The following is submitted by Cornelia Seckel, publisher ART TIMES

John LaFarge at Hudson River Museum

By RAYMOND J. STEINER
ART TIMES December 1990

SHOULD STAINED GLASS be what comes to mind when John LaFarge is mentioned, a visit to an exhibit of his works on paper* might be well worth the trip. Though it is true that he was known for his works in glassin fact creating innovative blending and layering of different opalescent colors within a single sheet for an astonishing variety of effectshe turned out an enormous amount of work during his lifetime which included sculpture, paintings, drawings, watercolors, photographs, wood engravings, illustrations, murals and architectural designs. Even concentrating on his drawings and watercolors as it does, the present exhibit includes over 150 works which range from his student days (1856) to his latest years (1903).

Equally as surprising as his range of mediums, is La Farge's range of subject matterhe appears to have had a voracious creative appetite, applying his considerable talents to as many different projects as possible. Far from the narrow specialist of today, he was a genuine example of what was once known as a "renaissance man."

Those selections from his early days included in the show (The Crucifixion of St. Peter, Head of a Boy, etc.), reveal a strong academic taste and grounding. And, although it had prepared him with a substantial basis in sound draftsmanship, one could hardly say that he was bound by academicism in his later life.  LaFarge, as can be gathered above, was nothing if not experimental.  Often overlooked in the assessment of the man, LaFarge was painting en plein air before the Impressionists "invented" the method, had traveled and painted in Tahiti and the South Seas a year before the idea occurred to Gauguin, had incorporated "Japonisme" into his work before it became fashionable in Paris and, in fact, introduced elements of psychology (and physiology!) into art criticismjust one more activity he felt inclined to dabble in.

As tightly drawn as may be his pencil drawings and studies for design and decoration, we get some idea of a looser style in his landscape watercolors, especially those from the South Sea "period" (1890-1891).  He is strongest, however, in his figural studies and, when they are included in his landscapes, it is the figure which dominates the composition. Even in his "pure" landscapes, it is when he places some bit of foliage or detail in the foreground that his pictures come alive. It is, in fact, detail and its precise rendering, undoubtedly a carry-over from his early training, that might be considered his "trademark." Thus, his design for a memorial window, Angel Sealing the Servant of God, or Seated Woman (another window design) reveal a loving eye for line ala Ingres or Degas.

Just as strong as his control of line, is his sense of color and design, surely the basis of his popularity as a decorative designer and stained glass artist. It was in his constant application of all that he learned, in as many mediums as he could command, in the profusion of figures, flowers, landscapes and architectural details that he turned his hand to, that made LaFarge the consummate artist he was. What is impressive is how often he was more than just competent, often attaining a delicacy of tone or color that is breathtaking.

It is good that we have such an institution as The Hudson River Museum, small enough to concentrate on a specific aspect of a single artist and independent enough to devote their space to a scholarly (rather than a "popular") exhibition. Such an intimateand importantinsight into an artist is pricelessand the accompanying catalogue (with an Introduction by Barbara Bloemink) by James L. Yarnall, who also authored the Catalogue Raisonné of John LaFarge, a further testament to a fine combination of beauty and scholarship.

Whether you must travel up, down or across to the Hudson, this is an exhibition you shouldn't miss.

*"John LaFarge: Watercolors and Drawings." The Hudson River Museum of Westchester, 511 Warburton Ave., Yonkers, New York. (Oct 28-Jan 6, 1991). Thence, The Munson-Williams-Proctor Inst, Utica, NY (Feb 23-Apr 21, 91) and The Terra Museum of American Art, Chicago, IL (Jun 15-Aug 11, 91).

Biography from AskART:

John LaFarge was born in New York City in March 1935 of French descent and Roman Catholic background which was unusual at the time.  He graduated from Mount St. Mary's College in Maryland.  His ties with France were strengthened by a lengthy European grand tour following his graduation from college; he was much impressed by the stained glass in the medieval architecture.  In Paris, he studied with Thomas Couture and with Ruskin, who focused on the importance of art being morally and spiritually uplifting.

Shortly after he returned to the United States, LaFarge abandoned the study of law and moved to Newport, Rhode Island to study painting with William Morris Hunt.  His influences were the Japanese prints, found in abundant number in his parents' home and the flower paintings of Fantin-Latour.  He also painted landscapes with some little success.  But not much in sales, and he abruptly shifted his attention to decorative work, winning commissions for murals and painted decorations for churches and buildings.  It set a new direction in American art and initiated the movement now known as the American Renaissance.

It was through his involvement with decorative art LaFarge produced his most original achievement, the invention of opalescent stained glass.  He employed a jumble of contrasting textures, colors and materials unlike any that had been used in stained glass before.  By the 1880s he had become a well-known figure in the New York social world as well as an artist very much in demand.  The pressure of work exacted its toll on his personal relationships. His life became divided between a bohemian existence in New York City and a proper Catholic household in Newport where his wife brought up their six children.  He was involved with a law suit against Louis Tiffany when his wife gave birth to their youngest child, and he had not known of her pregnancy.

In 1886, he escaped from his responsibilities with a trip to Japan with Henry Adams; a stay that, though brief, colored his work for the remainder of his career.  In 1890 and 1891 they traveled to the South Seas.  In the space of roughly a year there he created several hundred watercolors which he exhibited in New York City in 1895.  He also started writing in earnest, completing eight books and publishing several dozen essays.  His last creation was a memoir of his friend Winslow Homer, which he wrote on his own deathbed and which was not published until after he died.

Even La Farge's appearance was exotic, for he had dark olive skin and heavily lidded eyes of an Oriental cast.  His cultural, quizzical, reflective approach and his quiet, indirect speech were far from stuffy, and he was fond of limericks, gently malicious gossip and fat cigars.  His cultural background, his artistic attitudes and his intensely refined sensibility were in many respects at odds with the dominant tendencies of American life.  Yet no other artist of the 19th century so enriched American culture and none so inventively transformed an enormous range of media.


Written and submitted by Jean Ershler Schatz, artist and researcher from Laguna Woods, California.

Sources:
Henry Adams in Architectural Digest or Smithsonian
From the internet, AskART.com

Biography from AskART:

Born and raised in New York City in a cultured French family, John LaFarge became a leading figure in the arts in New York in the late 19th century, known for his exquisite murals, stained glass designs, and innovations of technique.  He also was a noted writer and lecturer on art.

He graduated from Mount St. Mary's College in Maryland and then went to Europe where he was much impressed by the stain glass in the medieval architecture.  In Paris, he studied with Thomas Couture, and in London, he was much influenced by the Pre-Raphaelites led by John Ruskin, who focused on the importance of art being morally and spiritually uplifting.

Returning to the United States in 1858, he studied with William M. Hunt at Newport Rhode Island.  In 1874, he completed his first window commission, and unlike other stained glass artists, executed the work himself rather than having artisans do the labor. I n the process of working, he discovered layering of two or more pieces of glass, rather than painting on it, and thus became the inventor of opalescent glass, which he patented in 1880.  Many of his designs of this period including the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and the home of Cornelius Vanderbilt, depicted peonies blowing in the wind.  He later reworked some of these designs in leaded glass.

In 1876, he painted murals for Trinity Church Boston, and this job was followed by other mural commissions.  In 1886, he and friends Henry James and Henry Adams traveled to Japan, and from this experience he adopted many Oriental motifs into his work.


Source:
Matthew Baigell, Dictionary of American Art