Frederick Stuart Church
Encyclopedia
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
artist, working mainly as an illustrator and especially known for his (often allegorical) depiction of animals.
Biography
He was born in Grand Rapids, MichiganMichigan
Michigan is a U.S. state located in the Great Lakes Region of the United States of America. The name Michigan is the French form of the Ojibwa word mishigamaa, meaning "large water" or "large lake"....
. His father was an important figure in politics as well as a well-known lawyer. At the age of 13 he left school and took a job at the then newly-established American Express
American Express
American Express Company or AmEx, is an American multinational financial services corporation headquartered in Three World Financial Center, Manhattan, New York City, New York, United States. Founded in 1850, it is one of the 30 components of the Dow Jones Industrial Average. The company is best...
Company in Chicago, with his parents intending him to have a business career. Being nineteen at the outbreak of 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...
he served in the Union Army. After his discharge he returned to Chicago, having decided to devote his life to art, and started studying drawing
Drawing
Drawing is a form of visual art that makes use of any number of drawing instruments to mark a two-dimensional medium. Common instruments include graphite pencils, pen and ink, inked brushes, wax color pencils, crayons, charcoal, chalk, pastels, markers, styluses, and various metals .An artist who...
under Walter Shirlaw
Walter Shirlaw
Walter Shirlaw was a Scottish-American artist.-Biography:Shirlaw was born in Paisley, Scotland, and moved to the United States with his parents in 1840. He worked as a bank-note engraver, and his work was first exhibited at the National Academy in 1861.He was elected an academician of the Chicago...
at the city's Academy of Design.
In 1870 he took the decision to continue his studies in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, which became his home for the rest of his life. He enrolled at 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...
, where he was taught by Lemuel Wilmarth. He joined the Art Students League
Art Students League of New York
The Art Students League of New York is an art school located on West 57th Street in New York City. The League has historically been known for its broad appeal to both amateurs and professional artists, and has maintained for over 130 years a tradition of offering reasonably priced classes on a...
, headed by his old teacher Walter Shirlaw
Walter Shirlaw
Walter Shirlaw was a Scottish-American artist.-Biography:Shirlaw was born in Paisley, Scotland, and moved to the United States with his parents in 1840. He worked as a bank-note engraver, and his work was first exhibited at the National Academy in 1861.He was elected an academician of the Chicago...
, in which he remained involved for the rest of his life.
Unlike many other Americans of his time who felt themselves to be living in a cultural backwater, Church - while he did think that an artist needed to be formally taught - saw no need to study art in Europe and in fact only crossed the Atlantic late in his life. He often expressed outspoken pride in original American art and declaring that "foreign art" had "little to teach Americans". This might be a reflection of the attitudes taken by the strong nativist movements active during his young age, among other places in Chicago when he lived there.
By the middle of the 1870s he was already gaining a name as a gifted illustrator. Among the many magazines and periodicals which eventually took up his works were the various Harper's publications (Harper's Bazaar
Harper's Bazaar
Harper’s Bazaar is an American fashion magazine, first published in 1867. Harper’s Bazaar is published by Hearst and, as a magazine, considers itself to be the style resource for “women who are the first to buy the best, from casual to couture.”...
, Harper's Weekly
Harper's Weekly
Harper's Weekly was an American political magazine based in New York City. Published by Harper & Brothers from 1857 until 1916, it featured foreign and domestic news, fiction, essays on many subjects, and humor...
, and Harper's Young People
Harper's Young People
Harper's Young People was an American children's magazine between 1879 and 1899. It was published by Harper & Brothers. It was Harper's fourth magazine to be established, after Harper's Magazine , Harper's Weekly , and Harper's Bazaar...
), as well as Frank Leslie's Weekly
Frank Leslie's Weekly
Frank Leslie's Weekly, later often known in short as Leslie's Weekly, was an American illustrated literary and news magazine founded in 1852 and continuing publication well into the 20th century. As implied by its name, it was published weekly, on Tuesdays. Its first editor was John Y. Foster...
, Century Magazine and the Ladies' Home Journal
Ladies' Home Journal
Ladies' Home Journal is an American magazine which first appeared on February 16, 1883, and eventually became one of the leading women's magazines of the 20th century in the United States...
.
He also worked for various commercial companies, for example illustrating the almanac
Almanac
An almanac is an annual publication that includes information such as weather forecasts, farmers' planting dates, and tide tables, containing tabular information in a particular field or fields often arranged according to the calendar etc...
of the Elgin Watch Company
Elgin Watch Company
The Elgin National Watch Company, most commonly known as just the Elgin Watch company was a major US watch company.-History:The Elgin National Watch Company, was founded in August 1864 as the National Watch Company. A number of former associates of the Waltham Watch Company and Chicago watchmaker J.C...
and producing a 1881 Christmas Card
Christmas card
A Christmas card is a greeting card sent as part of the traditional celebration of Christmas in order to convey between people a range of sentiments related to the Christmas and holiday season. Christmas cards are usually exchanged during the weeks preceding Christmas Day by many people in Western...
for Louis Prang & Company.
His career was helped along by several devoted patrons, among them William T. Evans, John Gellatly, the banker Grant B. Schley, and the railroad-car manufacturer Charles Lang Freer
Charles Lang Freer
Charles Lang Freer was an American railroad-car manufacturer from Detroit, Michigan who gave to the United States his art collections and funds for a building to house them. The Freer Gallery of Art founded by him is part of the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C..-Early life:Freer was...
, the founder of Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
's Freer Gallery.
Church became especially known for his fondness of depicting animals, both in their natural state and in anthropomorphic "allegorical compositions" - having both the patience and empathy needed to gain the confidence of his animal "models" and a through understanding of animal anatomy, as well as of animal facial expressions and the moods and feelings they conveyed.
His work on the Fables of Aesop
Aesop
Aesop was a Greek writer credited with a number of popular fables. Older spellings of his name have included Esop and Isope. Although his existence remains uncertain and no writings by him survive, numerous tales credited to him were gathered across the centuries and in many languages in a...
, including an illustration of the human and animal protagonists of each fable plus an elaborate cover for the whole, is considered among the best of his works.
Though living in the big city, he liked to make painting expeditions to the countryside. In one period, when living on a farm and teaching the owner's two young daughters to draw, he was "could often be found handling and posing the tame frogs from the spring house, carrying turtles up from the pond and arranging chickens and other farmyard poultry for Thanksgiving sketches". The aforementioned banker Grant B. Schley eventually provided Church with a specially-built studio at Schley's estate "Froh Helm", located at Far Hills, New Jersey
New Jersey
New Jersey is a state in the Northeastern and Middle Atlantic regions of the United States. , its population was 8,791,894. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York, on the southeast and south by the Atlantic Ocean, on the west by Pennsylvania and on the southwest by Delaware...
.
While in the city, Church often visited Barnum and Bailey's premises as well as the Central Park Zoo
Central Park Zoo
The Central Park Zoo is a small zoo located in Central Park in New York City. It is part of an integrated system of four zoos and the New York Aquarium managed by the Wildlife Conservation Society , and is accredited by the Association of Zoos and Aquariums .The zoo began in the 1860s as a...
, to study and make endless sketches of the animals held there. On such occasions he was described as "playing catch with an elephant, watching the dance of a distressed ostrich and spending hours observing seahorses in an aquarium", so as "to effectively capture the character of each creature".
Aside from his numerous animal drawings, Church dealt with many other themes, usually in a "cheerful and fanciful" mood, such as a "Holiday Series" including "A Halloween
Halloween
Hallowe'en , also known as Halloween or All Hallows' Eve, is a yearly holiday observed around the world on October 31, the night before All Saints' Day...
illustration of dainty witches crouched by a cauldron under a smoke-filled sky, a Thanksgiving
Thanksgiving (United States)
Thanksgiving, or Thanksgiving Day, is a holiday celebrated in the United States on the fourth Thursday in November. It has officially been an annual tradition since 1863, when, during the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln proclaimed a national day of thanksgiving to be celebrated on Thursday,...
image of a young girl driving turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
s, and a depiction of Christmas
Christmas
Christmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
morning on the bottom of the sea as little mermaid
Mermaid
A mermaid is a mythological aquatic creature with a female human head, arms, and torso and the tail of a fish. A male version of a mermaid is known as a "merman" and in general both males and females are known as "merfolk"...
s open their gifts and polar bear
Polar Bear
The polar bear is a bear native largely within the Arctic Circle encompassing the Arctic Ocean, its surrounding seas and surrounding land masses. It is the world's largest land carnivore and also the largest bear, together with the omnivorous Kodiak Bear, which is approximately the same size...
s dance arm-in-arm with a lovely young woman".
The 2003 Exhibition
Some of Church's works are kept in the Permanent Collection of the Fulton Decorative Arts Gallery at the Washington County Museum of Fine ArtsWashington County Museum of Fine Arts
Washington County Museum of Fine Arts is an art museum located in Hagerstown, Maryland, United States. The building is located off Park Circle and serves as a centerpiece in Hagerstown City Park. The museum was donated in 1929 by Mr. and Mrs. William Singer, Jr. It was completed in 1931 and two...
in Hagerstown, Maryland
Hagerstown, Maryland
Hagerstown is a city in northwestern Maryland, United States. It is the county seat of Washington County, and, by many definitions, the largest city in a region known as Western Maryland. The population of Hagerstown city proper at the 2010 census was 39,662, and the population of the...
. Others are at the collection of Dale and Rosie Horst of Newton, Kansas
Newton, Kansas
Newton is a city in and the county seat of Harvey County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 19,132. Newton is located north of Wichita and is included in the Wichita metropolitan statistical area...
, which lent them to the Fulton Gallery in 2003, for an extensive exhibition including both Church's original drawings and the magazines and periodicals in which they appeared.
The Resource Library Magazine, describing the exhibition, noted the following items:
- Opening of the Season at the North Pole (originally published Harper's WeeklyHarper's WeeklyHarper's Weekly was an American political magazine based in New York City. Published by Harper & Brothers from 1857 until 1916, it featured foreign and domestic news, fiction, essays on many subjects, and humor...
,December 1875) depicts "polar bears on ice skates,(...) amiable, fun-loving animals always ready to play games or join in adventures". - Flapjacks (Harper's WeeklyHarper's WeeklyHarper's Weekly was an American political magazine based in New York City. Published by Harper & Brothers from 1857 until 1916, it featured foreign and domestic news, fiction, essays on many subjects, and humor...
,December 1892) - "A small bear holding a griddleGriddleA griddle is a cooking device consisting of a broad flat surface that can be heated using a variety of means, and is used in both residential and commercial applications for a variety of cooking operations. Most commonly, the griddle consists of a flat metal plate, but in the non-industrialized...
while a young lady prepares an eagerly anticipated breakfast for a crowd of adult bears" was used in the December 1892 issue of the same publication. - A New Year's Greeting (Harper's Young PeopleHarper's Young PeopleHarper's Young People was an American children's magazine between 1879 and 1899. It was published by Harper & Brothers. It was Harper's fourth magazine to be established, after Harper's Magazine , Harper's Weekly , and Harper's Bazaar...
, January 1, 1889) -"A large storkStorkStorks are large, long-legged, long-necked wading birds with long, stout bills. They belong to the family Ciconiidae. They are the only family in the biological order Ciconiiformes, which was once much larger and held a number of families....
clutching a basket in his beak while a chubby round baby smiles from inside". - Christmas Fun (Harper's WeeklyHarper's WeeklyHarper's Weekly was an American political magazine based in New York City. Published by Harper & Brothers from 1857 until 1916, it featured foreign and domestic news, fiction, essays on many subjects, and humor...
, December 16, 1893) - "A young woman being assisted by a bear in putting on her ice skates". - Santa's Cake Walk (Harper's BazaarHarper's BazaarHarper’s Bazaar is an American fashion magazine, first published in 1867. Harper’s Bazaar is published by Hearst and, as a magazine, considers itself to be the style resource for “women who are the first to buy the best, from casual to couture.”...
, December 17, 1898) - "A scene in which Santa directs a polar bear band seated in his reindeer-driven sleigh while dozens of bears dance with top hats, canes and fans". - Christmas Morning: One Hundred Fathoms Deep (Harper's Young PeopleHarper's Young PeopleHarper's Young People was an American children's magazine between 1879 and 1899. It was published by Harper & Brothers. It was Harper's fourth magazine to be established, after Harper's Magazine , Harper's Weekly , and Harper's Bazaar...
, December 11, 1888). - "Cold Sauce with the Christmas Pudding" - a 1894 painting made for Century Magazine, the original later donated to the Fulton gallery by Robert F. Skutch of BaltimoreBaltimoreBaltimore is the largest independent city in the United States and the largest city and cultural center of the US state of Maryland. The city is located in central Maryland along the tidal portion of the Patapsco River, an arm of the Chesapeake Bay. Baltimore is sometimes referred to as Baltimore...
. - The Snow Witch's Daughter (Harper's BazaarHarper's BazaarHarper’s Bazaar is an American fashion magazine, first published in 1867. Harper’s Bazaar is published by Hearst and, as a magazine, considers itself to be the style resource for “women who are the first to buy the best, from casual to couture.”...
, December 23, 1882)