Robert Vonnoh and The Ring

Robert Vonnoh, born on 17 September 1858 and died on 27 December 1933

Robert Spencer and Woman Hanging Out Clothes

Robert Spencer, born on 1 December 1879

Everett Shinn and Girl on Stage

Everett Shinn, born on 6 November 1876

Due to the NaNoWriMo Project, I will continue to post a painting a day for the month of November but I won't have time to write. I may add text at a later date. I hope you will still visit to see the daily painting. 

Lowell Birge Harrison and November

'November' (1881) by Lowell Birge Harrison; Musée des Beaux-Arts, Rennes

Today's painter, Lowell Birge Harrison, born on 28 October 1854, and his painting November, I know from the exhibition Illusions of Reality (8 October 2010 - 16 January 2011) at the Van Gogh Museum in Amsterdam. I thought it was one of the most beautiful paintings of the exhibition. Large in size and beautiful in colour, my gaze was drawn to it the moment I walked into the room. November is drawing near on the actual calendar so this painting might put you in the mood for an autumn walk in the woods. Before the exhibition, I had never heard of Harrison. He was an American painter and an advocate of Tonalism. In the 1870s, he met John Singer Sargent who persuaded him to come to Paris to study art. He stayed there for six years and exhibited at the Paris Salon with his painting 'November' in 1882. It became one of the first paintings by an American artist to come into the possession of the French government. Harrison was known for his poetic winter landscapes and street scenes. When you google the images of his paintings, there are many that are beautiful. Like Grand Central And The Biltmore In Hazy Twilight and Moonlight River and Fifth Avenue at Twilight. Please click here for more.

William Merritt Chase and Young Girl with Flowers

'Young Girl with Flowers' (1885) by William Merritt Chase; Palacio Real, Madrid

When you google the paintings of American Impressionist artist William Merritt Chase, born on 1 November 1849 and died on 25 October 1916, you see still lifes, women portraits, women set in landscapes and lush interiors, some paintings of men and children. It is his portraits that he is best known for. I didn't know him before doing this blog, but I have come across his name and paintings so often now that it only feels natural to dedicate a post to him, also because I like his work. He studied art in New York, but it was at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Munich where he received his most decisive training. When he returned to New York, he began teaching. He had adopted the plein air method of painting and often taught his students in outdoor classes. He devoted much of his time and energy to teaching and even opened the Chase School of Art in 1896. Two years later it became the New York School of Art. Chase was the most important art teacher around the turn of the 20th century. Many well-known American artists like Georgia O'Keeffe have studied under Chase. For today I have chosen a beautiful portrait of a young girl with flowers. I love the dark background and the contrasting red and green and multiple colours of the bouquet. There's no particular reason why I have chosen this painting when there are so many other paintings that I like and could have chosen. I will provide you with a link, click here, so you can see his other paintings as well. Enjoy!

Frank Duveneck and Portrait of Maggie Wilson

'Portrait of Maggie Wilson' (1898) by Frank Duveneck; Museum of Fine Arts, Houston

Today wasn't so difficult to choose a painting because I stumbled upon this portrait pretty quickly and stopped looking. The painter is American artist Frank Duveneck, born on October 9, 1848. When you see his paintings together (click here), the change in his colour palette is very evident. Duveneck started out painting realistic portraits against a dark background, as a result from his training at the Royal Academy in Munich. There he studied the style of the Old Masters like Velázquez. When he returned to Cincinatti, his style and technique became more conservative, more along the lines of academic painting, although his Munich background was still visible. After 1888, his style changed again. He was devastated after the death of his beloved wife and painter Elizabeth Boott, and started devoting his life to teaching, amongst others at the Cincinatti Fine Arts Academy. The paintings from this period are clearly inspired by Impressionism and show light and colour and expressive brushstrokes. The painting I chose for today is from this period. I think it is beautiful in colour and the woman with her penetrating eyes is very beautiful too.

John Joseph Enneking and Fall Landscape

'Fall Landscape' (1913) by John Joseph Enneking; Private Collection?

For today I found American Impressionist painter John Joseph Enneking, born on 4 October 1841, and I'm happy about the discovery. It is nice to get to know more landscape painters and I really like Enneking's paintings. Especially since the season has recently changed, seeing his fall paintings (sitting on my couch with my little netbook in my lap) makes me somehow feel connected with the weather outside. I like the colours in today's painting, and the desolateness. Enneking got his first art lessons in Cincinnati and Boston. He earned his livelihood in business before committing fully to art. He spent some years in Europe, first in Munich and then studying art in Paris under Daubigny and Léon Bonnat. He also spent some time in The Netherlands. Coming back to the States, he established himself as a landscape painter, working en plein air. Occasionally he painted genre subjects. I couldn't find a date for today's painting, nor its location but found that at some point it was for sale at the Questroyal Fine Art Gallery in New York.

Edit on 14.09.2025: The image link of this post's painting ended up broken so I had to replace the image. I only found one painting with the exact title 'Fall Landscape' on a couple of different websites. But that painting is dated 1913 whereas beneath the missing image of my original listing the caption read 'no date found'. I have no idea of this is the painting of my original post because there are other Autumn Landscape paintings but I'm going to use it anyway. I can imagine it is this particular painting because the colours are so vibrant and I love it!

Arthur Bowen Davies and Juno and The Three Graces

'Juno and The Three Graces' (1902) by Arthur Bowen Davies; Hunter Museum Of American Art, Chattanooga

The choice was a bit meagre today but I'm happy to choose Arthur Bowen Davies, born on 26 September 1863, an American painter unknown to me. Davies studied art in Chicago and moved to New York to study at the Art Students League. He was a member of The Eight, a realist artistic movement of eight American artists who had one show together in 1908 that created a sensation. Davies was influenced by the painters of the Hudson River School and in particular by the dreamlike landscapes of George Innes, a painter whom I got to know while doing this blog and whose work I really like. I think the painting I chose for today has that same dreamlike quality that Innes displays in his work. The subject here is mythological. We see Juno, wife of Jupiter, with The Three Graces in the background. The Three Graces were attendants of Juno (among others) and were usually depicted as nude women dancing in a circle while holding hands (click here if you want to read more). I love the green and the splash of yellow!

Anna Lea Merritt and Eve

'Eve' (1885) by Anna Lea Merritt; Private Collection

Today's painter is unknown to me and is Anna Lea Merritt, born on 13 September 1844, who strangely enough only has a Polish Wikipedia page. You can use the translate button, or click here or here for an English article. Merritt was an American Pre-Raphaelite female painter who went to Europe to study art. By the mid 1870s, she had regular exhibitions at the London Royal Academy. She married her English teacher Henry Merritt in 1877 and quit her career as a result. After his death only three months later, she resumed painting. Her painting Love Locked Out (1889) became the first work by a woman artist to be purchased by the Tate Gallery in 1890. Today's artwork, also known as 'Eve overcome by remorse', has attracted the most attention of her exhibited paintings. It won accolades at the Chicago exhibition in 1893. I think it's beautiful.

Anna Mary Robertson Moses and Country Fair

'Country Fair' (1950) by Anna Mary Robertson Moses; Private Collection?

For today I chose a remarkable American female painter, unknown to me, but very well-known in her home country. She is Anna Mary Robertson Moses, better known as Grandma Moses, born on 7 September 1860. She made her first painting when she was 76 years old. When she died at the age of 101, she had made around 1500 paintings in three decades. Without any formal education, she started painting when she couldn't hold an embroidery needle anymore due to arthritis. A paintbrush was easier to hold. Her paintings are portrayals of homely farm life. Having worked as a hired help herself, she painted from memory and experience. She also painted wintery scenes of ice-skating in the tradition of Dutch and Flemish genre painting. I just read about her life and she must have been a great woman. Lively, witty and sharp-tongued, she remained observant even in her last years. Her joy of painting and her vision of the world is reflected in her work. Until her 101st and last birthday, she still managed to do a little painting almost every day. Credit is due to the art collector, Louis Caldor, who saw her art work in a drugstore and bought all of her paintings as well as the ones that she had finished at home. He recognised her talent, and the next year three of her paintings were included in an exhibition at the Museum of Modern Art in New York. I want to show you a photo of this remarkable woman, click here. Don't you think she really looks like the world's favourite granny? I really like her paintings. They remind me of the work of Chagall. I also read somewhere that she painted from the top down. First the sky, then the mountains and the trees, then the houses and the cattle, and the people came last. I love her simple reality and the vibrant colours. Very uplifting art.

Julius LeBlanc Stewart and Woman In An Interior

'Woman In An Interior' (1895) by Julius LeBlanc Stewart; Private Collection

Today I could choose between two great painters unknown to me, John Atkinson Grimshaw (6 September 1836 - 13 October 1893) and Julius LeBlanc Stewart, born on 6 September 1855 and died on 5 January 1919. I can still use Grimshaw for the 13th of October so I'm doing a post on Stewart today. Stewart was an American artist who had both his education and career in Europe, mainly in France. He came from a wealthy family and had access to the homes of rich American people who lived abroad. He specialised in large scale paintings and multi-figured compositions. Here are some of the multi-figured paintings that I like (click here and here). If you google his paintings, you see images of society portraits, single portraits and also sensuous nudes (click here and here). Stewart's success took off in 1878 when he had his first exhibition at the Paris Salon and continued till the end of the century. I had many paintings to choose from that I like, and I chose this one of a woman in an interior.

George Benjamin Luks and Society Girl

'Society Girl' (1920) by George Benjamin Luks; Weatherspoon Art Museum,
University of North Carolina, Greensboro

George Luks, born on August 13, 1867, was an American Realist painter that I have never heard of but his Wikipedia page is quite long so I guess he was an important painter. It could have something to do with the fact that he was one of the members of the Ashcan School, a group of American painters who depicted urban scenes in a realistic style. The movement grew out of a group called The Eight. Eight artists, led by Robert Henri, exhibited their work at Macbeth's Gallery in New York in 1908 in a purposeful attempt to free artists from the artistic restrictions imposed by the National Academy. This was the only time that the group acted together. If you click here, you can see one of Luks' urban scene paintings (Allen Street, c.1905). I've chosen 'Society girl', a painting from his later period. Probably not so difficult to guess why. With this painting Luks wanted to interpret wealth and the importance of society. I think it's beautiful.

George Innes and Pastoral Landscape at Sunset

'Pastoral Landscape at Sunset' (1884) by George Innes; Private Collection

Today was a difficult day because when I thought I had found a painter, I also found conflicting dates on different websites. I always go for painters first who depict portraits rather than still lifes or landscapes but if I would have looked closer right away at the work of American painter George Inness, born on May 1, 1825, and died on August 3, 1894, I could have saved myself the trouble of looking any further. He was specialised in landscapes and there are actually many paintings that I like. They have a dreamlike quality. Just google his name and images and you can see what I mean. I find there's almost something poetic in his depictions of landscapes. His use of warm colours and light is another thing I like. Apparently Innes was not a minor landscape painter. He was influenced by the Barbizon School and the Hudson River school, particularly by the work of Thomas Cole. I just read that Innes' work went to a higher level of individual expression throughout the 1870s and 1880s. In this later period of his life he started to depict landscapes at dawn or twilight and used diffused light and softly defined forms. He expressed mood through colour. His later work has been compared to Impressionism but his vision is more of a spiritual nature. In that respect his work is closer to Tonalism. The more I see of his later paintings, the more I love them. Sunrise (c.1887) is another example of a dreamlike landscape as well as The Trout Brook (1891). Very happy to add Innes to my list of new painters.

Robert Lewis Reid and Tempting Sweets

'Tempting Sweets' (1924) by Robert Lewis Reid; Private Collection

Today's painter, Robert Lewis Reid, born on July 29, 1862, is another American Impressionist painter unknown to me. When I googled the images of his paintings, there were some paintings I liked but there were also a lot of which I thought the colours were too faint. Reid studied at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts School and also went to Paris to study under Gustave Boulanger and Jules Joseph Lefebvre. He painted landscapes, still lifes and murals. When he adopted a more Impressionist style around 1890 and started using a brighter palette, he focussed more on portraying women, often set amidst flowers and gardens. He was one of the founding members of the Ten American Painters, a group of Impressionists who rebelled against traditional art. Towards the end of his life, Reid was partially paralysed by a stroke and had to learn to paint with his left hand. I chose today's painting 'Tempting sweets' because of the colours and I also think the woman is beautiful.

Francis Luis Mora and Evening News

'Evening News' (1914) by Francis Luis Mora;  James A. Michener Art Museum, Doylestown

Today's painter, Francis Luis Mora, is American, but Uruguayan by birth, and was born on 27 July 1874 as the son of the famed Spanish painter and sculptor Domingo Mora. His youth was full of art and he studied under his father before he got an art education at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston and the Art Students League in New York. After his formal education, which he finished at the age of 19, he travelled to Europe. In Spain he got inspired and influenced by the great Spanish old masters like Diego Velázquez, El Greco and Goya. He found the subjects of his paintings on the streets of the American city and was drawn to painting people on public transportation. I like this painting 'Evening News' very much. Two women sitting amongst four men on the New York subway. They are all dressed for business and one of the women is reading the paper like she wants to keep up with the news just like the men. The other woman is looking the viewer straight in the eye. She is not holding a newspaper but a cane. I wonder what she's thinking.

Thomas Eakins and Portrait of Alice Kurtz

Due to my stay and volunteer work in Peru for most of June and July, I won't have time to write but I will continue to post a painting a day. I may add text upon returning to Amsterdam. I hope you will still visit to see the daily painting.  

Edward Hopper and Chop Suey

Due to my stay and volunteer work in Peru for most of June and July, I won't have time to write but I will continue to post a painting a day. I may add text upon returning to Amsterdam. I hope you will still visit to see the daily painting. 

James Abbott McNeill Whistler and Symphony in White, No.1: The White Girl

Due to my stay and volunteer work in Peru for most of June and July, I won't have time to write but I will continue to post a painting a day. I may add text upon returning to Amsterdam. I hope you will still visit to see the daily painting. 

Robert Henri and Lady in Black with Spanish Scarf

Due to my stay and volunteer work in Peru for most of June and July, I won't have time to write but I will continue to post a painting a day. I may add text upon returning to Amsterdam. I hope you will still visit to see the daily painting. 

Theodore Robinson and Figure in a Landscape

Due to my stay and volunteer work in Peru for most of June and July, I won't have time to write but I will continue to post a painting a day. I may add text upon returning to Amsterdam. I hope you will still visit to see the daily painting.