William Langson Lathrop
Encyclopedia
William Langson Lathrop was an American Impressionist landscape painter
and founder of the art colony
at New Hope, Pennsylvania
. He is sometimes referred to as a "Pennsylvania Impressionist". Lathrop was a member of the National Academy of Design
and served on numerous exhibition juries during his career. He received a gold medal at the Panama-Pacific International Exposition (1915)
in San Francisco, California
, which showcased works by many of the major American artists of the time. Today, Lathrop's paintings are in numerous museum collections including the Metropolitan Museum of Art
in New York City, and the Smithsonian American Art Museum
in Washington, DC.
Lathrop was born in Painesville, Ohio
and grew up on his family's farm. Lathrop began his art career in New York City in the late 1870s as an illustrator and part-time etcher
, both pursuits that earned him little money. In the late 1880s Lathrop traveled to Europe where he met and married his wife. Returning to America, Lathrop endured financial difficulty and briefly turned away from art before friends convinced him to enter his watercolors in a prestigious New York show. Lathrop received the top prize and a glowing review in The New York Times
, and his career was launched.
In 1899 Lathrop and his family moved to New Hope, Pennsylvania on the Delaware River
. Other artists began to settle in the area, some drawn by Lathrop's recommendations, and the Lathrop home served as the social focus of the growing art colony. For more than thirty years Lathrop pursued landscape painting at New Hope, exhibiting his works in galleries across the nation. During this time Lathrop's painting style evolved from tonalist
, characterized by darker colors and an emphasis on mood, to the brighter impressionist
paintings for which he is best remembered today.
In the late 1920s Lathrop hand-built a wooden boat in his backyard and named it "The Widge". Measuring over twenty feet in length, Lathrop and his friends launched The Widge into the Delaware River in 1930. Lathrop, an able sailor, piloted the boat into the Atlantic coastal waters. He continued sailing for pleasure in his later years, painting scenes of the Atlantic shoreline and even once entertaining Albert Einstein
on board as a guest.
In late September 1938, Lathrop was piloting his boat around eastern Long Island when word came of an approaching hurricane
. Far from safe harbor, Lathrop chose to ride out the storm in a sheltered bay. While The Widge survived the storm, Lathrop's body was recovered along the shoreline a month later. Eyewitness accounts of Lathrop from occupants of nearby boats indicated he may have died of a heart attack during the storm, and been blown or washed from his boat.
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...
and founder of the art colony
Art colony
right|300px|thumb|Artist houses in [[Montsalvat]] near [[Melbourne, Australia]].An art colony or artists' colony is a place where creative practitioners live and interact with one another. Artists are often invited or selected through a formal process, for a residency from a few weeks to over a year...
at New Hope, Pennsylvania
New Hope, Pennsylvania
New Hope, formerly known as Coryell's Ferry, is a borough in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, USA. The population was 2,528 at the 2010 census. The borough lies on the west bank of the Delaware River at its confluence with Aquetong Creek. A two-lane bridge carries automobile and foot traffic across the...
. He is sometimes referred to as a "Pennsylvania Impressionist". Lathrop was a member of the National Academy of Design
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...
and served on numerous exhibition juries during his career. He received a gold medal at the Panama-Pacific International Exposition (1915)
Panama-Pacific International Exposition (1915)
The Panama-Pacific International Exposition was a world's fair held in San Francisco, California between February 20 and December 4 in 1915. Its ostensible purpose was to celebrate the completion of the Panama Canal, but it was widely seen in the city as an opportunity to showcase its recovery...
in San Francisco, California
San Francisco, California
San Francisco , officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the financial, cultural, and transportation center of the San Francisco Bay Area, a region of 7.15 million people which includes San Jose and Oakland...
, which showcased works by many of the major American artists of the time. Today, Lathrop's paintings are in numerous museum collections including the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art is a renowned art museum in New York City. Its permanent collection contains more than two million works, divided into nineteen curatorial departments. The main building, located on the eastern edge of Central Park along Manhattan's Museum Mile, is one of the...
in New York City, and the Smithsonian American Art Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
The Smithsonian American Art Museum is a museum in Washington, D.C. with an extensive collection of American art.Part of the Smithsonian Institution, the museum has a broad variety of American art that covers all regions and art movements found in the United States...
in Washington, DC.
Lathrop was born in Painesville, Ohio
Painesville, Ohio
As of the 2010 Census, there were 19,563 people. As of the census of 2000, there were 17,503 people, 6,525 households, and 4,032 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,928.6 people per square mile . There were 6,933 housing units at an average density of 1,160.0 per square mile...
and grew up on his family's farm. Lathrop began his art career in New York City in the late 1870s as an illustrator and part-time etcher
Etching
Etching is the process of using strong acid or mordant to cut into the unprotected parts of a metal surface to create a design in intaglio in the metal...
, both pursuits that earned him little money. In the late 1880s Lathrop traveled to Europe where he met and married his wife. Returning to America, Lathrop endured financial difficulty and briefly turned away from art before friends convinced him to enter his watercolors in a prestigious New York show. Lathrop received the top prize and a glowing review in The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, and his career was launched.
In 1899 Lathrop and his family moved to New Hope, Pennsylvania on the Delaware River
Delaware River
The Delaware River is a major river on the Atlantic coast of the United States.A Dutch expedition led by Henry Hudson in 1609 first mapped the river. The river was christened the South River in the New Netherland colony that followed, in contrast to the North River, as the Hudson River was then...
. Other artists began to settle in the area, some drawn by Lathrop's recommendations, and the Lathrop home served as the social focus of the growing art colony. For more than thirty years Lathrop pursued landscape painting at New Hope, exhibiting his works in galleries across the nation. During this time Lathrop's painting style evolved from tonalist
Tonalism
Tonalism was an artistic style that emerged in the 1880s when American artists began to paint landscape forms with an overall tone of colored atmosphere or mist. Between 1880 and 1915, dark, neutral hues such as gray, brown or blue, often dominated compositions by artists associated with the style...
, characterized by darker colors and an emphasis on mood, to the brighter impressionist
Impressionism
Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement that originated with a group of Paris-based artists whose independent exhibitions brought them to prominence during the 1870s and 1880s...
paintings for which he is best remembered today.
In the late 1920s Lathrop hand-built a wooden boat in his backyard and named it "The Widge". Measuring over twenty feet in length, Lathrop and his friends launched The Widge into the Delaware River in 1930. Lathrop, an able sailor, piloted the boat into the Atlantic coastal waters. He continued sailing for pleasure in his later years, painting scenes of the Atlantic shoreline and even once entertaining Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein
Albert Einstein was a German-born theoretical physicist who developed the theory of general relativity, effecting a revolution in physics. For this achievement, Einstein is often regarded as the father of modern physics and one of the most prolific intellects in human history...
on board as a guest.
In late September 1938, Lathrop was piloting his boat around eastern Long Island when word came of an approaching hurricane
New England Hurricane of 1938
The New England Hurricane of 1938 was the first major hurricane to strike New England since 1869...
. Far from safe harbor, Lathrop chose to ride out the storm in a sheltered bay. While The Widge survived the storm, Lathrop's body was recovered along the shoreline a month later. Eyewitness accounts of Lathrop from occupants of nearby boats indicated he may have died of a heart attack during the storm, and been blown or washed from his boat.