Arthur Jerome Eddy
Encyclopedia
Arthur Jerome Eddy was an American lawyer, author, art collector, and art critic. He was one of the first generation of Americans who collected Modern art. As opposed to the other early American collectors of modernist works, who were interested in French modernism almost exclusively, Eddy also collected the work of the German expressionists
and Wassily Kandinsky
. After Eddy's death his collection was dispersed, but part of it was re-assembled by the Art Institute of Chicago
in 1931, where it formed the core of the Museum's collection of Modern art.
and Auguste Rodin
. Eddy, who traveled to Paris in the middle of the 1890s, was portrayed by Whistler in the painting Arrangement in Flesh Color and Brown: Portrait of Arthur Jerome Eddy. Around the same time Rodin also sculpted a portrait bust of Eddy, bronze casts of which are in the Musée Rodin in Paris, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Albuquerque Museum of Art and History.
In 1902 his first book about art, titled Delight, the Soul of Art, was published. In the following year he published Recollections and impressions of James A. McNeill Whistler. Thus through 1912 he focused on the art of the late 19th century. For Eddy, as for many Americans, the 1913 Armory Show
proved a revelation of Modern art
. Fascinated by the efforts of these artists, he immediately began his collection of Avant-garde
art with the purchase of a Brâncuşi
sculpture and 25 paintings. On trips to London and Germany he came to know of Wassily Kandinsky
and by 1920 had bought four of his paintings. His collection eventually included over 100 works of Modern art.
1914 saw the publication of perhaps his most important writing, Cubists and Post-Impressionism, a large portion of which was based on information that Eddy obtained from the artists themselves. It is considered to be the first work published in the United States in which Modern Art was presented and explained sympathetically. Additionally it was the first adequate account of Kandinsky in America; the artist had been represented by only one painting in the Armory Show the year before.
In his last years of life Eddy shifted the focus of his collecting to the American moderns, including some paintings by artists such as Arthur Dove
. After his death in 1920 the collection was dispersed. It was not until 1931 that the Art Institute of Chicago
acquired 23 paintings from Eddy's former collection and established the Arthur Jerome Eddy Memorial Collection. This collection's earliest picture is A Philosopher (Beggar with Oysters), painted by Édouard Manet
between 1864 und 1867. From about 30 years later is Coast of Maine by Winslow Homer
and Whistler's portrait of Eddy. However, the core of the Eddy collection is made up of art works from the first two decades of the 19th century. Some of the better-known artists in the collection include Gabriele Münter
, Franz Marc
, André Derain
and Maurice de Vlaminck
, who are each represented by one work. The Art Institute managed to acquire all four Kandinsky paintings from Eddy's original collection. Further artists represented in the Art Institute's Eddy collection are Albert Bloch
, Emilie Charmy
, André Dunoyer de Segonzac, Robert Genin, Auguste Herbin
, Amadeo de Sousa-Cardozo and Eugène Zak.
German Expressionism
German Expressionism refers to a number of related creative movements beginning in Germany before the First World War that reached a peak in Berlin, during the 1920s...
and Wassily Kandinsky
Wassily Kandinsky
Wassily Wassilyevich Kandinsky was an influential Russian painter and art theorist. He is credited with painting the first purely-abstract works. Born in Moscow, Kandinsky spent his childhood in Odessa. He enrolled at the University of Moscow, studying law and economics...
. After Eddy's death his collection was dispersed, but part of it was re-assembled by the Art Institute of Chicago
Art Institute of Chicago
The School of the Art Institute of Chicago is one of America's largest accredited independent schools of art and design, located in the Loop in Chicago, Illinois. It is associated with the museum of the same name, and "The Art Institute of Chicago" or "Chicago Art Institute" often refers to either...
in 1931, where it formed the core of the Museum's collection of Modern art.
Life
In the latter years of the 19th century Eddy wrote books primarily on legal and economic matters. His interest in art did not awake until he saw the World Columbian Exposition in Chicago, where he was most taken with the work of James McNeill WhistlerJames McNeill Whistler
James Abbott McNeill Whistler was an American-born, British-based artist. Averse to sentimentality and moral allusion in painting, he was a leading proponent of the credo "art for art's sake". His famous signature for his paintings was in the shape of a stylized butterfly possessing a long stinger...
and Auguste Rodin
Auguste Rodin
François-Auguste-René Rodin , known as Auguste Rodin , was a French sculptor. Although Rodin is generally considered the progenitor of modern sculpture, he did not set out to rebel against the past...
. Eddy, who traveled to Paris in the middle of the 1890s, was portrayed by Whistler in the painting Arrangement in Flesh Color and Brown: Portrait of Arthur Jerome Eddy. Around the same time Rodin also sculpted a portrait bust of Eddy, bronze casts of which are in the Musée Rodin in Paris, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Albuquerque Museum of Art and History.
In 1902 his first book about art, titled Delight, the Soul of Art, was published. In the following year he published Recollections and impressions of James A. McNeill Whistler. Thus through 1912 he focused on the art of the late 19th century. For Eddy, as for many Americans, the 1913 Armory Show
Armory Show
Many exhibitions have been held in the vast spaces of U.S. National Guard armories, but the Armory Show refers to the 1913 International Exhibition of Modern Art that was organized by the Association of American Painters and Sculptors...
proved a revelation of Modern art
Modern art
Modern art includes artistic works produced during the period extending roughly from the 1860s to the 1970s, and denotes the style and philosophy of the art produced during that era. The term is usually associated with art in which the traditions of the past have been thrown aside in a spirit of...
. Fascinated by the efforts of these artists, he immediately began his collection of Avant-garde
Avant-garde
Avant-garde means "advance guard" or "vanguard". The adjective form is used in English to refer to people or works that are experimental or innovative, particularly with respect to art, culture, and politics....
art with the purchase of a Brâncuşi
Constantin Brancusi
Constantin Brâncuşi was a Romanian-born sculptor who made his career in France. As a child he displayed an aptitude for carving wooden farm tools. Formal studies took him first to Bucharest, then to Munich, then to the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris...
sculpture and 25 paintings. On trips to London and Germany he came to know of Wassily Kandinsky
Wassily Kandinsky
Wassily Wassilyevich Kandinsky was an influential Russian painter and art theorist. He is credited with painting the first purely-abstract works. Born in Moscow, Kandinsky spent his childhood in Odessa. He enrolled at the University of Moscow, studying law and economics...
and by 1920 had bought four of his paintings. His collection eventually included over 100 works of Modern art.
1914 saw the publication of perhaps his most important writing, Cubists and Post-Impressionism, a large portion of which was based on information that Eddy obtained from the artists themselves. It is considered to be the first work published in the United States in which Modern Art was presented and explained sympathetically. Additionally it was the first adequate account of Kandinsky in America; the artist had been represented by only one painting in the Armory Show the year before.
In his last years of life Eddy shifted the focus of his collecting to the American moderns, including some paintings by artists such as Arthur Dove
Arthur Dove
Arthur Garfield Dove was an American artist. An early American modernist, he is often considered the first American abstract painter.-Youth and education:...
. After his death in 1920 the collection was dispersed. It was not until 1931 that the Art Institute of Chicago
Art Institute of Chicago
The School of the Art Institute of Chicago is one of America's largest accredited independent schools of art and design, located in the Loop in Chicago, Illinois. It is associated with the museum of the same name, and "The Art Institute of Chicago" or "Chicago Art Institute" often refers to either...
acquired 23 paintings from Eddy's former collection and established the Arthur Jerome Eddy Memorial Collection. This collection's earliest picture is A Philosopher (Beggar with Oysters), painted by Édouard Manet
Édouard Manet
Édouard Manet was a French painter. One of the first 19th-century artists to approach modern-life subjects, he was a pivotal figure in the transition from Realism to Impressionism....
between 1864 und 1867. From about 30 years later is Coast of Maine by Winslow Homer
Winslow Homer
Winslow Homer was an American landscape painter and printmaker, best known for his marine subjects. He is considered one of the foremost painters in 19th century America and a preeminent figure in American art....
and Whistler's portrait of Eddy. However, the core of the Eddy collection is made up of art works from the first two decades of the 19th century. Some of the better-known artists in the collection include Gabriele Münter
Gabriele Münter
Gabriele Münter was a German expressionist painter who was at the forefront of the Munich avant-garde in the early 20th century. Artists and writers associated with German Expressionism shared a rebellious attitude toward the materialism and mores of German imperial and bourgeois society...
, Franz Marc
Franz Marc
Franz Marc was a German painter and printmaker, one of the key figures of the German Expressionist movement...
, André Derain
André Derain
André Derain was a French artist, painter, sculptor and co-founder of Fauvism with Henri Matisse.-Early years:...
and Maurice de Vlaminck
Maurice de Vlaminck
Maurice de Vlaminck was a French painter. Along with André Derain and Henri Matisse he is considered one of the principal figures in the Fauve movement, a group of modern artists who from 1904 to 1908 were united in their use of intense color.-Life:Maurice de Vlaminck was born in Paris to a family...
, who are each represented by one work. The Art Institute managed to acquire all four Kandinsky paintings from Eddy's original collection. Further artists represented in the Art Institute's Eddy collection are Albert Bloch
Albert Bloch
Albert Bloch was an American Modernist artist and the only American artist associated with Der Blaue Reiter , a group of early 20th-century European modernists....
, Emilie Charmy
Émilie Charmy
Emilie Charmy was an artist in France's early avant-garde. She worked closely with Fauve artists like Henri Matisse, and was active in exhibiting her artworks in Paris, particularly with Berthe Weill.- Biography :...
, André Dunoyer de Segonzac, Robert Genin, Auguste Herbin
Auguste Herbin
Auguste Herbin was a French painter.-Biography:Born in Quiévy, Nord, he studied drawing at the École des Beaux-Arts de Lille, from 1898 to 1901, when he settled in Paris....
, Amadeo de Sousa-Cardozo and Eugène Zak.
Works by Eddy
- Come let us reason together. The Eddy printing and publishing house, Flint, Michigan c. 1884
- The farmer's complete cyclopedia. The Eddy printing and publishing house, Flint, Michigan 1885
- The law of combinations embracing monopolies, trusts, and combinations of labor and capital. Callaghan and company, Chicago 1901
- Delight, the soul of art. J.B. Lippincott Co., Philadelphia 1902
- Recollections and impressions of James A. McNeill Whistler. J. B. Lippincott Co., Philadelphia 1903
- Ganton & Co.; a story of Chicago commercial and social life. McClurg, Chicago 1908
- The new competition; an examination of the conditions underlying the radical change that is taking place in the commercial and industrial world. Appelton, New York 1912
- Cubists and post-impressionism. A. C. McClurg & co., Chicago 1914
External links
- Arthur Jerome Eddy at the Art Institute of Chicago
- A. Deirdre Robson: Eddy, Arthur Jerome. Grove Art Online. Oxford University Press; http://www.groveart.com/ (Registration required)
- Rodin's portrait bust of Eddy, on the website of the Musée Rodin