Erotica at Library of Congress, Washington D

George Randolph Barse Jr. (July 31, 1861 – February 25, 1938) was an American artist and illustrator. Born in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at t ...

, Barse attended public schools in Kansas City and went to Paris in 1878, where he spent five years training at the

École nationale supérieure des Beaux-Arts The Beaux-Arts de Paris is a French ''grande école'' whose primary mission is to provide high-level arts education and training. This is classical and historical School of Fine Arts in France. The art school, which is part of the Paris Scienc ...

in the atelier of

Alexandre Cabanel Alexandre Cabanel (; 28 September 1823 – 23 January 1889) was a French painter. He painted historical, classical and religious subjects in the academic style. He was also well known as a portrait painter. According to ''Diccionario Enciclopedi ...

, and at the Académie Julien under

Jules Joseph Lefebvre Jules Joseph Lefebvre (; 14 March 183624 February 1911) was a French figure painter, educator and theorist. Early life Lefebvre was born in Tournan-en-Brie, Seine-et-Marne, on 14 March 1836. He entered the École nationale supérieure des Bea ...

and

Gustave Boulanger Gustave Clarence Rodolphe Boulanger (25 April 1824 – 22 September 1888) was a French figurative painter and academic artist and teacher known for his Classical and Orientalist subjects. Education and career The Néo-Grecs and the Prix de Rom ...

. Barse returned to the United States for a few years, partly in New York and partly in the

Texas panhandle The Texas Panhandle is a region of the U.S. state of Texas consisting of the northernmost 26 counties in the state. The panhandle is a square-shaped area bordered by New Mexico to the west and Oklahoma to the north and east. It is adjacent to ...

, before returning to Europe in 1889. His six years in Italy included his marriage to Italian model

Rosina Ferrara Rosina Ferrara (1861–1934) was an Italian artist's model from the island of Capri, who became the favorite muse of American expatriate artist John Singer Sargent. Captivated by her exotic beauty, a variety of 19th-century artists, including ...

, muse of John Singer Sargent and others, in 1891. They were married until her death from pneumonia in 1934. In 1895 Barse received his best-known commission, eight allegorical panels for the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library ...

. That same year he received the First

Hallgarten Prize The Julius Hallgarten Prizes (defunct) were a trio of prestigious art prizes awarded by 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 Samue ...

from 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 ...

. He was elected into the

in 1898 as an Associate member, and became a full member in 1900. He also taught a class in life drawing at the Art Students League of New York. From 1904 he was based in

Katonah, New York Katonah is a hamlet and census-designated place (CDP) within the town of Bedford, Westchester County, in the U.S. state of New York. The Katonah CDP had a population of 1,679 at the 2010 census. History Katonah is named for Chief Katonah, an ...

. Barse committed suicide by

carbon monoxide poisoning Carbon monoxide poisoning typically occurs from breathing in carbon monoxide (CO) at excessive levels. Symptoms are often described as " flu-like" and commonly include headache, dizziness, weakness, vomiting, chest pain, and confusion. Large ...

four years after his wife's death. As a result of his friendship with Hattie Bishop Speed, many of his works are held at the Speed Art Museum in Louisville, Kentucky.

References

* Paintings and Sculpture in the Collection of the National Academy of Design ... By David Bernard Dearinge, page 27

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Barse, George Randolph 1861 births 1938 deaths 19th-century American painters American male painters 20th-century American painters American illustrators Artists who committed suicide Art Students League of New York faculty American alumni of the École des Beaux-Arts Artists from Kansas City, Missouri People from Katonah, New York 1938 suicides Suicides by carbon monoxide poisoning Suicides in New York (state) 19th-century American male artists 20th-century American male artists