Patrick Henry Bruce
Encyclopedia
Patrick Henry Bruce was an American cubist
painter.
, Bruce was born in Campbell County, Virginia
, the second of four children. His family had once owned a huge plantation, Berry Hill, worked by over 3,000 slaves
. Berry Hill Estate originally was part of a 105000 acres (424.9 km²) tract granted by the English Crown in 1728 to William Byrd II. (Berry Hill is now a resort and conference center outside South Boston, Virginia and is a National Historic Landmark.) The Civil War
left the Bruces' wealth greatly diminished. Bruce began taking evening classes at the Art Club of Richmond
in 1898, while working in a real estate office during the daytime. His earliest known extant painting dates from 1900.
In 1902 he moved to New York, where he studied with William Merritt Chase
, Robert Henri
, and Kenneth Hayes Miller
. By February 1904 he was in Paris, where he would live until 1933. Although his evolution toward a modernist style was gradual, his works of 1908 reveal the influence of Renoir
and Cézanne
, and in that year he was among the first to enroll in Matisse
's school.
Bruce exhibited regularly in the Salon d'Automne
, and met many of the leading artists of the early twentieth century avant garde. During a period of close friendship with Sonia
and Robert Delaunay
in 1912–14 his paintings were influenced by Orphism
, but Bruce never formed an attachment to any school. Although art historians have sometimes linked him to the Synchromist
s, he never exhibited with the Synchromists, adopted their theories or gave his paintings Synchromist titles.
The style of his mature work anticipated the Purism
developed by Léger
and Ozenfant
in the 1920s. In his paintings of 1918 and later, hard-edged geometric forms are arranged as on a tabletop and rendered in evenly applied, flat colors. His work was admired by Marcel Duchamp
and may have influenced the style adopted by his former teacher, Matisse, in his mural
La Danse (1932–33, in the Barnes Foundation, Merion, Pennsylvania
).
Intensely self-critical, Bruce destroyed a great many of his paintings, and only about one hundred works remain. His death was by suicide
, in New York City on November 12, 1936.
Cubism
Cubism was a 20th century avant-garde art movement, pioneered by Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque, that revolutionized European painting and sculpture, and inspired related movements in music, literature and architecture...
painter.
Biography
A descendant of Patrick HenryPatrick Henry
Patrick Henry was an orator and politician who led the movement for independence in Virginia in the 1770s. A Founding Father, he served as the first and sixth post-colonial Governor of Virginia from 1776 to 1779 and subsequently, from 1784 to 1786...
, Bruce was born in Campbell County, Virginia
Campbell County, Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 51,078 people, 20,639 households, and 14,694 families residing in the county. The population density was 101 people per square mile . There were 22,088 housing units at an average density of 44 per square mile...
, the second of four children. His family had once owned a huge plantation, Berry Hill, worked by over 3,000 slaves
Slavery
Slavery is a system under which people are treated as property to be bought and sold, and are forced to work. Slaves can be held against their will from the time of their capture, purchase or birth, and deprived of the right to leave, to refuse to work, or to demand compensation...
. Berry Hill Estate originally was part of a 105000 acres (424.9 km²) tract granted by the English Crown in 1728 to William Byrd II. (Berry Hill is now a resort and conference center outside South Boston, Virginia and is a National Historic Landmark.) The Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
left the Bruces' wealth greatly diminished. Bruce began taking evening classes at the Art Club of Richmond
Richmond, Virginia
Richmond is the capital of the Commonwealth of Virginia, in the United States. It is an independent city and not part of any county. Richmond is the center of the Richmond Metropolitan Statistical Area and the Greater Richmond area...
in 1898, while working in a real estate office during the daytime. His earliest known extant painting dates from 1900.
In 1902 he moved to New York, where he studied 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...
, Robert Henri
Robert Henri
Robert Henri was an American painter and teacher. He was a leading figure of the Ashcan School in art.- Early life :...
, and Kenneth Hayes Miller
Kenneth Hayes Miller
Kenneth Hayes Miller was an American painter and teacher.Born in Oneida, New York, he studied at the Art Students League of New York with Kenyon Cox, Henry Siddons Mowbray and with William Merritt Chase at the New York School of Art. He died in New York City.-Students:Miller taught at the Art...
. By February 1904 he was in Paris, where he would live until 1933. Although his evolution toward a modernist style was gradual, his works of 1908 reveal the influence of 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...
and Cézanne
Paul Cézanne
Paul Cézanne was a French artist and Post-Impressionist painter whose work laid the foundations of the transition from the 19th century conception of artistic endeavour to a new and radically different world of art in the 20th century. Cézanne can be said to form the bridge between late 19th...
, and in that year he was among the first to enroll in Matisse
Henri Matisse
Henri Matisse was a French artist, known for his use of colour and his fluid and original draughtsmanship. He was a draughtsman, printmaker, and sculptor, but is known primarily as a painter...
's school.
Bruce exhibited regularly in the Salon d'Automne
Salon d'Automne
In 1903, the first Salon d'Automne was organized by Georges Rouault, André Derain, Henri Matisse, Angele Delasalle and Albert Marquet as a reaction to the conservative policies of the official Paris Salon...
, and met many of the leading artists of the early twentieth century avant garde. During a period of close friendship with Sonia
Sonia Delaunay
Sonia Delaunay was a Jewish-French artist who, with her husband Robert Delaunay and others, cofounded the Orphism art movement, noted for its use of strong colours and geometric shapes. Her work extends to painting, textile design and stage set design...
and Robert Delaunay
Robert Delaunay
Robert Delaunay was a French artist who, with his wife Sonia Delaunay and others, cofounded the Orphism art movement, noted for its use of strong colours and geometric shapes. His later works were more abstract, reminiscent of Paul Klee...
in 1912–14 his paintings were influenced by Orphism
Orphism (art)
Orphism or Orphic Cubism , the term coined by the French poet Guillaume Apollinaire, was a little known art movement during the time of Cubism that focused on pure abstraction and bright colors influenced by Fauvism and the dye chemist Eugène Chevreul...
, but Bruce never formed an attachment to any school. Although art historians have sometimes linked him to the Synchromist
Synchromism
Synchromism was an art movement founded in 1912 by American artists Stanton MacDonald-Wright and Morgan Russell. Their abstract "synchromies", based on a theory of color that analogized it to music, were among the first abstract paintings in American art...
s, he never exhibited with the Synchromists, adopted their theories or gave his paintings Synchromist titles.
The style of his mature work anticipated the Purism
Purism
Purism was a form of Cubism advocated by the French painter Amédée Ozenfant and the architect Charles-Edouard Jeanneret . Purism rejected the decorative trend of cubism and advocated a return to clear, ordered forms that were expressive of the modern machine age as documented in their 1918 book...
developed by Léger
Fernand Léger
Joseph Fernand Henri Léger was a French painter, sculptor, and filmmaker. In his early works he created a personal form of Cubism which he gradually modified into a more figurative, populist style...
and Ozenfant
Amédée Ozenfant
Amédée Ozenfant was a French cubist painter.He was born into a bourgeois family in Saint-Quentin, Aisne and was educated at Dominican colleges in Saint-Sébastien...
in the 1920s. In his paintings of 1918 and later, hard-edged geometric forms are arranged as on a tabletop and rendered in evenly applied, flat colors. His work was admired by Marcel Duchamp
Marcel Duchamp
Marcel Duchamp was a French artist whose work is most often associated with the Dadaist and Surrealist movements. Considered by some to be one of the most important artists of the 20th century, Duchamp's output influenced the development of post-World War I Western art...
and may have influenced the style adopted by his former teacher, Matisse, in his mural
Mural
A mural is any piece of artwork painted or applied directly on a wall, ceiling or other large permanent surface. A particularly distinguishing characteristic of mural painting is that the architectural elements of the given space are harmoniously incorporated into the picture.-History:Murals of...
La Danse (1932–33, in the Barnes Foundation, Merion, Pennsylvania
Merion, Pennsylvania
Merion Station is an unincorporated community in Lower Merion Township, Montgomery County, Pennsylvania, United States. It is contiguous to Philadelphia and is also bordered by Wynnewood, Narberth, and Bala Cynwyd...
).
Intensely self-critical, Bruce destroyed a great many of his paintings, and only about one hundred works remain. His death was by suicide
Suicide
Suicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
, in New York City on November 12, 1936.