Rufus Fairchild Zogbaum
Encyclopedia
Rufus Fairchild Zogbaum (August 28, 1849 – October 22, 1925) is primarily known as an illustrator
for late 19th century news magazines, but he was also a journalist and author. His works were regularly featured in Harper’s Weekly magazine.
. He was educated at the Art Students League in New York City
from 1878–1879, and during 1880–1882 studied under Léon Bonnat
in Paris
.
and Frederic Remington
, whose first few illustrations for Harper’s were redrawn by staff artists, including Zogbaum.
By 1912, Remington had died (1909) and Zogbaum had become so well-known that Rudyard Kipling
referred to him in a poem about a friend who had died:
-correspondent
. His 1897 book, All Hands: Pictures of Life in the United States Navy, is a collector's item featuring 36 full page illustrations. A mural by him is located in the Howard M. Metzenbaum U.S. Courthouse in Cleveland, Ohio.
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...
for late 19th century news magazines, but he was also a journalist and author. His works were regularly featured in Harper’s Weekly magazine.
Early life
Zogbaum was born in Charleston, South CarolinaCharleston, South Carolina
Charleston is the second largest city in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It was made the county seat of Charleston County in 1901 when Charleston County was founded. The city's original name was Charles Towne in 1670, and it moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of the...
. He was educated at the Art Students League 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...
from 1878–1879, and during 1880–1882 studied under Léon Bonnat
Léon Bonnat
Léon Joseph Florentin Bonnat was a French painter.He was born in Bayonne, but from 1846 to 1853 he lived in Madrid, where his father owned a bookshop. While tending his father's shop, he copied engravings of works by the Old Masters, developing a passion for drawing...
in Paris
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...
.
Career
Harper's Weekly normally hired freelance illustrators; nevertheless, for a time Zogbaum was on the magazine's art staff and was sometimes given the assignment to redraw submissions by freelance illustrators. In the 19th-century news magazine world, redrawing illustrations was the equivalent of editing writers’ works. Two of the most famous artists who made illustrations for Harper’s were Winslow HomerWinslow Homer
Winslow Homer was an American landscape painter and printmaker, best known for his marine subjects. He is considered one of the foremost painters in 19th century America and a preeminent figure in American art....
and Frederic Remington
Frederic Remington
Frederic Sackrider Remington was an American painter, illustrator, sculptor, and writer who specialized in depictions of the Old American West, specifically concentrating on the last quarter of the 19th century American West and images of cowboys, American Indians, and the U. S...
, whose first few illustrations for Harper’s were redrawn by staff artists, including Zogbaum.
By 1912, Remington had died (1909) and Zogbaum had become so well-known that Rudyard Kipling
Rudyard Kipling
Joseph Rudyard Kipling was an English poet, short-story writer, and novelist chiefly remembered for his celebration of British imperialism, tales and poems of British soldiers in India, and his tales for children. Kipling received the 1907 Nobel Prize for Literature...
referred to him in a poem about a friend who had died:
Admiral [Robley D.] Evans
Zogbaum draws with a pencil,
And I do things with a pen.
And you sit up in a conning tower
Bossing eight hundred men.
Zogbaum takes care of his business
And I take care of mine.
And you take care of ten thousand tons,
Sky-shooting through the brine.
Zogbaum can handle his shadows
And I can handle my style.
And you can handle a ten-inch gun
To carry seven mile.
"To him that hath shall be given."
And that's why these books are sent
To the man who had lived more stories
Than Zogbaum or I could invent.
Specialization and influence
Zogbaum specialized in several areas of illustration. During his lifetime, his drawings and paintings of horses and military themes (U.S. Army and Navy) were almost as well-known as Remington’s, although he was older than Remington and his works had actually influenced the younger artist. As did Remington, during the Spanish-American War, Zogbaum served as an on-the-scene artistArtist
An artist is a person engaged in one or more of any of a broad spectrum of activities related to creating art, practicing the arts and/or demonstrating an art. The common usage in both everyday speech and academic discourse is a practitioner in the visual arts only...
-correspondent
Correspondent
A correspondent or on-the-scene reporter is a journalist or commentator, or more general speaking, an agent who contributes reports to a newspaper, or radio or television news, or another type of company, from a remote, often distant, location. A foreign correspondent is stationed in a foreign...
. His 1897 book, All Hands: Pictures of Life in the United States Navy, is a collector's item featuring 36 full page illustrations. A mural by him is located in the Howard M. Metzenbaum U.S. Courthouse in Cleveland, Ohio.
Afterward
His son, Rufus F. Zogbaum, Jr., became an admiral in the U.S. Navy, and his grandson, Wilfred Zogbaum (1915–1965), was a well-respected painter and sculptor who had teaching stints in several universities, including the University of California at Berkeley.External links
- The March Out, by Rufus Zogbaum (1885), used on the Ft. Davis National Historic Site website
- The Prairie Mail Box, by Rufus Zogbaum (1887), on the ‘’Nevada Observer’’ website
- Montana Cowboy by Rufus Zogbaum (1885) used to illustrate his article, A Day's Drive With Montana Cowboys in Harper's Magazine, July 1885, Volume 71, Issue 422
- Article by Rufus Zogbaum, Across Country with a Cavalry Column (1885), showing four illustrations
- "We have met the enemy and they are ours", The Battle of Lake Erie, War of 1812, September 10, 1813, painted by Rufus Zogbaum in 1910, oil on canvas, 36 x 88 inches. Mounted on the interior of the Howard M. Metzenbaum U.S. Courthouse, Cleveland, Ohio. Images of the mural are pictured on pages 14 & 15 of this link.
