James Wells Champney
James Wells Champney, called " Champ " (* July 16, 1843 in Boston, Massachusetts, † May 1, 1903 in New York ) was an American painter ( genre and portrait painting).
Life
James Wells Champney was the cousin of the landscape artist Benjamin Champney ( 1817-1907 ).
His first art lessons learned Champne at Lowell Institute in his hometown; parallel, he attended the anatomy lectures by Oliver Holmes. In 1859 he began an apprenticeship as Xylographen, but these broke in 1962 to fight as a volunteer in the Civil War.
1864 Champney ill with malaria and forced to leave the army. He returned to Boston back teaching after his recovery from 1864 for two years at the Young Ladies Seminary of Diocletian Lewis. In October 1866 Champney traveled to Europe in order to form as a painter on. After a short stay in London, he became a student of Edouard Frère at the École des Beaux -Arts (EBA ) in Paris. In 1868 he went to Joseph van Lerius at the Koninklijke Academie voor Schone Kunsten Antwerp, where he won first place in the drawing in the same year.
Shortly before the outbreak of the Franco-German War Champney returned to the United States. He settled in his native city and founded a studio. From 1873 to 1874 he worked as a painter in New Orleans. In May 1873 he married the writer Elizabeth Williams. In the same year he made the acquaintance of the publisher Charles Scribner ( Scribner's Monthly ). This hired him to illustrate James Kings travelogue "The Great South " and sent him to New York for it. There Champney opened a studio. He specialized in genre painting and was incorporated as one of the first American artists impressionistic elements in his work.
Between 1877 and 1884 Champney was a lecturer at Smith College and during this time he also experimented extensively with pastel painting. In 1882 he became a member of the National Academy of Design. The highlight of his work in 1897 is considered the exhibition at Knoedler 's Gallery.
James Wells Champney died on 1 May in 1903 a fall in the elevator shaft during a visit of the Camera Club in New York. He left behind his wife, his son, the architect FE Champney, and his daughter Marie Humphrey, who became a miniature painter local notoriety.
Works (selection)
- The Coquette. In 1885.
- The fan in 1882.
- The little beggar. In 1874.
- The lesson. In 1874.
- Housekeeping. In 1882.
- Deerfield Valley. In 1877.
- Carter Notch from the Wildcat River. In 1854.
- Puss -in- Boots. In 1875.
- Hide and seek. In 1885.
- Darling Elizabeth. In 1875.
- Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.
- Diocletian Lewis.