Eugene (Edward) Speicher NA (April 5, 1883 – May 11, 1962) was an American portrait, landscape, and figurative painter. He was one of the foremost realists of his generation who closely upheld the mantle of his mentor,

Robert Henri Robert Henri (; June 24, 1865 – July 12, 1929) was an American painter and teacher. As a young man, he studied in Paris, where he identified strongly with the Impressionists, and determined to lead an even more dramatic revolt against A ...

Biography

Speicher was born in

Buffalo, New York Buffalo is the second-largest city in the U.S. state of New York (behind only New York City) and the seat of Erie County. It is at the eastern end of Lake Erie, at the head of the Niagara River, and is across the Canadian border from Sou ...

. He began his studies in art at the Albright Art School. He moved to New York in 1907 and began attending the Art Students League where he studied with

William Merritt Chase William Merritt Chase (November 1, 1849October 25, 1916) was an American painter, known as an exponent of Impressionism and as a teacher. He is also responsible for establishing the Chase School, which later would become Parsons School of Design. ...

and Frank Vincent Du Mond. In 1908, he won the school's Kelley Prize with a portrait of fellow student

Georgia O'Keeffe Georgia Totto O'Keeffe (November 15, 1887 – March 6, 1986) was an American modernist artist. She was known for her paintings of enlarged flowers, New York skyscrapers, and New Mexico landscapes. O'Keeffe has been called the "Mother of Ame ...

. In 1909 took life classes with Robert Henri at the New York School of Art, which he found of great importance to his formative style. Through Henri, with whom he became close friends, he also became acquainted with George Bellows, with whom he also became close, and with

Rockwell Kent Rockwell Kent (June 21, 1882 – March 13, 1971) was an American painter, printmaker, illustrator, writer, sailor, adventurer and voyager. Biography Rockwell Kent was born in Tarrytown, New York. Kent was of English descent. He lived much of ...

Edward Hopper Edward Hopper (July 22, 1882 – May 15, 1967) was an American realist painter and printmaker. While he is widely known for his oil paintings, he was equally proficient as a watercolorist and printmaker in etching. Hopper created subdued drama ...

Guy Pène du Bois Guy Pène du Bois (January 4, 1884 – July 18, 1958) was a 20th-century American painter, art critic, and educator. Born in the U.S. to a French family, his work depicted the culture and society around him: cafes, theatres, and in the twenties, f ...

Leon Kroll Leon Kroll (December 6, 1884 – October 25, 1974) was an American painter and lithographer. A figurative artist described by ''Life'' magazine as "the dean of U.S. nude painters", he was also a landscape painter and also produced an exceptional ...

, and a coterie of realist artists with whom he associated. In 1910, he went to

Europe Europe is a large peninsula conventionally considered a continent in its own right because of its great physical size and the weight of its history and traditions. Europe is also considered a subcontinent of Eurasia and it is located entirel ...

, where he remained for two years to study the Old Masters in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

, the

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

, and

Spain , image_flag = Bandera de España.svg , image_coat = Escudo de España (mazonado).svg , national_motto = ''Plus ultra'' (Latin)(English: "Further Beyond") , national_anthem = (English: "Royal March") , i ...

. Upon his return, he settled in New York, and soon became known as one of the most promising of the younger group of American painters. He discovered

Woodstock, New York Woodstock is a town in Ulster County, New York, United States, in the northern part of the county, northwest of Kingston, NY. It lies within the borders of the Catskill Park. The population was 5,884 at the 2010 census, down from 6,241 in 20 ...

, soon after and began to split his time between Manhattan and Woodstock, where he became an important and popular figure in the art colony. From the teens, Speicher began to receive a steady stream of awards and honors. By the 1920s Speicher was considered a leading

portrait A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expressions are predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, personality, and even the mood of the person. For this r ...

artist in America, practicing a form of realism. Among the awards he received was the Beck Gold medal for portraiture at the

Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA) is a museum and private art school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

in January 1920, for his painting ''Russian Girl''. In 1926 he was awarded the

Potter Palmer Potter Palmer (May 20, 1826 – May 4, 1902) was an American businessman who was responsible for much of the development of State Street in Chicago. Born in Albany County, New York,Art Institute of Chicago for ''The Lace Scarf''. In 1936 ''Esquire'' magazine called him America's most important living painter. He was also awarded the

Temple Gold Medal Joseph E. Temple Fund Gold Medal (defunct) was a prestigious art prize awarded by the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts most years from 1883 to 1968. A Temple Medal recognized the best oil painting by an American artist shown in PAFA's annual e ...

at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in 1938 for ''Marianna''. Recognized for his work in portraiture, Speicher’s renown allowed him to support himself with commissions, and he also executed many flower still lifes and landscapes. Always favoring female subjects, he was also one of the few moderns to undertake nudes for which he became known. With a strong technique and great capability as a draughtsman, Speicher’s compositions are analytical and methodical in their design and execution. He was nominated an associate of the

National Academy of Design The National Academy of Design is an honorary association of American artists, founded in New York City in 1825 by Samuel Morse, Asher Durand, Thomas Cole, Martin E. Thompson, Charles Cushing Wright, Ithiel Town, and others "to promote the f ...

in 1912 and a full academician in 1925. Speicher was appointed director of the

American Academy of Arts and Letters The American Academy of Arts and Letters is a 300-member honor society whose goal is to "foster, assist, and sustain excellence" in American literature, music, and art. Its fixed number membership is elected for lifetime appointments. Its headqu ...

in 1945. His work was also part of the painting event in the art competition at the 1932 Summer Olympics. Brooklyn Museum - Landscape - Eugene E

Works

* "Morning Light" (1912), a charming landscape (

Metropolitan Museum The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...

) * "The Girl in Rose" (1913) * John Nelson Cole (1914) Talk:Eugene Speicher * Miss Helen Appleton (Thomas R. Proctor Prize, National Academy, 1911) * Charles Dana Gibson * Miss Mary Stuart Snyder * Actress Katharine Cornell in her role as Candida

Notes

References

*Leeds, Valerie Ann, et al., ''Along His Own Lines: A Retrospective of New York Realist Eugene Speicher.'' New Paltz, New York: Samuel Dorsky Museum of Art, State University of New York at New Paltz, 2014. * ;Attribution *

External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Speicher, Eugene 1883 births 1962 deaths Students of Robert Henri 20th-century American painters American male painters American portrait painters Artists from Buffalo, New York National Academy of Design members Painters from New York City Members of the American Academy of Arts and Letters People from Woodstock, New York People from Manhattan Olympic competitors in art competitions 20th-century American male artists