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Elihu Vedder (26 February 183629 January 1923) was an American symbolist painter, book illustrator and poet from
Elihu Vedder was born on 26 February 1836 in 
Penniless, Vedder returned to the United States during the
File:Elihu Vedder - Soul in Bondage - Google Art Project.jpg, ''Soul in Bondage'', 1891–92.
www.ElihuVedder.org
80 works online at Elihu Vedder virtual Gallery
Smithsonian Archives of American Art: The Elihu Vedder Papers
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vedder, Elihu 1836 births 1923 deaths 19th-century American painters 20th-century American painters 20th-century American male artists American muralists American male painters Burials in the Protestant Cemetery, Rome American Orientalist painters Painters from New York City Symbolist painters 19th-century American male artists Pre-Raphaelite painters Pre-Raphaelite illustrators
New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
. He is best known for his fifty-five illustrations for Edward FitzGerald's translation of '' The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam'' (deluxe edition, published by Houghton Mifflin).
Biography
Elihu Vedder was born on 26 February 1836 in New York City
New York, often called New York City (NYC), is the most populous city in the United States, located at the southern tip of New York State on one of the world's largest natural harbors. The city comprises five boroughs, each coextensive w ...
, the son of Dr. Elihu Vedder Sr. and Elizabeth Vedder.
His parents were cousins. His father, a dentist, decided to try his luck in Cuba, and this had a profound impact on Elihu Jr.'s childhood.
The remainder of his childhood was spent between his maternal grandfather Alexander Vedder's house in Schenectady and a boarding school. His mother supported his goals to be an artist while his father reluctantly assented, convinced that his son should try a different occupation. His brother, Dr. Alexander Madison Vedder, was a Navy surgeon who witnessed the transformation of Japan into a modern culture while he was stationed there.
Vedder trained in New York City with Tompkins H. Matteson, then in Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...
with François-Édouard Picot.
Finally, he completed his studies in Italy - where he was strongly influenced not only by Italian Renaissance
The Italian Renaissance ( ) was a period in History of Italy, Italian history between the 14th and 16th centuries. The period is known for the initial development of the broader Renaissance culture that spread across Western Europe and marked t ...
work but also by the modern Macchiaioli painters and the living Italian landscape.
He first visited Italy
Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
from 1858 until 1860, becoming deeply emotionally attached to fellow painter Giovanni Costa.
Their idyllic trips through the Italian countryside were cut short because Vedder's father cut off his financial allowance.
Penniless, Vedder returned to the United States during the American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...
and made a small living undertaking commercial illustrations. He was involved in the bohemian 'Pfaff's' coffee house group and painted some of his most memorable paintings notable for their visionary nature, romantic imagery and often Oriental influences. Paintings of this time include ''The Roc's Egg'', ''The Fisherman and the Genii'', and one of his most famous works, ''Lair of the Sea Serpent''. In the United States, Vedder sought out and befriended Walt Whitman, Herman Melville
Herman Melville (Name change, born Melvill; August 1, 1819 – September 28, 1891) was an American novelist, short story writer, and poet of the American Renaissance (literature), American Renaissance period. Among his best-known works ar ...
and William Morris Hunt
William Morris Hunt (March 31, 1824September 8, 1879) was an American painter.
Born into the political List of Hunt family members of Vermont, Hunt family of Vermont, he trained in Paris with the realist Jean-François Millet and studied under hi ...
. Vedder became a member 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 of the United States, music, and Visual art of the United States, art. Its fixed number ...
in 1865. At the end of the Civil War, Vedder left America to live in Italy.
He married Caroline Rosekrans on 13 July 1869 in Glen Falls, New York.
Elihu Vedder and his wife had four children, only two of whom survived. His daughter Anita Herriman Vedder played a vital role in handling the business of her father, who was notorious for his general aloofness towards details. Elihu's son Enoch Rosekrans Vedder was a promising architect who married jewelry designer Angela Reston. Enoch died while visiting his parents in Italy on 2 April 1916. Elihu had a home in Rome
Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...
and - after the financial success of his 1884 ''Rubaiyat'' work - on the Isle of Capri, then a haven for male aesthetes.
Vedder visited England
England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...
many times, and was influenced by the Pre-Raphaelites, and was a friend of Simeon Solomon
Simeon Solomon (9 October 1840 – 14 August 1905) was a British painter associated with the Pre-Raphaelites who was noted for his depictions of Jewish life and same-sex desire. His career was cut short as a result of public scandal following h ...
. He was also influenced by the work of English and Irish mystics such as William Blake
William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827) was an English poet, painter, and printmaker. Largely unrecognised during his life, Blake has become a seminal figure in the history of the Romantic poetry, poetry and visual art of the Roma ...
and William Butler Yeats
William Butler Yeats (, 13 June 186528 January 1939), popularly known as W. B. Yeats, was an Irish poet, dramatist, writer, and literary critic who was one of the foremost figures of 20th century in literature, 20th-century literature. He was ...
. In 1890 Vedder helped establish the In Arte Libertas group in Italy.
Tiffany commissioned him to design glassware, mosaics
A mosaic () is a pattern or image made of small regular or irregular pieces of colored stone, glass or ceramic, held in place by plaster/Mortar (masonry), mortar, and covering a surface. Mosaics are often used as floor and wall decoration, and ...
and statuettes for the company. He decorated the hallway of the Reading Room of the Washington Library of Congress
The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...
, and his mural paintings can still be seen there.
Vedder occasionally returned to the United States, but lived only in Italy from 1906 until his death on 29 January 1923. He is buried in the Protestant Cemetery, Rome. There are no known living descendants of Elihu Vedder as both surviving children died without issue.
Exhibitions
In 2008, theSmithsonian American Art Museum
The Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM; formerly the National Museum of American Art) is a museum in Washington, D.C., part of the Smithsonian Institution. Together with its branch museum, the Renwick Gallery, SAAM holds one of the world's lar ...
organized an exhibition of Vedder's Rubaiyat illustrations that toured several museums, including the Phoenix Art Museum
The Phoenix Art Museum is the largest art museum, museum for visual art in the southwest United States. Located in Phoenix, Arizona, the museum is . It displays international exhibitions alongside its comprehensive collection of more than 18,0 ...
.
Gallery
Brooklyn Museum
The Brooklyn Museum is an art museum in the New York City borough (New York City), borough of Brooklyn. At , the museum is New York City's second largest and contains an art collection with around 500,000 objects. Located near the Prospect Heig ...
File:Vedder, Elihu - The Questioner of the Sphinx - 1836.gif, ''The Questioner of the Sphinx'' (1863)
File:Vedder Donkey.jpg, 9th study for The miller, his son and the donkey (1867/8)
File:Elihu Vedder - A Peasant Girl Spinning.jpg, '' Peasant Girl Spinning'' (1867)
File:The Sun God.JPG, ''The Sun God'' (1882)
File:Elihu Vedder - The Pleiades, 1885.jpg, ''The Pleiades'' (1885)
File:Corrupt-Legislation-Vedder-Highsmith.jpeg, Mural, Lobby to Main Reading Room, Library of Congress Thomas Jefferson Building, Washington, D.C. Main figure is seated atop a pedestal saying "CORRUPT LEGISLATION".
File:Good administration mural by Elihu Vedder, Jefferson Building, Library of Congress LCCN2005675761.tif, "Good Administration" mural by Elihu Vedder, Jefferson Building, Library of Congress LCCN2005675761
File:Government-Vedder-Highsmith.jpeg, ''Government''. Mural, Lobby to Main Reading Room, Library of Congress Thomas Jefferson Building, Washington, D.C. Main figure is seated atop a pedestal ("GOVERNMENT") holding a tablet with "A GOVERNMENT / OF THE PEOPLE / BY THE PEOPLE / FOR THE PEOPLE".
File:Peace-and-Prosperity-Vedder-Highsmith.jpeg, ''Peace and Prosperity'' (1896)
File:Head of Minerva.jpg, Minerva, 1896 (preparatory study)
File:Minerva-Vedder-Highsmith.jpeg, Minerva, 1896 (mosaic at the Library of Congress
The Library of Congress (LOC) is a research library in Washington, D.C., serving as the library and research service for the United States Congress and the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It also administers Copyright law o ...
) with ''Nil invita Minerva, quae monumentum aere perennius exegit from Horace's Ars Poetica''
References
Further reading
* * * * * * * * *External links
www.ElihuVedder.org
80 works online at Elihu Vedder virtual Gallery
Smithsonian Archives of American Art: The Elihu Vedder Papers
{{DEFAULTSORT:Vedder, Elihu 1836 births 1923 deaths 19th-century American painters 20th-century American painters 20th-century American male artists American muralists American male painters Burials in the Protestant Cemetery, Rome American Orientalist painters Painters from New York City Symbolist painters 19th-century American male artists Pre-Raphaelite painters Pre-Raphaelite illustrators