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This article is about the artist. For the judge, see John M. Ferren.

John Ferren
Born
John Millard Ferren

(1905-10-17)October 17, 1905
Pendleton, Oregon, US
DiedJuly 1, 1970(1970-07-01) (aged 64)
Southampton, New York, US
Known forOil painting
MovementAbstract Expressionism
Spouse(s)Laure Ortiz de Zarate (1932–1938, divorce), Inez Chatfield (1941–1948, divorce), Rae Tonkel (1948–1970, ending in his death)
ChildrenBran Ferren

John Millard Ferren (October 17, 1905 – July 1, 1970) was an American artist and educator.[1] He was active from 1920 until 1970 in San Francisco, Paris and New York City.[2]

Early life

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John Ferren was born in Pendleton, Oregon on October 17, 1905, on the Blackfoot Indian Reservation.[3] His parents were Verna Zay (née Westfall) and James William Ferren, his father served in the Army and the family moved often.[3] In 1911, the family settled down in San Francisco, California.[3]

In 1925, he briefly attended the California School of Fine Arts (now known as San Francisco Art Institute).[4][5] In his 20s, he apprenticed as a stonecutter in San Francisco[3] and producing portrait busts.

Career

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Paris

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In 1929, he traveled to New York City and Paris.[2] While in Paris, Ferren attended classes at the Sorbonne, Académie de la Grande Chaumière, and Académie Ranson.[6] Although for the most part not formally educated, preferring to develop his art through an adventurous life style, and interaction with other artists, he was known as an intellectual among his peers. He wrote many published articles on abstract art and art theory. His writing and artwork appears in three issues of the influential magazine; It is. A Magazine for Abstract Art (1958-1965). While in Paris, Ferren was part of the community of artists working in Europe in the 1920s and 30s, including Marcel Duchamp, Max Ernst, Hans Hofmann, Joaquín Torres-García, Alberto Giacometti, Henri Matisse, Joan Miró, Piet Mondrian, and Pablo Picasso.[6] He became friendly with Picasso, who mentored him, and together they stretched the canvas for Picasso's large 1937 painting Guernica.[2]

He briefly returned to the United States in 1930, returning to Paris soon after, where he remained until 1938.[2] He was liked to the group Abstraction-Création.[2] He was the only artist who was both an inner-circle member of the Parisian avant garde of the 1930s,[7] and the New York School abstract expressionists of the 1940s and 1950s.[8] Gertrude Stein, remarked of Ferren in her 1937 book Everybody's Autobiography: "He is the only American painter foreign painters in Paris consider a painter and whose painting interests them.[9]

He worked at Atelier 17 with Stanley William Hayter, and learned about a nineteenth-century printing technique, the engraving plate is imprinted in wet plaster, and when dried, is then carved and painted.[2]

New York

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In 1938, he moved to New York City. He was a founding member (and later president) of The Club, a group of artists who were at the heart of the emerging New York School of abstract expressionism.[10][11] He befriended Yun Gee, and through Gee, he became interested Taoism and Zen Buddhism.[2]

He taught at the Brooklyn Museum Art School, starting in 1946.[12] Additionally he taught at Cooper Union (1946), Queens College (1952–1970), ArtCenter College of Design, Pasadena, California, and the University of California, Los Angeles.[3][13] During this time, he lived in a home and summer studio he designed and built in Brentwood, California.[14]

In the 1950s, Ferren collaborated with Alfred Hitchcock. In the 1955 film The Trouble With Harry, the artworks of main character Sam Marlowe were painted by Ferren. In the 1958 film Vertigo, Ferren created the Jimmy Stewart nightmare sequence as well as the haunting, Portrait of Carlotta.[15]

Beirut

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Ferren was selected as the first US State Department's Artist in Residence, and spent one year ('63–'64) in Beirut, Lebanon with his family.[16] They lived on the second floor of the famous Beirut landmark building The Pink House (sometimes Rose House) which also served as his studio. While in the Middle East he had several exhibitions, including at the American University of Beirut, and traveled throughout the region giving lectures on his work and on American Abstract Expressionism. His presence there was captured in an art project by painter Tom Young, in 2014–2015.[17]

East Hampton

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Ferren, along with friend and fellow painter Willem de Kooning, purchased adjacent land and a house, to which he added a studio, from sculptor Wilfred Zogbaum in 1959.[18] A few years after returning from Beirut, the Ferrens moved from New York City to live and paint full-time in East Hampton, however he also maintained a studio in New York at 147 Spring Street (sharing the building with Robert Wilson's Byrd Hoffman School of Byrds),[19] as he was simultaneously a professor teaching color and painting, and serving as chairman of the art department for CUNY, Queens College.[20] This was a very prolific period for them both, and the Ferren's remained active members of the East Hampton artist community, for the remainder of their lives.[21] Both of their works can be seen as prominent parts of the Guild Hall Museum permanent collection[37], and on exhibit at the Smithsonian American Art Museum permanent collection, along with their son's Bran Ferren.[22][23][24]

Personal life

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His first marriage was in 1932 to Laure Ferren (née Ortiz de Zarate), the daughter of Manuel Ortiz de Zarate, and ended in divorce by 1938.[3][6][25] His second marriage was in 1941, to Inez Ferren (née Chatfield), and ended in divorce by 1948.[25][3]

While teaching at Brooklyn Museum Art School, he met Rae Tonkel, one of his students and an Impressionist painter.[26][12] Ferren married Rae Ferren (née Tonkel) in 1949, when she was age 20 and he was age 44.[3] Rae Ferren died on September 6, 2016.[3][12][27][28] Their son, Bran Ferren, is a designer, technologist, inventor, and businessman.[29]

Death

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Ferren died of cancer at the Southampton Hospital in Southampton, New York in 1970.[30][13][31] He is buried at Green River Cemetery in East Hampton, New York.[31]

Museum permanent collections

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His work is in various public museum collections including:

Exhibitions

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A list of select exhibitions by John Ferren.

References

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  1. ^ "John Ferren Papers, an inventory of his papers at Syracuse University". Syracuse University. Retrieved November 11, 2020.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Collection Online, John Ferren". The Guggenheim Museums and Foundation. Retrieved November 11, 2020.
  3. ^ a b c d e f g h i Salvesen, Magda; Cousineau, Diane (2005). Artists' Estates: Reputations in Trust. Rutgers University Press. pp. 265–266. ISBN 978-0-8135-3604-0.
  4. ^ a b c d "Artists, John Ferren". Peggy Guggenheim Collection, Venice, Italy. Retrieved July 29, 2017.
  5. ^ a b c "John Ferren bio". Artnet.com. Retrieved November 11, 2020.
  6. ^ a b c "John Ferren". Smithsonian American Art Museum. Retrieved November 11, 2020.
  7. ^ Braff, Phyllis (October 10, 1993). "ART; The Balance and Unity That John Ferren Found Through Abstraction (Published 1993)". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
  8. ^ Hirschl & Adler. "John Ferren Biography".
  9. ^ "Art: American Abroad". Time. August 29, 1938. ISSN 0040-781X. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
  10. ^ "John Ferren - Bio". phillipscollection.org. Retrieved July 29, 2017.
  11. ^ "Abstract Expressionism 1952". warholstars.org. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
  12. ^ a b c Segal, Mark (September 15, 2016). "Rae Ferren, Artist Was 87". The East Hampton Star. Retrieved July 29, 2017.
  13. ^ a b "John Ferren, Famed Artist". Newspapers.com. The Palm Beach Post. July 26, 1970. p. 36. Retrieved November 11, 2020.
  14. ^ "JOHN FERREN (1905-1970) - Artists - Sullivan Goss - An American Gallery, Santa Barbara's Finest Art Gallery". www.sullivangoss.com. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
  15. ^ Film, The Art Of (March 2, 2014). "The Art of Film : The Midge Portrait in "Vertigo:" The Parody of Carlotta". The Art of Film. Retrieved July 29, 2017.
  16. ^ Rogers, Sarah A. (March 1, 2011). "The Artist as Cultural DiplomatJohn Ferren in Beirut, 1963–64". American Art. 25 (1): 112–123. doi:10.1086/660035. ISSN 1073-9300. S2CID 191211423.
  17. ^ "The Rose House (2014-15)". Tom Young. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
  18. ^ Pollock-Krasner House and Study Center. "Wilfrid Zogbaum".
  19. ^ "Byrd Hoffman School Of Byrds – The Life and Times of Joseph Stalin". Continuo's weblog. September 17, 2012. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
  20. ^ "Exhibition Catalogues". qcpages.qc.cuny.edu. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
  21. ^ "The Springs - December 2012 - fineartistmade blog". www.fineartistmade.com. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
  22. ^ "John Ferren | Smithsonian American Art Museum". americanart.si.edu. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
  23. ^ "Rae Ferren | Smithsonian American Art Museum". americanart.si.edu. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
  24. ^ "Bran Ferren | Smithsonian American Art Museum". americanart.si.edu. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
  25. ^ a b "John Ferren papers, 1927-1969, Overview". Archives of American Art, Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved November 11, 2020.
  26. ^ "Rae Ferren (1929-2016) Impressionistic American Artist". waller-yoblonsky.blogspot.com. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
  27. ^ "Rae Ferren". Smithsonian American Art Museum. Retrieved November 11, 2020.
  28. ^ R.mvellow, James (January 13, 1974). "An Avenue a Serious Artist Has to Follow". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
  29. ^ "Bran Ferren | Stern Speakers". Stern Speakers. Retrieved July 29, 2017.
  30. ^ "JOHN FERREN, 64, PAINTER, IS DEAD (Published 1970)". The New York Times. July 26, 1970. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
  31. ^ a b "Obituary, John Ferren". Newspapers.com. Daily News. July 26, 1970. p. 245. Retrieved November 11, 2020.
  32. ^ "John Ferren | Smithsonian American Art Museum". americanart.si.edu. Retrieved July 29, 2017.
  33. ^ "John Ferren | MoMA". The Museum of Modern Art. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
  34. ^ "Wikidata:WikiProject sum of all paintings/Collection/Los Angeles County Museum of Art - Wikidata". www.wikidata.org. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
  35. ^ "John Ferren". whitney.org. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
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  37. ^ "Two, No. 1". High Museum of Art. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
  38. ^ "Abstract Relief". www.dia.org. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
  39. ^ "Three Oklahoma Collections". www.ou.edu. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
  40. ^ a b "eMuseumPlus - Collection | Result". emp-web-95.zetcom.ch. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
  41. ^ "Inventory of the Arts Club Records, 1892–2004 - Summary: Arts Club of Chicago". The Newberry.
  42. ^ "John Ferren". pc.guildhall.org. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
  43. ^ "Collection Search". Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden | Smithsonian. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
  44. ^ "John Ferren, "West" (1959-60)". PAFA - Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. December 28, 2014. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
  45. ^ "| The Phillips Collection". www.phillipscollection.org. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
  46. ^ "Blanton Museum of Art". collection.blantonmuseum.org. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
  47. ^ "John Ferren - DAC Collection Search - Davison Art Center - Wesleyan University". dac-collection.wesleyan.edu. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
  48. ^ "Inscape—The Inner Nature Of Things". Parrish Art Museum. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
  49. ^ Sandweiss, Martha A. (1983). "Masterworks of American Photography: The Amon Carter Museum Collection". American Art Journal. 15 (2): 79. doi:10.2307/1594341. ISSN 0002-7359. JSTOR 1594341.
  50. ^ John Raimondi. https://www.johnraimondi.com/john-ferren. {{cite web}}: Missing or empty |title= (help)
  51. ^ Newark Art Museum. "John Ferren".
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  53. ^ "Artist Info". www.nga.gov. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
  54. ^ "John Ferren". FAMSF Search the Collections. September 21, 2018. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
  55. ^ "Weatherspoon Art Museum - John Ferren". weatherspoonartmuseum.org. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
  56. ^ "Search | Albright-Knox". www.albrightknox.org. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
  57. ^ "John Ferren – U.S. Department of State". Retrieved December 17, 2020.
  58. ^ "Untitled". collections.sbma.net. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
  59. ^ a b "Google | Santa Barbara Museum of Art". www.sbma.net. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
  60. ^ Islip Art Museum. "The Permanent Collection".
  61. ^ Lowe Art Museum. "FROM THE VAULT, BUILDING A LEGACY: SIXTY YEARS OF COLLECTING AT THE LOWE ART MUSEUM, UNIVERSITY OF MIAMI" (PDF). Lowe Art Museum Publication.
  62. ^ "Search | Yale University Art Gallery". artgallery.yale.edu. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
  63. ^ "John Ferren - Artist Facts". www.askart.com. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
  64. ^ "History". LosAngelesArtAssociation. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
  65. ^ a b "John Ferren | D. Wigmore Fine Art". www.dwigmore.com. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
  66. ^ "Artist Info". nga.gov. Retrieved July 29, 2017.
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  68. ^ a b "John Ferren Biography – John Ferren on artnet". www.artnet.com. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
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  73. ^ "REVIEW : A new exhibition canvasses a variety of privately owned works that aren't often publicly accessible". Los Angeles Times. March 31, 1996. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
  74. ^ "1951 Annual Exhibition of Contemporary American Painting". whitney.org. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
  75. ^ "New Paintings by John Ferren » Norton Simon Museum". www.nortonsimon.org. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
  76. ^ "1955 Annual Exhibition of Contemporary American Painting". whitney.org. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
  77. ^ "1956 Annual Exhibition of Contemporary American Sculpture, Watercolors and Drawings". whitney.org. Retrieved December 18, 2020.
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  87. ^ Advisors, South Florida Web (July 16, 2017). "John Ferren". Findlay Galleries. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
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  90. ^ "Helen's CV » Helen Harrison". helenharrison.net. Retrieved December 17, 2020.
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  98. ^ Firestone, Eric (2008). An Exploration of Hole Filling Algorithms (Thesis). Robert E. Kennedy Library, Cal Poly. doi:10.15368/theses.2008.11.
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  100. ^ "An Abstract Expressionist Returns to New York This October". Avenue Magazine. Retrieved December 12, 2021.
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