Kenyon Cox
Encyclopedia
Kenyon Cox was an American
painter
, illustrator
, mural
ist, writer
, and teacher. Cox was an influential and important early instructor at the Art Students League of New York
. He was the designer of the League's
logo, whose motto is Nulla Dies Sine Linea or No Day Without a Line.
, the son of Jacob Dolson Cox and Helen Finney Cox. As a young adult, Cox studied art at Cincinnati’s Art Academy of Cincinnati
(formerly known as the McMicken School of Art), but soon became aware of the lack of opportunity and artistic presence in Cincinnati. After visiting the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia, Kenyon decided that Philadelphia and the art academy there had much more to offer him than Cincinnati did. Kenyon enrolled in the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts hoping to receive better instruction and eventually secure for himself a way to study in Europe.
In 1877 Cox moved to Paris
like many American artists of the day to be a part of what he believed to be a sort of second renaissance in art. There he studied under Carolus-Duran
and Jean-Léon Gérôme
and then at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts
. Cox wrote of his initial impression of Paris saying that there was "so much artistic material here that one might almost be content to stay here and paint for years…One can’t dive down a crooked street or turn a sharp corner without finding more to paint than he could by hunting months for a subject in America. If Paris is at all like this it must indeed be a paradise for artists."
Cox first studied under Carolus-Duran
. Soon after, Cox began to get irritated with Duran. During the winter of 1877-78 Cox wrote to his father about Duran stating that, "I appreciate his strong color, breadth, etc., etc. But I thought you would like to know just how he impressed me, and I must say that a predominating vulgarity grates on me."
Soon after writing this, Cox left the instruction of Carolus-Duran and enrolled in the Ecole des Beaux-Arts
. His painting teachers at the school included Jean-Léon Gérôme
, Alexandre Cabanel
and Henri Lehmann
.
While in Europe, Cox took the opportunity to travel throughout France
and Italy
and see the works of the Renaissance
Masters. Later he wrote of his travels saying, “The trip, I think, did more to broaden and define my notions of art than anything that ever happened to me before.”
where he continued to paint. He also began to do many illustrations, mostly to pay the bills. Kenyon became well established as a magazine illustrator. His illustrations reached a much wider audience than did his paintings.
Cox also began to write art criticisms (unsigned) for the New York Evening Post. This and other writing jobs took Kenyon’s time away from painting but also helped him make a living.
Cox continued to live and work in New York for most of his life. He became an influential and important teacher at the Art Students League of New York
. Cox designed the League's logo that reads Nulla Dies Sine Linea or No Day Without a Line.
and symbolism
to present his ideas. Kenyon Cox painted in the realistic manner and earned a reputation for landscapes, portraits and genre studies. His idealized nudes and traditional treatment of classical themes had little in common with the popular avant-garde art of the day. Later, in 1912, Cox wrote an article for The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin called “Two Ways of Painting”. In this article he describes the difference between figurative art
like he was making and the more fashionable abstract art
or representational art. In the article he tells of the prejudice he felt as a more traditional figurative artist:
Cox, adamantly loyal to the preservation of the “older methods”, set himself in opposition to modern styles
. In his 1917 book Concerning Painting: Considerations Theoretical and Historical, Cox restated his earlier feelings about the “Two Ways of Painting” saying:
Cox tried to persuade the art world and the public to once again appreciate traditional, representational art. His writings on the subject became very popular; however, his art did not.
for numerous magazines in New York including The Nation, Century and Scribner’s. In the summer of 1883 Cox began to write poetry for the public:
This poem was a big success in New York
art circles and earned Cox a great deal of attention. According to Wayne H. Morgan who wrote the book, Kenyon Cox : a Life in American Art 1856-1919, "The poem and its Unknown Lady symbolized the need among artists, especially those with classical interests, for intense emotion expressed through acceptable forms, and for the idealization of women."
Cox himself painted many idealized women mostly in the form of the classic nude.
In 1895 Cox published another poem, “The Gospel of Art”, that summarized his idealism about the artist’s role in the intensifying emotion through sacrifice, and on the function of art in culture:
In 1904 Cox wrote the book Mixed Beasts where he combined the names of different beasts he believed flowed together to form another name like Bumblebeaver or Kangarooster. He then made up short poems to go with each new beast.
In 2005 a new version of Mixed Beasts was released. It still contained most of Cox's original verses but also included input and illustrations by Wallace Edwards
.
. One of his female students, Louise Howland King from San Francisco, caught Cox’s eye and they began to correspond outside of class. In an early letter to Louise, Cox tried to convince her to stick with her art writing: “We must work for the work’s sake. You say you almost forget why you paint at all; well, I have long since satisfied myself that I paint because I cannot help it—because I love the work itself and would rather be a miserably bad painter than a successful man in any other work—because the mere joy of trying and even the excitement of failure are the only true pleasures for me.”
On June 30, 1892, thirty-six year old Cox married twenty-seven year old Louise Howland King. The pair executed the murals that decorated the Liberal Arts Building at the 1893 Columbian Exposition in Chicago. In 1896 they had a son, Allyn, who himself became a successful muralist. According to Cox’s obituary he and Louise also had a daughter Caroline and an older son Lieutenant Leonard Cox although very little is written about them.
painting after the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. Cox painted murals in the state capitol buildings of Des Moines, St. Paul and Madison as well as other courthouses, libraries and college buildings. In 1896-97 Cox painted murals in the Library of Congress
in Washington, D.C.
Cox also made numerous mosaics for places like the Wisconsin State Capitol
building.
In 1910 Kenyon Cox was awarded the Medal of Honor for mural painting by the Architectural League. He also served as president of the National Society of Mural Painters
from 1915 to 1919.
Cox was one of the founders and the secretary of the National Free Arts League, and was a member of the Society of American Artists
, the National Academy of Design
, and the American Academy of Arts and Letters.
Cox continued to paint, teach and write until his death on March 17, 1919. Kenyon Cox died in his New York home from pneumonia. A significant body of Cox's personal and professional papers, including extensive correspondence, is held in the Department of Drawings & Archives at the Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library
at Columbia University
in New York City.
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...
, 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...
, mural
Mural
A mural is any piece of artwork painted or applied directly on a wall, ceiling or other large permanent surface. A particularly distinguishing characteristic of mural painting is that the architectural elements of the given space are harmoniously incorporated into the picture.-History:Murals of...
ist, writer
Writer
A writer is a person who produces literature, such as novels, short stories, plays, screenplays, poetry, or other literary art. Skilled writers are able to use language to portray ideas and images....
, and teacher. Cox was an influential and important early instructor at the Art Students League of New York
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...
. He was the designer of the League's
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...
logo, whose motto is Nulla Dies Sine Linea or No Day Without a Line.
Biography
He was born in Warren, OhioWarren, Ohio
As of the census of 2000, there were 46,832 people, 19,288 households and 12,035 families residing in the city. The population density was 2,912.4 people per square mile . There were 21,279 housing units at an average density of 1,322.9 per square mile...
, the son of Jacob Dolson Cox and Helen Finney Cox. As a young adult, Cox studied art at Cincinnati’s Art Academy of Cincinnati
Art Academy of Cincinnati
The Art Academy of Cincinnati is a private college of art and design, accredited by the National Association of Schools of Art and Design, in Cincinnati, Ohio...
(formerly known as the McMicken School of Art), but soon became aware of the lack of opportunity and artistic presence in Cincinnati. After visiting the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia, Kenyon decided that Philadelphia and the art academy there had much more to offer him than Cincinnati did. Kenyon enrolled in the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts hoping to receive better instruction and eventually secure for himself a way to study in Europe.
Paris and travels
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
like many American artists of the day to be a part of what he believed to be a sort of second renaissance in art. There he studied under Carolus-Duran
Carolus-Duran
Charles Auguste Émile Durand, known as Carolus-Duran , was a French painter and art instructor. He is noted for his stylish depictions of members of high society in Third Republic France.-Biography:...
and Jean-Léon Gérôme
Jean-Léon Gérôme
Jean-Léon Gérôme was a French painter and sculptor in the style now known as Academicism. The range of his oeuvre included historical painting, Greek mythology, Orientalism, portraits and other subjects, bringing the Academic painting tradition to an artistic climax.-Life:Jean-Léon Gérôme was born...
and then at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts
École des Beaux-Arts
École des Beaux-Arts refers to a number of influential art schools in France. The most famous is the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts, now located on the left bank in Paris, across the Seine from the Louvre, in the 6th arrondissement. The school has a history spanning more than 350 years,...
. Cox wrote of his initial impression of Paris saying that there was "so much artistic material here that one might almost be content to stay here and paint for years…One can’t dive down a crooked street or turn a sharp corner without finding more to paint than he could by hunting months for a subject in America. If Paris is at all like this it must indeed be a paradise for artists."
Cox first studied under Carolus-Duran
Carolus-Duran
Charles Auguste Émile Durand, known as Carolus-Duran , was a French painter and art instructor. He is noted for his stylish depictions of members of high society in Third Republic France.-Biography:...
. Soon after, Cox began to get irritated with Duran. During the winter of 1877-78 Cox wrote to his father about Duran stating that, "I appreciate his strong color, breadth, etc., etc. But I thought you would like to know just how he impressed me, and I must say that a predominating vulgarity grates on me."
Soon after writing this, Cox left the instruction of Carolus-Duran and enrolled in the Ecole des Beaux-Arts
École des Beaux-Arts
École des Beaux-Arts refers to a number of influential art schools in France. The most famous is the École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts, now located on the left bank in Paris, across the Seine from the Louvre, in the 6th arrondissement. The school has a history spanning more than 350 years,...
. His painting teachers at the school included Jean-Léon Gérôme
Jean-Léon Gérôme
Jean-Léon Gérôme was a French painter and sculptor in the style now known as Academicism. The range of his oeuvre included historical painting, Greek mythology, Orientalism, portraits and other subjects, bringing the Academic painting tradition to an artistic climax.-Life:Jean-Léon Gérôme was born...
, Alexandre Cabanel
Alexandre Cabanel
Alexandre Cabanel was a French painter.- Biography :Cabanel was born in Montpellier, Hérault. He painted historical, classical and religious subjects in the academic style. He was also well known as a portrait painter...
and Henri Lehmann
Henri Lehmann
Henri Lehmann was a German-born French historical painter and portraitist.__NOEDITSECTION__-Life:Born Heinrich Salem Lehmann in Kiel, Schleswig, Germany, he received his first art tuition from his father Leo Lehmann and from other painters in Hamburg...
.
While in Europe, Cox took the opportunity to travel throughout France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
and 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 see the works of the Renaissance
Renaissance
The Renaissance was a cultural movement that spanned roughly the 14th to the 17th century, beginning in Italy in the Late Middle Ages and later spreading to the rest of Europe. The term is also used more loosely to refer to the historical era, but since the changes of the Renaissance were not...
Masters. Later he wrote of his travels saying, “The trip, I think, did more to broaden and define my notions of art than anything that ever happened to me before.”
New York
In 1882 Cox left Paris and moved to New YorkNew 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...
where he continued to paint. He also began to do many illustrations, mostly to pay the bills. Kenyon became well established as a magazine illustrator. His illustrations reached a much wider audience than did his paintings.
Cox also began to write art criticisms (unsigned) for the New York Evening Post. This and other writing jobs took Kenyon’s time away from painting but also helped him make a living.
Cox continued to live and work in New York for most of his life. He became an influential and important teacher at the Art Students League of New York
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...
. Cox designed the League's logo that reads Nulla Dies Sine Linea or No Day Without a Line.
Artistic theory
Cox’s art was very different from the cubist, neo-impressionist, fauvist, expressionist and modernist styles that emerged during his lifetime. He advocated careful drawing and modulated color, and he frequently used allegoryAllegory
Allegory is a demonstrative form of representation explaining meaning other than the words that are spoken. Allegory communicates its message by means of symbolic figures, actions or symbolic representation...
and symbolism
Symbolism (arts)
Symbolism was a late nineteenth-century art movement of French, Russian and Belgian origin in poetry and other arts. In literature, the style had its beginnings with the publication Les Fleurs du mal by Charles Baudelaire...
to present his ideas. Kenyon Cox painted in the realistic manner and earned a reputation for landscapes, portraits and genre studies. His idealized nudes and traditional treatment of classical themes had little in common with the popular avant-garde art of the day. Later, in 1912, Cox wrote an article for The Metropolitan Museum of Art Bulletin called “Two Ways of Painting”. In this article he describes the difference between figurative art
Figurative art
Figurative art, sometimes written as figurativism, describes artwork—particularly paintings and sculptures—which are clearly derived from real object sources, and are therefore by definition representational.-Definition:...
like he was making and the more fashionable abstract art
Abstract art
Abstract art uses a visual language of form, color and line to create a composition which may exist with a degree of independence from visual references in the world. Western art had been, from the Renaissance up to the middle of the 19th century, underpinned by the logic of perspective and an...
or representational art. In the article he tells of the prejudice he felt as a more traditional figurative artist:
“The pressure to conformity is upon the other side and it is the older methods that need justification and explanation. The prejudices of the workers and the writers have gradually and naturally become the prejudices of at least a part of the public, and it have become necessary to show that the small minority of artists who still follow the old roads do so, not from ignorance or stupidity or a stolid conservatism, still less from willful caprice, but from necessity; because those roads are the only ones that can lead them where they wish to go.”
Cox, adamantly loyal to the preservation of the “older methods”, set himself in opposition to modern styles
Modern art
Modern art includes artistic works produced during the period extending roughly from the 1860s to the 1970s, and denotes the style and philosophy of the art produced during that era. The term is usually associated with art in which the traditions of the past have been thrown aside in a spirit of...
. In his 1917 book Concerning Painting: Considerations Theoretical and Historical, Cox restated his earlier feelings about the “Two Ways of Painting” saying:
For at least fourteen thousand years, then, from the time of the cavemenCavemanA caveman or troglodyte is a stock character based upon widespread concepts of the way in which early prehistoric humans may have looked and behaved...
to our own day, painting has been an imitative art, and it seems likely that it will continue to be so. That is should, within a few years, entirely reverse its current, and should flow in the opposite direction for thousands of years to come seems highly improbable, not to say incredible. Yet we are gravely told that it is about to do this; that, at the hands of its representative element, reached its final and definite form, and that no further changes are possible. Henceforth, as long as men live in the world they are to be satisfied with a non-representative art — an art fundamentally different from that which they have known and practiced and enjoyed.
Cox tried to persuade the art world and the public to once again appreciate traditional, representational art. His writings on the subject became very popular; however, his art did not.
Poetry
Kenyon Cox also began to write more articles and became an art criticArt critic
An art critic is a person who specializes in evaluating art. Their written critiques, or reviews, are published in newspapers, magazines, books and on web sites...
for numerous magazines in New York including The Nation, Century and Scribner’s. In the summer of 1883 Cox began to write poetry for the public:
- She lived in Florence centuries ago,
- That lady smiling there.
- What her name or rank I do not know—
- I know that she was fair.
- For some great man — his name, like hers, forgot
- And faded from Men’s sight—
- Loved her — he must have loved her — and has wrought
- This bust for our delight.
- Whether he gained her love or had her scorn
- Full happy was his fate.
- He saw her, heard her speak; he was not born
- Four hundred years too late.
- The palace throngs in every room but this —
- Here I am left alone.
- Love, there is none to see — I press a kiss
- Upon thy lips of stone.
This poem was a big success in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
art circles and earned Cox a great deal of attention. According to Wayne H. Morgan who wrote the book, Kenyon Cox : a Life in American Art 1856-1919, "The poem and its Unknown Lady symbolized the need among artists, especially those with classical interests, for intense emotion expressed through acceptable forms, and for the idealization of women."
Cox himself painted many idealized women mostly in the form of the classic nude.
In 1895 Cox published another poem, “The Gospel of Art”, that summarized his idealism about the artist’s role in the intensifying emotion through sacrifice, and on the function of art in culture:
- Work thou for pleasure; paint or sing or carve
- The thing thou lovest, though the body starve.
- Who works for glory misses oft the goal;
- Who works for money coins his very soul;
- Work for the work’s sake, then, and it may be
- That these things shall be added unto thee.
In 1904 Cox wrote the book Mixed Beasts where he combined the names of different beasts he believed flowed together to form another name like Bumblebeaver or Kangarooster. He then made up short poems to go with each new beast.
In 2005 a new version of Mixed Beasts was released. It still contained most of Cox's original verses but also included input and illustrations by Wallace Edwards
Wallace Edwards
Wallace Edwards is a Canadian children's illustrator who won the 2002 Governor General's Award for his book Alphabeasts. He is a graduate of the Ontario College of Art....
.
Marriage
While working in New York, Cox began to teach at the Art Student LeagueArt 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...
. One of his female students, Louise Howland King from San Francisco, caught Cox’s eye and they began to correspond outside of class. In an early letter to Louise, Cox tried to convince her to stick with her art writing: “We must work for the work’s sake. You say you almost forget why you paint at all; well, I have long since satisfied myself that I paint because I cannot help it—because I love the work itself and would rather be a miserably bad painter than a successful man in any other work—because the mere joy of trying and even the excitement of failure are the only true pleasures for me.”
On June 30, 1892, thirty-six year old Cox married twenty-seven year old Louise Howland King. The pair executed the murals that decorated the Liberal Arts Building at the 1893 Columbian Exposition in Chicago. In 1896 they had a son, Allyn, who himself became a successful muralist. According to Cox’s obituary he and Louise also had a daughter Caroline and an older son Lieutenant Leonard Cox although very little is written about them.
Later years
Kenyon Cox began to focus more on muralMural
A mural is any piece of artwork painted or applied directly on a wall, ceiling or other large permanent surface. A particularly distinguishing characteristic of mural painting is that the architectural elements of the given space are harmoniously incorporated into the picture.-History:Murals of...
painting after the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago. Cox painted murals in the state capitol buildings of Des Moines, St. Paul and Madison as well as other courthouses, libraries and college buildings. In 1896-97 Cox painted murals in the Library of Congress
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress is the research library of the United States Congress, de facto national library of the United States, and the oldest federal cultural institution in the United States. Located in three buildings in Washington, D.C., it is the largest library in the world by shelf space and...
in 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....
Cox also made numerous mosaics for places like the Wisconsin State Capitol
Wisconsin State Capitol
The Wisconsin State Capitol, in Madison, Wisconsin, houses both chambers of the Wisconsin legislature along with the Wisconsin Supreme Court and the Office of the Governor. Completed during 1917, the building is the fifth to serve as the Wisconsin capitol since the first territorial legislature...
building.
In 1910 Kenyon Cox was awarded the Medal of Honor for mural painting by the Architectural League. He also served as president of the National Society of Mural Painters
National Society of Mural Painters
The National Society of Mural Painters is an American artists' organization founded in 1895, originally known as The Mural Painters. The charter of the society is to advance the techniques and standards for the design and execution of mural art for the enrichment of architecture in the United...
from 1915 to 1919.
Cox was one of the founders and the secretary of the National Free Arts League, and was a member of the Society of American Artists
Society of American Artists
The Society of American Artists was an American artists group. It was formed in 1877 by artists who felt the National Academy of Design did not adequately meet their needs, and was too conservative....
, 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...
, and the American Academy of Arts and Letters.
Cox continued to paint, teach and write until his death on March 17, 1919. Kenyon Cox died in his New York home from pneumonia. A significant body of Cox's personal and professional papers, including extensive correspondence, is held in the Department of Drawings & Archives at the Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library
Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library
The Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library is one of twenty-five libraries in the Columbia University Library System and is located in Avery Hall on the Morningside Heights campus of Columbia University in the City of New York. It is the largest architecture library in the world...
at Columbia University
Columbia University
Columbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
in New York City.
Selected works
- After Boltraffio, "Sacre Conversazione," (oil on canvas) 1878-1882, owned by the Smithsonian American Art MuseumSmithsonian American Art MuseumThe 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...
, 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.... - Study for Mosaic, Wisconsin State Capital, "Justice," (oil on canvas) 1913, owned by the Smithsonian American Art MuseumSmithsonian American Art MuseumThe 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...
, 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.... - Mural at Oberlin College, "The Spirit of Self-Sacrificing Love", 1914
- “The Sword is Drawn The Navy Uphold it!” United States Navy recruitment poster, 1917
Select writings
- Old Masters and New, 1905
- Painters and Sculptors, 1907
- Concerning Painting: Considerations Theoretical and Historical, 1917