Fairfield Porter
Encyclopedia
Fairfield Porter was an American
painter
and art critic
. He was the brother of photographer Eliot Porter
and the brother-in-law of federal Reclamation
Commissioner Michael W. Straus
.
While a student at Harvard, Porter majored in fine arts, and continued his studies at the Art Students' League when he moved to New York City
in 1928. His studies at the Art Students' League predisposed him to produce socially relevant art and, although the subjects would change, he continued to produce realist work for the rest of his career. He would be criticized and revered for continuing his representational style in the midst of the Abstract Expressionist
movement.
His subjects were primarily landscapes
, domestic interiors and portrait
s of family, friends and fellow artists, many of them affiliated with the New York School
of writers, including John Ashbery
, Frank O'Hara
, and James Schuyler
. Many of his paintings were set in or around the family summer house on Great Spruce Head Island, Maine
and the family home at 49 South Main Street, Southhampton, New York.
His painterly vision which encompassed a fascination with nature
and the ability to reveal extraordinariness in ordinary life was heavily indebted to the French
painters Pierre Bonnard
and Edouard Vuillard
. John Ashbery wrote of him: "Characteristically, [Porter] tended to prefer the late woolly Vuillards to the early ones everyone likes".
Porter said once, "When I paint, I think that what would satisfy me is to express what Bonnard said Renoir
told him: make everything more beautiful."
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
painter
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
and art critic
Art criticism
Art criticism is the discussion or evaluation of visual art.Art critics usually criticize art in the context of aesthetics or the theory of beauty...
. He was the brother of photographer Eliot Porter
Eliot Porter
Eliot Furness Porter was an American photographer best known for his color photographs of nature.-Early life:...
and the brother-in-law of federal Reclamation
United States Bureau of Reclamation
The United States Bureau of Reclamation , and formerly the United States Reclamation Service , is an agency under the U.S...
Commissioner Michael W. Straus
Michael W. Straus
Michael Wolf Straus was the Commissioner of the United States Bureau of Reclamation from 1945 until 1953.-Biography:Straus was born in Chicago in 1897. He pursued a career as a newspaperman, serving as managing editor of the Chicago Evening Post and rising to the position of Washington, D.C....
.
While a student at Harvard, Porter majored in fine arts, and continued his studies at the Art Students' League when he moved to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
in 1928. His studies at the Art Students' League predisposed him to produce socially relevant art and, although the subjects would change, he continued to produce realist work for the rest of his career. He would be criticized and revered for continuing his representational style in the midst of the Abstract Expressionist
Abstract expressionism
Abstract expressionism was an American post–World War II art movement. It was the first specifically American movement to achieve worldwide influence and put New York City at the center of the western art world, a role formerly filled by Paris...
movement.
His subjects were primarily landscapes
Landscape art
Landscape art is a term that covers the depiction of natural scenery such as mountains, valleys, trees, rivers, and forests, and especially art where the main subject is a wide view, with its elements arranged into a coherent composition. In other works landscape backgrounds for figures can still...
, domestic interiors and portrait
Portrait
thumb|250px|right|Portrait of [[Thomas Jefferson]] by [[Rembrandt Peale]], 1805. [[New-York Historical Society]].A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expression is predominant. The intent is to display the likeness,...
s of family, friends and fellow artists, many of them affiliated with the New York School
New York School
The New York School was an informal group of American poets, painters, dancers, and musicians active in the 1950s, 1960s in New York City...
of writers, including John Ashbery
John Ashbery
John Lawrence Ashbery is an American poet. He has published more than twenty volumes of poetry and won nearly every major American award for poetry, including a Pulitzer Prize in 1976 for his collection Self-Portrait in a Convex Mirror. But Ashbery's work still proves controversial...
, Frank O'Hara
Frank O'Hara
Francis Russell "Frank" O'Hara was an American writer, poet and art critic. He was a member of the New York School of poetry.-Life:...
, and James Schuyler
James Schuyler
James Marcus Schuyler was an American poet whose awards include the Pulitzer Prize for Poetry for his 1980 collection The Morning of the Poem...
. Many of his paintings were set in or around the family summer house on Great Spruce Head Island, Maine
Great Spruce Head Island, Maine
Great Spruce Head Island is a privately owned island in Penobscot Bay, Maine. It has long belonged to the family of the painter Fairfield Porter and his brother, photographer Eliot Porter, both of whom did creative work there. For example, Eliot's book Summer Island is a visual tribute to the...
and the family home at 49 South Main Street, Southhampton, New York.
His painterly vision which encompassed a fascination with nature
Nature
Nature, in the broadest sense, is equivalent to the natural world, physical world, or material world. "Nature" refers to the phenomena of the physical world, and also to life in general...
and the ability to reveal extraordinariness in ordinary life was heavily indebted to the French
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
painters Pierre Bonnard
Pierre Bonnard
Pierre Bonnard was a French painter and printmaker, as well as a founding member of Les Nabis.-Biography:...
and Edouard Vuillard
Édouard Vuillard
Jean-Édouard Vuillard was a French painter and printmaker associated with the Nabis.-Early years and education:...
. John Ashbery wrote of him: "Characteristically, [Porter] tended to prefer the late woolly Vuillards to the early ones everyone likes".
Porter said once, "When I paint, I think that what would satisfy me is to express what Bonnard said Renoir
Pierre-Auguste Renoir
Pierre-Auguste Renoir was a French artist who was a leading painter in the development of the Impressionist style. As a celebrator of beauty, and especially feminine sensuality, it has been said that "Renoir is the final representative of a tradition which runs directly from Rubens to...
told him: make everything more beautiful."