Arthur Watson Sparks
Encyclopedia
Arthur Watson Sparks was an American
painter
.
He was born in Washington, DC to Mary and Frederick Sparks, a federal government clerk. He trained as an architect and also studied art in the evenings at the Corcoran Art School
. In 1898 he won a design competition, along with his collaborator J. Elfreth Watkins
, chief of buildings for the United States National Museum, for a proposed Hall of American Inventions to be built at the 1900 Paris Expo. Sparks remained in Paris, France for ten years where he studied art at Académie Julian
and Ecole des Beaux Arts.
Arthur Hamerschlag
, head of Andrew Carnegie
's new Carnegie Technical Schools
, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
, hired Sparks as the founding head of the Department of Painting and Illustration, where he taught for eleven years until 1919. That same year he resigned to join the art colony
at New Hope, Pennsylvania
to be near his friend the painter Edward Redfield. Sparks, however, contracted Spanish flu
that August and died in Philadelphia.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
painter
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
.
He was born in Washington, DC to Mary and Frederick Sparks, a federal government clerk. He trained as an architect and also studied art in the evenings at the Corcoran Art School
Corcoran College of Art and Design
The Corcoran College of Art and Design, , founded in 1890, is the only professional college of art and design in Washington, DC, located in the Downtown area. The school is a private institution in association with the Corcoran Gallery of Art.The Corcoran Gallery of Art is Washington's first and...
. In 1898 he won a design competition, along with his collaborator J. Elfreth Watkins
J. Elfreth Watkins
John Elfreth Watkins was a civil engineer working for American railroads of the 19th century. He played a key role in the preservation of the John Bull steam locomotive and its subsequent public displays by the Smithsonian Institution....
, chief of buildings for the United States National Museum, for a proposed Hall of American Inventions to be built at the 1900 Paris Expo. Sparks remained in Paris, France for ten years where he studied art at Académie Julian
Académie Julian
The Académie Julian was an art school in Paris, France.Rodolphe Julian established the Académie Julian in 1868 at the Passage des Panoramas, as a private studio school for art students. The Académie Julian not only prepared students to the exams at the prestigious École des Beaux-Arts, but offered...
and Ecole des Beaux Arts.
Arthur Hamerschlag
Arthur Hamerschlag
Arthur Arton Hamerschlag was an American electrical and mechanical engineer who served as the first President of Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States.-Early life:...
, head of Andrew Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie
Andrew Carnegie was a Scottish-American industrialist, businessman, and entrepreneur who led the enormous expansion of the American steel industry in the late 19th century...
's new Carnegie Technical Schools
Carnegie Mellon University
Carnegie Mellon University is a private research university in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, United States....
, in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
Pennsylvania
The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
, hired Sparks as the founding head of the Department of Painting and Illustration, where he taught for eleven years until 1919. That same year he resigned to join the art colony
Art colony
right|300px|thumb|Artist houses in [[Montsalvat]] near [[Melbourne, Australia]].An art colony or artists' colony is a place where creative practitioners live and interact with one another. Artists are often invited or selected through a formal process, for a residency from a few weeks to over a year...
at New Hope, Pennsylvania
New Hope, Pennsylvania
New Hope, formerly known as Coryell's Ferry, is a borough in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, USA. The population was 2,528 at the 2010 census. The borough lies on the west bank of the Delaware River at its confluence with Aquetong Creek. A two-lane bridge carries automobile and foot traffic across the...
to be near his friend the painter Edward Redfield. Sparks, however, contracted Spanish flu
Spanish flu
The 1918 flu pandemic was an influenza pandemic, and the first of the two pandemics involving H1N1 influenza virus . It was an unusually severe and deadly pandemic that spread across the world. Historical and epidemiological data are inadequate to identify the geographic origin...
that August and died in Philadelphia.