists, Detroit Museum of Art, May 1916" (PDF).
  53. ^ "The Sun 09 Sep 1917, page Page 54". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2024-02-20.
  54. ^ "Suffolk Weekly Times". NYS Historic Newspapers. August 22, 1914.
  55. ^ "Operation Democracy – Operation Democracy". operationdemocracy.com. Retrieved 2024-02-20.
  56. ^ "1914LAAExhibition".
  57. ^ "Art Shows in New York". Boston Evening Transcript. 25 November 1912. p. 11.
  58. ^ "AROUND THE NEW YORK GALLERIES; Work by Several Artists, Including Merton Clivette, Schenker, Boardman Robinson, Lemordant, Pye, Czobel and Others" (PDF). The New York Times. Retrieved 2024-02-20.
  59. ^ "The New York Times, March 26, 1916, page 43".
  60. ^ "New Rochelle Pioneer, page 7. Comment on Art Exhibit".
  61. ^ "The Brooklyn Daily Eagle 02 Jul 1932, page Page 8". Newspapers.com. Retrieved 2024-02-20.
  62. ^ "SALONS OF AMERICA A NEW ART SOCIETY; Organization in Opposition to Independent Artists Open toAll Schools" (PDF). The New York Times. Retrieved 2024-02-20.
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