Bancel La Farge (1865–1938) was an American artist known for his mural painting and decorative work.

Biography

La Farge was born in Newport, Rhode Island on September 23, 1865. He was the son of the artist

John LaFarge John La Farge (March 31, 1835 – November 14, 1910) was an American artist whose career spanned illustration, murals, interior design, painting, and popular books on his Asian travels and other art-related topics. La Farge made stained glass ...

and Margaret Perry LaFarge. In 1898 he married Mabel Hooper with whom he had four children. Bancel La Farge started his career as an assistant to his father at his studio. He moved to Europe where he continued his artistic training. Returning to the United States, La Farge created liturgical art in the form of murals, mosaics, stained glass and other decorations for churches such as the

Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception The Basilica of the National Shrine of the Immaculate Conception is a Catholic minor basilica and national shrine in Washington D.C. It is the largest Catholic church building in North America and is also the tallest habitable building in Wa ...

in Washington, D.C., the Church of the Immaculate Conception in Newport, Rhode Island, St. Mary' Chapel at Saint Paul Seminary in St. Paul, Minnesota, Saint Charles Seminary in Catonsville, Maryland, and Notre Dame Chapel at Trinity Washington University. In 1934 La Farge was commissioned by the

Federal Emergency Relief Administration The Federal Emergency Relief Administration (FERA) was a program established by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in 1933, building on the Hoover administration's Emergency Relief and Construction Act. It was replaced in 1935 by the Works Progre ...

to create

lunette A lunette (French ''lunette'', 'little moon') is a crescent- or half-moon–shaped or semi-circular architectural space or feature, variously filled with sculpture, painted, glazed, filled with recessed masonry, or void. A lunette may also be ...

s for the New Haven Public Library. They were completed under the

Federal Arts Project The Federal Art Project (1935–1943) was a New Deal program to fund the visual arts in the United States. Under national director Holger Cahill, it was one of five Federal Project Number One projects sponsored by the Works Progress Administrati ...

. La Farge died on August 15, 1938, in the Mount Carmel neighborhood of Hamden, Connecticut. His papers are in the

Smithsonian Institution The Smithsonian Institution ( ), or simply the Smithsonian, is a group of museums, Education center, education and Research institute, research centers, created by the Federal government of the United States, U.S. government "for the increase a ...

. His four sons were Edward Hooper La Farge, Henry Adams La Farge, Louis Bancel La Farge, and

Thomas Sergeant La Farge Thomas Sergeant La Farge (1904–1942) was an American artist known for his WPA mural paintings for the United States Post Office–New London Main, United States Post Office in New London, Connecticut. Biography La Farge was born in Paris, Fr ...

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Farge, Bancel La 1865 births 1938 deaths Artists from Rhode Island American artists Federal Art Project artists