 |
Taos Painters: Theodore van Soelen (1890-1964)
A native of St. Paul, Minnesota, Van Soelen trained in art at the St. Paul Institute from 1908 to 1911, and then attended the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art, 1911-1915. The Pennsylvania Academy awarded Van Soelen a Cresson Traveling Scholarship which enabled him to tour and study in Europe in 1913 and 1914.
Shortly after launching his art career back in the United States, Van Soelen headed west, seeking relief from tuberculosis. After spending time in Utah and Nevada, he settled in Albuquerque, New Mexico in 1916. Working as a commercial illustrator, he also began to sell his fine art paintings. To acquaint himself with the people and landscapes of New Mexico, Van Soelen spent time in the small towns and ranches of the region. Early on, scenes of ranch life became his favorite subjects.
Van Soelen married Virginia Carr in 1922 and the couple moved to Santa Fe before permanently settling in nearby Tesuque, New Mexico in 1926. Van Soelen's reputation grew rapidly throughout this time, but like other New Mexico's easel painters, most of his customers were in the East. In the 1930s he established a second studio in Cornwall, Connecticut to be closer to that market.
Van Soelen painted in a detailed, realistic style with a slightly muted palette and strong draftsmanship. Though most famous for his ranch-life genre paintings, he also painted landscapes and formal portraits, and produced several popular lithographs on cowboy themes.
In 1938 Van Soelen won a mural commission for the Post Office in Portales, New Mexico. He was a Fellow of the National Academy and exhibited in various juried exhibitions including the National Academy, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the Chicago Art Institute. In 1960 he was named Honorary Fellow in Fine Arts by the School of American Research.
Theodorevansoelen.com ~
Site Info
Whois
Trace Route
RBL Check
|
 |
Taos Painters: Frank Tenney Johnson (1874 - 1939)
Frank Tenney Johnson was born in Coucil Bluffs, Iowa, not far from the Overland Trail. During his childhood, he saw the steady stream of people heading west in all forms of horse-drawn conveyance. This early exposure to the American West was critical in leading Johnson towards the Western landscape as an inspiration for his work. The resulting body of work is a moody and romantic depiction of a long-gone America, rendered in a style that has become practically a genre all its own.
At the age of ten, Johnson moved from Iowa to Milwaukee, WI. There, he took an apprenticeship with F.W. Heinie, a prominent panoramic painter. After a year with Heinie, Johnson apprenticed for Richard Lorenz, a painter and former Texas Ranger who specialized in depictions of horses and western scenes. It was probably during his time with Lorenz that Johnson decided to focus on western subjects himself. He also started illustrating for regional papers and publications, in order to save money for further training.
Further training, as with many of the artists who populated New Mexico in the early twentieth century, took place at the Art Students League in New York, where Robert Henri, William Merritt Chase, John Twachtman, Kenneth Hayes Miller and F. Louis Mora were in the process of teaching perhaps the last great batch of pre-modernists. Though highly stimulated by the training, Johnson was only able to stay for five months, after which he returned to Milwaukee to work and save money in an effort to return to New York. He was able to do so after a time and, upon returning, established an important professional relationship with Emerson Hough, the editor of
Franktenneyjohnson.net ~
Site Info
Whois
Trace Route
RBL Check
|
 |
Taos Painters: Joseph Roy Willis (1876-1960)
J. R. Willis was born November 24th, 1976 in Goloid Community, Screven County, Georgia near Sylvania. His artistic career began as a political cartoonist during the Spanish American War. He also made fashion drawings for the Atlanta Constitution newspaper. Around 1908 he went to New York and studied painting with Robert Henri. Next he went to Hollywood where he painted backdrops for Universal Studios. He also spent ten years in vaudeville as a
Jrwillis.com ~
Site Info
Whois
Trace Route
RBL Check
|
 |
Taos Painters: Sheldon Orrin Parsons (1866-1943)
Sheldon Parsons was born in 1866 in Rochester, New York one year after the end of the Civil War. He studied at the National Academy of Design with William Merritt Chase, Edgar Ward and Will Low. From 1895 to 1912 he was a successful portrait artist in New York City painting President McKinley and Susan B. Anthony among others. He also gained recognition for his landscape paintings of Westchester County scenes. Parsons was married to a well known photographer, Caroline Reed Parsons and had a young daughter named Sara. Caroline died in 1912 and Sheldon contacted tuberculosis about the same time.
Sheldon Parsons Oil Painting Somber Mountain
Sheldon Parsons, Somber Mountain, Oil on Board, c. 1920, 36
Sheldonparsons.com ~
Site Info
Whois
Trace Route
RBL Check
|
|
|
|
Site Info
