This post features scenes of women indoors, mostly without musical instruments.
Monday, May 31, 2021
Thomas Wilmer Dewing Interior Scenes
Thomas Wilmer Dewing (1851-1938) painted distinctive, dreamy images of women in various settings. I wrote about his women with musical instruments here, and women outdoors here. His Wikipedia entry is here.
This post features scenes of women indoors, mostly without musical instruments.
Gallery
A Reading - 1897
The White Dress - 1901
Brocart de Venise - c.1904
The Fortune Teller - c.1904-05
The Gossip - 1907
Yellow Tulips - 1908
Before the Mirror - c.1909
This post features scenes of women indoors, mostly without musical instruments.
Monday, May 24, 2021
Some Abbott Handerson Thayer Paintings
Abbott Handerson Thayer (1849-1921) was an important late-19th century American painter. Also, something of an odd fish, as his Wikipedia entry suggests.
For a number of years he portrayed people as angels. I wrote about that here.
Thayer seems to have been what is now called "bipolar," suffering extreme mood swings. By the time of the Great War he had given camouflage a good deal of thought and pushed his ideas on various military organizations.
For a number of years he portrayed people as angels. I wrote about that here.
Thayer seems to have been what is now called "bipolar," suffering extreme mood swings. By the time of the Great War he had given camouflage a good deal of thought and pushed his ideas on various military organizations.
He also taught painting, though the Wikipedia entry as of the time this post was drafted (February 2021) it was not clear how much of that was done in New Hampshire where he spent much of his time, or in Boston or New York City. Below is a quotation from Wikipedia in which he informed Thomas Wilmer Dewing about how he worked when students were present.
"Thayer reveals that his method was to work on a new painting for only three days. If he worked longer on it, he said, he would either accomplish nothing or would ruin it. So on the fourth day, he would instead take a break, getting as far from the work as possible, but meanwhile instruct each student to make an exact copy of that three-day painting. Then, when he did return to his studio, he would (in his words) 'pounce on a copy and give it a three-day shove again'. As a result, he would end up with alternate versions of the same painting, in substantially different finished states."
Below are some examples of his non-angelic works.
Gallery
The Sisters - 1884
This is one of the earliest Thayer paintings I found on the Internet. He was about 35 years old when he made it. An interesting pose, and the subjects are convincingly rendered.
Girl in White (Margaret Greene) - 1888
This was made about the time he was beginning his angels series that lasted until around 1904.
Virgin Enthroned - 1891
He made at least two paintings with a Virgin theme.
The Virgin - 1892-93
This is another one.
A Bride - c.1895
By the early 1890s his technique became less "finished" in many cases.
Bessie Price - 1897
One of his models, probably a teenager when this was painted.
Young Woman (Bessie Price) - 1898
Same subject a year later. She seems considerably more mature.
Study of Alma Wollerman - c.1908 (1)
The first of at least two studies of a woman named Alma Wollerman. For some reason Thayer seems to be having trouble depicting her eyes. (This was too early to have been influenced by modernists such as Picasso, and I doubt Thayer was very interested in Modernism as practiced in France.)
Study of Alma Wollerman - c.1908 (2)
Another Wollerman study. Again, the eyes are not convincing.
Gladys Thayer - c.1919
Portrait (study?) of his daughter Gladys -- quite roughly done, and again the eyes don't seem quite correct.
"Thayer reveals that his method was to work on a new painting for only three days. If he worked longer on it, he said, he would either accomplish nothing or would ruin it. So on the fourth day, he would instead take a break, getting as far from the work as possible, but meanwhile instruct each student to make an exact copy of that three-day painting. Then, when he did return to his studio, he would (in his words) 'pounce on a copy and give it a three-day shove again'. As a result, he would end up with alternate versions of the same painting, in substantially different finished states."
Below are some examples of his non-angelic works.
This is one of the earliest Thayer paintings I found on the Internet. He was about 35 years old when he made it. An interesting pose, and the subjects are convincingly rendered.
This was made about the time he was beginning his angels series that lasted until around 1904.
He made at least two paintings with a Virgin theme.
This is another one.
By the early 1890s his technique became less "finished" in many cases.
One of his models, probably a teenager when this was painted.
Same subject a year later. She seems considerably more mature.
The first of at least two studies of a woman named Alma Wollerman. For some reason Thayer seems to be having trouble depicting her eyes. (This was too early to have been influenced by modernists such as Picasso, and I doubt Thayer was very interested in Modernism as practiced in France.)
Another Wollerman study. Again, the eyes are not convincing.
Portrait (study?) of his daughter Gladys -- quite roughly done, and again the eyes don't seem quite correct.
Monday, May 17, 2021
Dan Smith, Almost-Forgotten Illustrator of Merit
Daniel Frederik Schmidt (1865-1934), who changed his name to Dan Smith for professional reasons, was born in Greenland to Danish parents who later moved to the USA. Much of his illustration work appeared in newspapers. That, and his common name, might account for his lack of notoriety in illustration history. Too bad, because he did very nice work.
Biographical information can be found here and here.
One problem with newspaper illustration -- especially when papers were printed using letterpress on newsprint -- is the poor quality of reproduction. That could easily degrade the appearance of an artist's work. Some of Smith's illustrations were printed using color, and newspaper color was pretty crude 80 or 130 years ago. Images below include a few comparisons of color and non-color for the same artwork: click on them and others to enlarge.
Gallery
Spainish Queen's visit
That's not the queen in his color illustration.
First Air Flight in Fairyland - 1926
One of a series.
Helen in Search of a Charming Prince - Atlanta Constitution - 26 March 1933
Examples of artwork before color might have been added.
How We Caught the Beautiful Rainbow Boa - 1921
Romance and Near Tragedy in Ancient Babylon - Atlanta Constitution - 9 April 1933
Jael - Philadelphia Record - 4 March 1928
Colorized illustration.
Jael, black and white
Sans-color
Desert Love - 27 July 1930
As it appeared in print.
Desert Love detail - black and white
Much better here.
Sequicentennial poster - 1926
Example of non-newspaper illustration.
Lady and Tiger
Another example. Smith seems to have enjoyed illustrating lovely, partly-clad women.
Biographical information can be found here and here.
One problem with newspaper illustration -- especially when papers were printed using letterpress on newsprint -- is the poor quality of reproduction. That could easily degrade the appearance of an artist's work. Some of Smith's illustrations were printed using color, and newspaper color was pretty crude 80 or 130 years ago. Images below include a few comparisons of color and non-color for the same artwork: click on them and others to enlarge.
That's not the queen in his color illustration.
One of a series.
Examples of artwork before color might have been added.
Colorized illustration.
Sans-color
As it appeared in print.
Much better here.
Example of non-newspaper illustration.
Lady and Tiger
Another example. Smith seems to have enjoyed illustrating lovely, partly-clad women.
Monday, May 10, 2021
John W. Waterhouse's Greatest Hits
John William Waterhouse (1849-1917) was a major British successor to the Pre-Raphaelite movement. His Wikipedia entry is here, and I recently wrote about his oil sketches and studies here.
Although he often used Pre-Raphaelite subject matter, his painting style was generally not as compulsively detailed as many of their works. That is, although they have plenty of details, the effect he created seems more free, more natural.
Today's post present a few of his paintings that strike me as being among his best or most famous.
Gallery
The Lady of Shalott - 1888
The times I visited London's Tate Britain museum, this large painting was on display.
"I am half sick of shadows," said The Lady of Shalott - 1915
Destiny - 1900
Waterhouse seems to have borrowed some elements of this work for use in the previous painting.
Ophelia - 1910
Painting human skin against a green, outdoors background can be tricky, but Waterhouse succeeded here.
Pandora - 1896
Interesting contrast between the sketchy background/costume and the main subject matter.
Circe Offering the Cup to Ulysses - 1891
Ulysses can be seen in the mirror.
Circe Invidiosa - 1892
A very striking image. Waterhouse had the right stuff.
Although he often used Pre-Raphaelite subject matter, his painting style was generally not as compulsively detailed as many of their works. That is, although they have plenty of details, the effect he created seems more free, more natural.
Today's post present a few of his paintings that strike me as being among his best or most famous.
The times I visited London's Tate Britain museum, this large painting was on display.
Waterhouse seems to have borrowed some elements of this work for use in the previous painting.
Painting human skin against a green, outdoors background can be tricky, but Waterhouse succeeded here.
Interesting contrast between the sketchy background/costume and the main subject matter.
Ulysses can be seen in the mirror.
A very striking image. Waterhouse had the right stuff.
Monday, May 3, 2021
Early Realistic Comic Strip Drawing
This post deals with the slow introduction of realistically-depicted characters in American comic strips.
Details are in the image captions below. Please note that I didn't undertake a hardcore scholarly study of the subject, though I did rely on a few books in my reference library to refine my memory. Therefore, take the examples below as indicative, though not necessarily "firsts" in terms of appearance.
Gallery
Happy Hooligan by Frederick Burr Opper - 6 November 1902
This important strip dates from 1900 and the character depictions are in line with the norms of the time. More information is here.
Little Nemo in Slumberland by Winsor McCay - 24 June 1906
On the other hand, Little Nemo from 1905 was exceptional in terms of depiction, as can be seen in this example. Nevertheless, it was years later before naturalistic cartoon characters became common.
Betty by Charles A. Voight - c. 1920
Voight created Betty in 1919, making the strip an early example of representational cartooning. In the panel above, Betty is drawn in near-illustration style, whereas Lester DePester is cartoony.
Betty - 21 June 1942
Towards the end of Betty's run the drawing style became more free, more sophisticated.
Bringing up Father by George McManus - 25 September 1938 (or possibly 1932)
Begun in 1913, Bringing up Father is another example where a woman (Jigg's daughter Nora) is realistic while the other characters are drawn in cartoon style. Interesting that in those days it was women -- not men -- who were shown more naturalistically. Though this is from the 1930s, McManus' style differed little from the 1920s.
Connie by Frank Godwin - 14 June 1931
Wikipedia's entry says that Connie originated in 1927 -- or perhaps 1929. The not-shown upper part of this Sunday strip has Connie only in profile, but this segment has a variety of views of her. Unlike the early Betty and Bringing up Father, other characters are drawn more realistically than cartoony. Godwin was a skilled illustrator, so I'm surprised that the other characters feature anatomical flaws.
Connie - 1936
During the mid-1930s Connie became a science fiction strip for a while. Note the improvement in Godwin's drawing.
Tarzan by Hal Foster - 1929
The Tarzan comic strip dated from 1929, and above is the ninth panel. Foster's style evolved rapidly, but it's clear that from the first, depictions were illustrations and not cartoons.
Flash Gordon by Alex Raymond - from first page, 7 January 1934
From its launch in 1934 Flash Gordon was an illustration-style Sunday comic.
What I find mildly interesting is that the shift to realism (now long gone from American comic strips) happened around the year 1930. Some folks might relate that to the late 1929 onset of the Great Depression. But it might have been something else. But the appearance of such strips as Alex Raymond's "Flash Gordon", Noel Sickles' version of Scorchy Smith, and Milton Caniff's "Terry and The Pirates" -- all started in 1934 -- might better be linked to the comparative seriousness and need for escapism of those times.
Details are in the image captions below. Please note that I didn't undertake a hardcore scholarly study of the subject, though I did rely on a few books in my reference library to refine my memory. Therefore, take the examples below as indicative, though not necessarily "firsts" in terms of appearance.
This important strip dates from 1900 and the character depictions are in line with the norms of the time. More information is here.
On the other hand, Little Nemo from 1905 was exceptional in terms of depiction, as can be seen in this example. Nevertheless, it was years later before naturalistic cartoon characters became common.
Voight created Betty in 1919, making the strip an early example of representational cartooning. In the panel above, Betty is drawn in near-illustration style, whereas Lester DePester is cartoony.
Towards the end of Betty's run the drawing style became more free, more sophisticated.
Begun in 1913, Bringing up Father is another example where a woman (Jigg's daughter Nora) is realistic while the other characters are drawn in cartoon style. Interesting that in those days it was women -- not men -- who were shown more naturalistically. Though this is from the 1930s, McManus' style differed little from the 1920s.
Wikipedia's entry says that Connie originated in 1927 -- or perhaps 1929. The not-shown upper part of this Sunday strip has Connie only in profile, but this segment has a variety of views of her. Unlike the early Betty and Bringing up Father, other characters are drawn more realistically than cartoony. Godwin was a skilled illustrator, so I'm surprised that the other characters feature anatomical flaws.
During the mid-1930s Connie became a science fiction strip for a while. Note the improvement in Godwin's drawing.
The Tarzan comic strip dated from 1929, and above is the ninth panel. Foster's style evolved rapidly, but it's clear that from the first, depictions were illustrations and not cartoons.
From its launch in 1934 Flash Gordon was an illustration-style Sunday comic.
What I find mildly interesting is that the shift to realism (now long gone from American comic strips) happened around the year 1930. Some folks might relate that to the late 1929 onset of the Great Depression. But it might have been something else. But the appearance of such strips as Alex Raymond's "Flash Gordon", Noel Sickles' version of Scorchy Smith, and Milton Caniff's "Terry and The Pirates" -- all started in 1934 -- might better be linked to the comparative seriousness and need for escapism of those times.
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