Harry Mills Walcott
Encyclopedia
Harry Mills Walcott was a leading American painter and teacher in the first few decades of the 20th century. He was known for highly decorative scenes of childhood. He was on the staff of the Art Institute of Chicago for many years. Walcott was an Associate Member of the National Academy of Design
.
on October 10, 1867. Walcott was the second of six children and he was born in Torrington, Connecticut, where his father had moved to take a position as clergyman. He grew up in Torrington and then in Bergen, County, New Jersey where his father had moved to take a position as pastor of First Presbyterian Church in 1876, when he was six and then 1st Congregational Church where he remained until his death more than forty years later. Walcott was artistically talented and he attended the School of the National Academy of Design, where he studied under Will Low and received a classical French Atelier Style education. Walcott won the prestigious Havermeyer Traveling Scholarship in 1894, which allowed him to travel to France for artistic training. In France, he studied at the private Académie Julian
with Benjamin Constant
and Jean-Paul Laurens
.
. After returning to the United States, his work was shown first in the 1901 Pan-American Exposition
in Buffalo New York where he was awarded with a medal and then in the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition
in St. Louis, Missouri, which celebrated the Centennial of the Louisiana Purchase
, where his work was again awarded a medal. Showing the esteem he must have been held at the time, in 1907 he was on the jury for the Art Institute's Annual Exhibition of American Painting and Sculpture with William Merritt Chase
, Joseph DeCamp
, Daniel Garber
and J. Francis Murphy. He won a medal at the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco, the World's Fair that celebrated the rebirth of the city after the 1906 earthquake and fire. After he retired from teaching at the Art Institute, he and his wife settled near her family in Newark Township, Ohio. Walcott had a winter home in California late in his life, where at least one of his siblings had settled and he died in San Diego, on Coronado Island.
National Academy of Design
The National Academy Museum and School of Fine Arts, founded in New York City as the National Academy of Design – known simply as the "National Academy" – is an honorary association of American artists founded in 1825 by Samuel F. B. Morse, Asher B. Durand, Thomas Cole, Martin E...
.
Youth
Harry Mills Walcott was the son of a prominent pastor Dana Mills Walcott (1840–1919) and Elizabeth Billings (1840–1932). His parents were married in Providence, Rhode IslandProvidence, Rhode Island
Providence is the capital and most populous city of Rhode Island and was one of the first cities established in the United States. Located in Providence County, it is the third largest city in the New England region...
on October 10, 1867. Walcott was the second of six children and he was born in Torrington, Connecticut, where his father had moved to take a position as clergyman. He grew up in Torrington and then in Bergen, County, New Jersey where his father had moved to take a position as pastor of First Presbyterian Church in 1876, when he was six and then 1st Congregational Church where he remained until his death more than forty years later. Walcott was artistically talented and he attended the School of the National Academy of Design, where he studied under Will Low and received a classical French Atelier Style education. Walcott won the prestigious Havermeyer Traveling Scholarship in 1894, which allowed him to travel to France for artistic training. In France, he studied at the private Académie Julian
Académie Julian
The Académie Julian was an art school in Paris, France.Rodolphe Julian established the Académie Julian in 1868 at the Passage des Panoramas, as a private studio school for art students. The Académie Julian not only prepared students to the exams at the prestigious École des Beaux-Arts, but offered...
with Benjamin Constant
Benjamin Constant
Henri-Benjamin Constant de Rebecque was a Swiss-born French nobleman, thinker, writer and politician.-Biography:...
and Jean-Paul Laurens
Jean-Paul Laurens
Jean-Paul Laurens , was a French painter and sculptor, and one of the last major exponents of the French Academic style.Born in Fourquevaux, he was a pupil of Léon Cogniet and Alexandre Bida...
.
Marriage
Walcott married another prominent artist Anabel "Belle" Havens on June 1, 1905 She was a grocer's daughter, born in Haven's Corner, near Columbus and raised in Newark, Ohio. She studied in New York at the Art Student's League and then in France and Holland. Before the Walcott's late marriage (they were both thirty-five) she had won the prestigious Hallgarten Price at the Annual Exhibition of the National Academy of Design in 1903. The couple lived in Rutherford, New Jersey until Harry accepted a position at the Art Institute of Chicago. In Chicago, the Walcotts initially boarded with a woman named Bertha Stott. The couple had no children.Artistic career
Before leaving Europe he was awarded an Honorable Mention at the 1897 Paris SalonParis Salon
The Salon , or rarely Paris Salon , beginning in 1725 was the official art exhibition of the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris, France. Between 1748–1890 it was the greatest annual or biannual art event in the Western world...
. After returning to the United States, his work was shown first in the 1901 Pan-American Exposition
Pan-American Exposition
The Pan-American Exposition was a World's Fair held in Buffalo, New York, United States, from May 1 through November 2, 1901. The fair occupied of land on the western edge of what is present day Delaware Park, extending from Delaware Ave. to Elmwood Ave and northward to Great Arrow...
in Buffalo New York where he was awarded with a medal and then in the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition
Louisiana Purchase Exposition
The Louisiana Purchase Exposition, informally known as the Saint Louis World's Fair, was an international exposition held in St. Louis, Missouri, United States in 1904.- Background :...
in St. Louis, Missouri, which celebrated the Centennial of the Louisiana Purchase
Louisiana Purchase
The Louisiana Purchase was the acquisition by the United States of America of of France's claim to the territory of Louisiana in 1803. The U.S...
, where his work was again awarded a medal. Showing the esteem he must have been held at the time, in 1907 he was on the jury for the Art Institute's Annual Exhibition of American Painting and Sculpture with William Merritt Chase
William Merritt Chase
William Merritt Chase was an American painter known as an exponent of Impressionism and as a teacher. He is also responsible for establishing the Chase School, which later would become Parsons The New School for Design.- Early life and training :He was born in Williamsburg , Indiana, to the family...
, Joseph DeCamp
Joseph DeCamp
Joseph Rodefer DeCamp was an American painter.-Biography:Born in Cincinnati, Ohio where he studied with Frank Duveneck. In the second half of the 1870s he went with Duveneck and fellow students to the Royal Academy of Munich...
, Daniel Garber
Daniel Garber
Daniel Garber was an American Impressionist landscape painter and member of the art colony at New Hope, Pennsylvania. He is best known today for his large impressionist scenes of the New Hope area, in which he often depicted the Delaware River. He also painted figurative interior works and...
and J. Francis Murphy. He won a medal at the 1915 Panama-Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco, the World's Fair that celebrated the rebirth of the city after the 1906 earthquake and fire. After he retired from teaching at the Art Institute, he and his wife settled near her family in Newark Township, Ohio. Walcott had a winter home in California late in his life, where at least one of his siblings had settled and he died in San Diego, on Coronado Island.
Analysis of art
There does not seem to be a great deal of research done on Walcott as this article is prepared. The work that can be viewed are usually scenes of childhood, children running in fields In spite of the small number of works that have been on the art market, his prices are quite high.Memberships
- American Artist Association, Paris, France
- Salmagundi Club, New York, New York
- Society of American Artists, New York, New York
- National Academy of Design, New York, New York
Prominent students
- Edouard Vysekal
- William Twigg-Smith (1883–1950)
- Wilby Walter Hauserer (1891–1969)
- Olin Travis (1888–1975)
- Theodore LukitsTheodore LukitsTheodore Nikolai Lukits was a California portrait and landscape painter. His initial fame came from his portraits of some of the most glamorous actresses of the Silent Film era, but since his death, his Asian-inspired works, figures drawn from Hispanic California and his pastel landscapes have all...
(1897–1992) - Walter C. Brownson (1881–1968)
See also
- Decorative ImpressionismDecorative ImpressionismDecorative Impressionism is an art historical term that is credited to the art writer Christian Brinton, who first used it in 1911. Brinton titled an article on the American expatriate painter Frederick Frieseke, one of the members of the famous Giverny Colony of American Impressionists, "The...
- American ImpressionismAmerican ImpressionismImpressionism, a style of painting characterized by loose brushwork and vivid colors, was practiced widely among American artists in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.-An emerging artistic style from Paris:...
- Art Institute of ChicagoArt Institute of ChicagoThe 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...
- National Academy of DesignNational Academy of DesignThe National Academy Museum and School of Fine Arts, founded in New York City as the National Academy of Design – known simply as the "National Academy" – is an honorary association of American artists founded in 1825 by Samuel F. B. Morse, Asher B. Durand, Thomas Cole, Martin E...