Edmund C. Tarbell
Encyclopedia
Edmund Charles Tarbell was an American Impressionist painter. He was a member of the Ten American Painters
. His work is held by the Smithsonian American Art Museum
, the Corcoran Gallery and the National Academy of Design
, among others.
while serving in the Civil War
. His widowed mother, Mary Sophia (Fernald) Tarbell, married David Frank Hartford and moved with him to Milwaukee, Wisconsin
. She left young "Ned" and his sister, Nellie Sophia, to be raised by their paternal grandparents in Groton. Their father's earliest Tarbell ancestor had immigrated from England in 1647.
As a youth, Tarbell took evening art lessons from George H. Bartlett at the Massachusetts Normal Art School. Between 1877 and 1880, he apprenticed at the Forbes Lithographic Company in Boston
. In 1879, he entered the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
, studying under Otto Grundmann. He matriculated in the same class with two other future members of the Ten American Painters, Robert Reid
and Frank Weston Benson
.
Tarbell was encouraged to continue his education in Paris, France, then center of the art world. Consequently, in 1883 he entered the Académie Julian
to study under Gustave Boulanger
and Jules-Joseph Lefebvre. Paris exposed him to academic training, which invariably included copying Old Master
paintings at the Louvre Museum, but also to the Impressionist movement then sweeping the city's galleries. That duality would influence his work. In 1884, Tarbell's education included a Grand Tour
to Italy
, and the following year to Italy, Belgium
, Germany and Brittany
.
Tarbell returned to Boston
in 1886, where he earned a living as an illustrator
, private art instructor and portrait
painter.
family. Tarbell frequently painted his wife and their four children (Josephine, Mercie, Mary and Edmund A.), and also used them as models
. The paintings portray their lives.
While teaching at the Museum School in Boston, Tarbell and his family lived most of the time at 24 Alban Street in Dorchester, in a house that belonged to his stepfather. Later they spent time at the former Hotel Somerset in Boston, near his atelier in the Fenway Studios
on Ipswich Street. In 1905, they bought a summer house in New Castle, New Hampshire
, an island on the Atlantic
coast, to which he and his wife eventually retired.
statues
. His students included Margaret Fitzhugh Browne
, among others. So pervasive was his influence on Boston painting that his followers were dubbed "The Tarbellites."
In 1914 he co-founded The Guild of Boston Artists
, and served as its first president through 1924. In 1919, Tarbell was selected as principal of the art school at the Corcoran Gallery of Art
in Washington, DC. He led the Corcoran School of Art until 1926.
s. His later work shows the influence of Johannes Vermeer
, a 17th-century Dutch painter. In such works, Tarbell typically portrays figures in genteel Colonial Revival interiors
; the studies of light and quiet are executed with restrained brushwork and color.
Tarbell painted portraits of many notable individuals, including industrialist Henry Clay Frick
, Yale University
President Timothy Dwight
, and U.S. presidents Woodrow Wilson
, Calvin Coolidge
, and Herbert Hoover
.
Ten American Painters
The Ten American Painters, generally known as The Ten, resigned from the Society of American Artists in late 1897 to protest the commercialism of that group's exhibitions, and their circus-like atmosphere...
. His work is held by the Smithsonian American Art Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
The Smithsonian American Art Museum is a museum in Washington, D.C. with an extensive collection of American art.Part of the Smithsonian Institution, the museum has a broad variety of American art that covers all regions and art movements found in the United States...
, the Corcoran Gallery and the National Academy of Design
National Academy of Design
The National Academy Museum and School of Fine Arts, founded in New York City as the National Academy of Design – known simply as the "National Academy" – is an honorary association of American artists founded in 1825 by Samuel F. B. Morse, Asher B. Durand, Thomas Cole, Martin E...
, among others.
Early life and education
Edmund Charles Tarbell, called "Ned" as a boy, was born at West Groton, Massachusetts, the second of two children. His father, Edmund Whitney Tarbell, died in 1863 after contracting typhoid feverTyphoid fever
Typhoid fever, also known as Typhoid, is a common worldwide bacterial disease, transmitted by the ingestion of food or water contaminated with the feces of an infected person, which contain the bacterium Salmonella enterica, serovar Typhi...
while serving in the Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
. His widowed mother, Mary Sophia (Fernald) Tarbell, married David Frank Hartford and moved with him to Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
Milwaukee is the largest city in the U.S. state of Wisconsin, the 28th most populous city in the United States and 39th most populous region in the United States. It is the county seat of Milwaukee County and is located on the southwestern shore of Lake Michigan. According to 2010 census data, the...
. She left young "Ned" and his sister, Nellie Sophia, to be raised by their paternal grandparents in Groton. Their father's earliest Tarbell ancestor had immigrated from England in 1647.
As a youth, Tarbell took evening art lessons from George H. Bartlett at the Massachusetts Normal Art School. Between 1877 and 1880, he apprenticed at the Forbes Lithographic Company in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
. In 1879, he entered the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
The School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston is an undergraduate and graduate college located in Boston, Massachusetts, dedicated to the visual arts. It is affiliated with the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston and offers undergraduate and graduate degree programs in partnership with Tufts University...
, studying under Otto Grundmann. He matriculated in the same class with two other future members of the Ten American Painters, Robert Reid
Robert Reid (painter)
Robert Lewis Reid was an American Impressionist painter and muralist.-Life and work:Robert Reid was born in Stockbridge, Massachusetts and attended the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston under Otto Grundmann, where he was also later an instructor...
and Frank Weston Benson
Frank Weston Benson
Frank Weston Benson, frequently referred to as Frank W. Benson, was an American artist from Salem, Massachusetts known for his Realistic portraits, American Impressionist paintings, watercolors and etchings. He began his career painting portraits of distinguished families and murals for the...
.
Tarbell was encouraged to continue his education in Paris, France, then center of the art world. Consequently, in 1883 he entered the 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...
to study under Gustave Boulanger
Gustave Boulanger
Gustave Clarence Rodolphe Boulanger was a French figure painter known for his Neo-Grec style. He was born at Paris, studied with Delaroche and Jollivet, and in 1849 took the Prix de Rome. His paintings are prime examples of academic art of the time, particularly history painting...
and Jules-Joseph Lefebvre. Paris exposed him to academic training, which invariably included copying Old Master
Old Master
"Old Master" is a term for a European painter of skill who worked before about 1800, or a painting by such an artist. An "old master print" is an original print made by an artist in the same period...
paintings at the Louvre Museum, but also to the Impressionist movement then sweeping the city's galleries. That duality would influence his work. In 1884, Tarbell's education included a Grand Tour
Grand Tour
The Grand Tour was the traditional trip of Europe undertaken by mainly upper-class European young men of means. The custom flourished from about 1660 until the advent of large-scale rail transit in the 1840s, and was associated with a standard itinerary. It served as an educational rite of passage...
to Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, and the following year to Italy, Belgium
Belgium
Belgium , officially the Kingdom of Belgium, is a federal state in Western Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts the EU's headquarters, and those of several other major international organisations such as NATO.Belgium is also a member of, or affiliated to, many...
, Germany and Brittany
Brittany
Brittany is a cultural and administrative region in the north-west of France. Previously a kingdom and then a duchy, Brittany was united to the Kingdom of France in 1532 as a province. Brittany has also been referred to as Less, Lesser or Little Britain...
.
Tarbell returned to Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
in 1886, where he earned a living as an illustrator
Illustrator
An Illustrator is a narrative artist who specializes in enhancing writing by providing a visual representation that corresponds to the content of the associated text...
, private art instructor and portrait
Portrait
thumb|250px|right|Portrait of [[Thomas Jefferson]] by [[Rembrandt Peale]], 1805. [[New-York Historical Society]].A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expression is predominant. The intent is to display the likeness,...
painter.
Marriage and family
Two years after returning to Boston, in 1888 at age 26, Tarbell married Emeline Souther, daughter of a prominent Dorchester, MassachusettsDorchester, Massachusetts
Dorchester is a dissolved municipality and current neighborhood of Boston, Massachusetts, United States. It is named after the town of Dorchester in the English county of Dorset, from which Puritans emigrated and is today endearingly nicknamed "Dot" by its residents. Dorchester, including a large...
family. Tarbell frequently painted his wife and their four children (Josephine, Mercie, Mary and Edmund A.), and also used them as models
Model (art)
Art models are models who pose for photographers, painters, sculptors, and other artists as part of their work of art. Art models who pose in the nude for life drawing are usually called life models...
. The paintings portray their lives.
While teaching at the Museum School in Boston, Tarbell and his family lived most of the time at 24 Alban Street in Dorchester, in a house that belonged to his stepfather. Later they spent time at the former Hotel Somerset in Boston, near his atelier in the Fenway Studios
Fenway Studios
The Fenway Studios are artists' studios located at 30 Ipswich Street, Boston, Massachusetts, now listed as a National Historic Landmark.The studios were built after a disastrous 1904 fire at Harcourt Studios in which many artists lost their homes, studios, and work. Business and civic leaders...
on Ipswich Street. In 1905, they bought a summer house in New Castle, New Hampshire
New Castle, New Hampshire
New Castle is a town in Rockingham County, New Hampshire, United States. The population was 968 at the 2010 census. It is the smallest town in New Hampshire, and the only one located entirely on islands. It is home to Fort Constitution Historic Site, Fort Stark Historic Site, and the New Castle...
, an island on the Atlantic
Atlantic Ocean
The Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
coast, to which he and his wife eventually retired.
Career
In 1889, Tarbell assumed the position of his former mentor, Otto Grundmann, at the Museum School, where he was a popular teacher. He gave his pupils a solid academic art training: before they learned to paint, they had to render from plaster casts of classicalClassical antiquity
Classical antiquity is a broad term for a long period of cultural history centered on the Mediterranean Sea, comprising the interlocking civilizations of ancient Greece and ancient Rome, collectively known as the Greco-Roman world...
statues
Statues
Statues is a popular children's game, often played in Australia but with versions throughout the world.-General rules:# A person starts out as the "Curator" and stands at the end of a field. Everyone else playing stands at the far end...
. His students included Margaret Fitzhugh Browne
Margaret Fitzhugh Browne
Margaret Fitzhugh Browne , was a painter of portraits, indoor genre scenes, and still lifes, although portraits dominated her output.-Family:...
, among others. So pervasive was his influence on Boston painting that his followers were dubbed "The Tarbellites."
In 1914 he co-founded The Guild of Boston Artists
The Guild of Boston Artists
The Guild of Boston Artists was founded in 1914 by a handful of Boston artists working in the academic and realist traditions. Among the founding members were Frank Weston Benson, William McGregor Paxton and Edmund C. Tarbell, who served as its first president through 1924...
, and served as its first president through 1924. In 1919, Tarbell was selected as principal of the art school at the Corcoran Gallery of Art
Corcoran Gallery of Art
The Corcoran Gallery of Art is the largest privately supported cultural institution in Washington, DC. The museum's main focus is American art. The permanent collection includes works by Rembrandt, Eugène Delacroix, Edgar Degas, Thomas Gainsborough, John Singer Sargent, Claude Monet, Pablo...
in Washington, DC. He led the Corcoran School of Art until 1926.
Works
His 1891 painting entitled In the Orchard established his reputation as an artist. Many still consider the work his masterpiece. It depicts his wife with her siblings at plein air leisure. Tarbell became famous for impressionistic, richly hued images of figures in landscapeLandscape art
Landscape art is a term that covers the depiction of natural scenery such as mountains, valleys, trees, rivers, and forests, and especially art where the main subject is a wide view, with its elements arranged into a coherent composition. In other works landscape backgrounds for figures can still...
s. His later work shows the influence of Johannes Vermeer
Johannes Vermeer
Johannes, Jan or Johan Vermeer was a Dutch painter who specialized in exquisite, domestic interior scenes of middle class life. Vermeer was a moderately successful provincial genre painter in his lifetime...
, a 17th-century Dutch painter. In such works, Tarbell typically portrays figures in genteel Colonial Revival interiors
Interiors
Interiors is a 1978 drama film written and directed by Woody Allen. Featured performers are Kristin Griffith, Mary Beth Hurt, Richard Jordan, Diane Keaton, E. G. Marshall, Geraldine Page, Maureen Stapleton and Sam Waterston....
; the studies of light and quiet are executed with restrained brushwork and color.
Henry Clay Frick
Henry Clay Frick was an American industrialist, financier, and art patron. He founded the H. C. Frick & Company coke manufacturing company, was chairman of the Carnegie Steel Company, and played a major role in the formation of the giant U.S. Steel steel manufacturing concern...
, Yale University
Yale University
Yale University is a private, Ivy League university located in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701 in the Colony of Connecticut, the university is the third-oldest institution of higher education in the United States...
President Timothy Dwight
Timothy Dwight
Timothy Dwight may refer to:*Timothy Dwight College, a residential college at Yale University*Timothy Dwight IV , President of Yale University from 1795–1817*Timothy Dwight V , President of Yale University from 1886–1899...
, and U.S. presidents Woodrow Wilson
Woodrow Wilson
Thomas Woodrow Wilson was the 28th President of the United States, from 1913 to 1921. A leader of the Progressive Movement, he served as President of Princeton University from 1902 to 1910, and then as the Governor of New Jersey from 1911 to 1913...
, Calvin Coolidge
Calvin Coolidge
John Calvin Coolidge, Jr. was the 30th President of the United States . A Republican lawyer from Vermont, Coolidge worked his way up the ladder of Massachusetts state politics, eventually becoming governor of that state...
, and Herbert Hoover
Herbert Hoover
Herbert Clark Hoover was the 31st President of the United States . Hoover was originally a professional mining engineer and author. As the United States Secretary of Commerce in the 1920s under Presidents Warren Harding and Calvin Coolidge, he promoted partnerships between government and business...
.
Legacy and honors
- Tarbell's paintings are held by the Smithsonian American Art Museum, the Corcoran Gallery, the National Academy of Design, and other American art collections and museums, including the White HouseWhite HouseThe White House is the official residence and principal workplace of the president of the United States. Located at 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW in Washington, D.C., the house was designed by Irish-born James Hoban, and built between 1792 and 1800 of white-painted Aquia sandstone in the Neoclassical...
. - He was elected a Fellow of the American Academy of Arts and SciencesAmerican Academy of Arts and SciencesThe American Academy of Arts and Sciences is an independent policy research center that conducts multidisciplinary studies of complex and emerging problems. The Academy’s elected members are leaders in the academic disciplines, the arts, business, and public affairs.James Bowdoin, John Adams, and...
in 1927.
Paintings
- 1890 - Three Sisters
- 1890 - Woman in White
- 1891 - A Girl Sewing in an Orchard
- 1891 - In the Orchard
- 1892 - Girl With Horse
- 1892-3 - The Bath
- 1893 - Mother and Child in Pine Woods
- 1893 - A Summer Idyll
- 1893 - An Amethyst
- 1894 - Arrangement in Pink and Gray
- 1896 - Girl's Head And Shoulders
- 1897 - Girl in Pink and Green
- 1898 - Blue Veil
- 1899 - My Family at Cotuit
- 1899 - Across The Room
- 1900 - A Sketch
- 1902 - Schooling The Horses
- 1904 - Girl Crocheting
- 1904 - By the River (Riverbank)
- 1904 - Summer Breeze
- 1906 - A Girl Mending
- 1906-7 Girls Reading
- 1907 - Preparing For The Matinee
- 1907 - New England Interior
- 1907 - Josephine And Mercie
- 1909 - Girl Reading
- 1909 - Piscataqua River
- 1911 - My Children in the Woods
- 1911 - Woman With Corsage
- 1912 - Mercie Cutting Flowers
- 1912 - Dreamer
- 1913 - Reverie
- 1914 - Young Girl Studying
- 1914 - My Family
- 1916 - Nell and Elinor
- 1919 - Mary and the Venus
- 1922 - Mother and Mary
- 1926 - Peonies And Iris
- 1928 - Marjorie and Little Edmund
External links
- 78 Works in High Res, The Athenaeum
- "Edmund Charles Tarbell", bio and photos of several paintings, Cafe Naver