Robert Henri, by Gertrude Kasebier (1900)

Snow in New York
1902, oil on canvas National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC

Robert Henri (June 25, 1865 - July 12, 1929) was an American painter notable for his teaching and leadership of the Ashcan School movement in art. Image File history File links Robert_Henri. ... Image File history File links Robert_Henri. ... ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (700x863, 198 KB) Snow in New York by Robert Henri—1902 oil painting at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC. File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old... ImageMetadata File history File links Download high resolution version (700x863, 198 KB) Snow in New York by Robert Henri—1902 oil painting at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, DC. File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old... The East Building of the National Gallery of Art The National Gallery of Art is an art museum managed by the government of the United States but privately owned, although it functions as a public institution. ... Aerial photo (looking NW) of the Washington Monument and the White House in Washington, DC. Washington, D.C., officially the District of Columbia (also known as D.C.; Washington; the Nations Capital; the District; and, historically, the Federal City) is the capital city and administrative district of the United... June 25 is the 176th day of the year (177th in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 189 days remaining. ... 1865 (MDCCCLXV) is a common year starting on Sunday. ... July 12 is the 193rd day (194th in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian Calendar, with 172 days remaining. ... 1929 (MCMXXIX) was a common year starting on Tuesday (link will take you to calendar). ... The Ash Can School was remembered on the USPS stamp. ...

Early life

He was born Robert Henry Cozad in Cincinnati, Ohio to Theresa Gatewood Cozad of Malden, Virginia and John Jackson Cozad, a gambler and real estate developer. He had a brother, Johnny. In 1871, their father founded the town of Cozaddale, Ohio. In 1873, the family moved west to Nebraska, where they founded the town of Cozad. Nickname: The Queen City Official website: http://www. ... 1871 (MDCCCLXXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... 1873 was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calaber). ... Official language(s) English Capital Largest city Lincoln Omaha Area  Ranked 16th  - Total 77,421 sq mi  (200,520 km²)  - Width 210 miles (340 km)  - Length 430 miles (690 km)  - % water 0. ... Sign marking the 100th meridian in Cozad Cozad is a city located in Dawson County, Nebraska. ...

In October 1882, Henri's father got in a dispute with a rancher, Alfred Pearson, over the right to pasture cattle on land claimed by the family. When the dispute turned physical, Cozad shot Pearson fatally with a pistol. Cozad was eventually cleared of wrongdoing, but the mood of the town turned against him. He fled to Denver, Colorado, and the rest of the family followed shortly. ([1]) In order to disassociate themselves from the scandal, family members changed their names. The father became known as Richard Henry Lee, and his sons posed as adopted children under the names Frank Southern and Robert Earl Henri (pronounced to rhyme with "buckeye"). 1882 (MDCCCLXXXII) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ... Nickname: The Mile-High City Official website: http://www. ...

In 1883, the family moved to New York City, then to Atlantic City, New Jersey, where the young artist completed his first paintings. 1883 (MDCCCLXXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... Nickname The Big Apple, The Capital of the World [1], Gotham Government Counties (Boroughs) Bronx (The Bronx) New York (Manhattan) Queens (Queens) Kings (Brooklyn) Richmond (Staten Island) Mayor Michael Bloomberg (R) Geographical characteristics Area  - Total  - Land  - Water 1,214. ... Motto: Nickname: Map Map of Atlantic City in Atlantic County Political Statistics Founded Sister Cities {{{sister cities}}} Incorporated March 1854 County Atlantic County Borough {{{borough}}} Parrish {{{parrish}}} Mayor Bob Levy Geographic Statistics Area  - Total  - Water 44. ...

Education

In 1886, Henri enrolled at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia, where he studied under Thomas Anshutz. In 1888, he traveled to Paris to study at the Académie Julian, where he studied under William-Adolphe Bouguereau and embraced Impressionism. With time, he was admitted into the École des Beaux Arts. He visited Brittany and Italy during this period. 1886 (MDCCCLXXXVI) is a common year starting on Friday (click on link to calendar) // Events January 18 - Modern field hockey is born with the formation of The Hockey Association in England. ... The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts is the oldest art school in the United States, founded in Philadelphia in 1805. ... Philadelphia is a village located in Jefferson County, New York. ... 1888 (MDCCCLXXXVIII) is a leap year starting on Sunday (click on link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar or a leap year starting on Tuesday of the Julian calendar. ... The Eiffel Tower, the international symbol of the city For other uses, see Paris (disambiguation). ... The Académie Julian was an art school in Paris, France. ... William-Adolphe Bouguereau (1825-1905), self-portrait (1886) Dusks, 1863 William Adolphe Bouguereau (November 30, 1825 - August 19, 1905) was a French academic painter. ... Impressionism was a 19th century art movement that began as a loose association of Paris-based artists who began publicly exhibiting their art in the 1860s. ... École des Beaux Arts refers to several art schools in France. ... Traditional coat of arms This article is about the historical kingdom, duchy and French province, as well as one of the Celtic Nations . ...

By the end of 1891, he returned to Philadelphia, studying under Robert Vonnoh at the Academy. In 1892, he began teaching at the Philadephia School of Design for Women. 1891 (MDCCCXCI) was a common year starting on Thursday (see link for calendar). ... Robert William Vonnoh (September 17, 1858 – 1933) was an American Impressionist painter known for his portraits and landscapes. ... 1892 (MDCCCXCII) was a leap year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... Moore College of Art and Design an art and design college for women located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. ...

Work

In Philadelphia, Henri began to attract a group of followers who met in his studio to discuss art and culture, including several illustrators for the Philadelphia Press newspaper who would become known as the "Philadelphia Four": William Glackens, George Luks, Everett Shinn, and John French Sloan. The gatherings became known as the "Charcoal Club", featuring life drawing and readings in the social philosophy of Ralph Waldo Emerson, Walt Whitman, Émile Zola, and Henry David Thoreau. The Philadelphia Press (The Press) was published from August 1, 1857 to October 1, 1920. ... William James Glackens (born March 13, 1870, in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; died May 22, 1938, in Westport, Connecticut) was a U.S. painter. ... George Benjamin Luks (1867 - 1933) was a American portrait and genre painter. ... John French Sloan (August 2, 1871 - September 8, 1951) was a U.S. artist. ... Ralph Waldo Emerson Ralph Waldo Emerson (May 25, 1803 – April 27, 1882) was a famous American author, poet, and philosopher. ... Walt Whitman Walt Whitman (born Walter Whitman) (May 31, 1819 – March 26, 1892) was an American poet, essayist, journalist, and humanist born in West Hills, Huntington on Long Island in New York. ... Émile Zola Émile Zola (April 2, 1840 – September 29, 1902) was an influential French novelist, the most important example of the literary school of naturalism, and a major figure in the political liberalization of France. ... Henry David Thoreau Henry David Thoreau (July 12, 1817 – May 6, 1862; born David Henry Thoreau) was an American author, development critic, naturalist, transcendentalist, pacifist, tax resister and philosopher who is famous for Walden, on simple living amongst nature, and On the Duty of Civil Disobedience, on resistance to civil...

By 1895, Henri had come to reconsider Impressionism, calling it a "new academicism." 1895 (MDCCCXCV) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Thursday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar). ...

For several years, he divided his time between Philadelphia and Paris, where he met the Canadian artist James Wilson Morrice. Morrice introduced introduced Henri to the practice of painting pochades on tiny wood panels that could be carried in a coat pocket along with a minimal kit of brushes and oil. This facilitated the kind of spontaneous depictions of urban scenes which would come to be associated with his mature style. James Wilson Morrice (August 10, 1865 - January 23, 1924) was a signficant Canadian landscape painter. ...

In 1898 he married Linda Craige, a student from his private art class. The couple spent the next two years on an extended honeymoon in France, during which time the French government purchased his painting, La Neige ("The Snow"), to be displayed in the Musée du Luxembourg. 1898 (MDCCCXCVIII) was a common year starting on Saturday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Monday of the 12-day-slower Julian calendar). ... Musée du Luxembourg is a museum in Paris, France. ...

He began teaching at the New York School of Art in 1902, where his students included Edward Hopper, Rockwell Kent, George Bellows, and Stuart Davis. Parsons The New School for Design, located in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of New York City, is a design school affiliated (since 1970) with The New School (formerly known as New School University). ... 1902 (MCMII) was a common year starting on Wednesday (see link for calendar). ... Nighthawks. ... Rockwell Kent photographed by Carl Van Vechten, 1933 Rockwell Kent (1882-1971), an American artist was born in Tarrytown, New York, was well educated in art. ... George Bellows George Wesley Bellows (August 19, 1882 - January 8, 1925) was an American painter, known for his bold depictions of urban life in New York City. ... Stuart Davis (December 7, 1892 - June 24, 1964), American painter, was born in Philadelphia . ...

In 1905, Henri's wife Linda, long in poor health, died. 1905 (MCMV) was a common year starting on Sunday (see link for calendar). ...

In 1906, he was elected to the National Academy of Design, but when painters in his circle were rejected for the Academy's 1907 exhibition, he accused fellow jurors of bias and walked off the jury, resolving to organize a show of his own. He would later refer to the Academy as "a cemetery of art." 1906 (MCMVI) was a common year starting on Monday (see link for calendar). ... The National Academy of Design, in New York City, now called simply The National Academy, is an honorary association of American artists, with a museum and a school of fine arts. ... 1907 (MCMVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday (see link for calendar) of the Gregorian calendar (or a common year starting on Wednesday of the 13-day-slower Julian calendar). ...

In February 1908, Henri organized a landmark show entitled "The Eight" (after the eight painters displaying their works) at the Macbeth Gallery in New York. Besides his own works and those produced by the "Philadelphia Four" (who had followed Henri to New York by this time), there were paintings by Maurice Prendergast, Ernest Lawson, and Arthur B. Davies. These painters and this exhibition would become become associated the Ashcan School, although the content of the show was diverse and that term was not coined until 1934. 1908 (MCMVIII) was a leap year starting on Wednesday (link will take you to calendar). ... Rialto Bridge (Covered Bridge, Venice), ca. ... Ernest Lawson (born March 22, 1873 in Halifax; died December 18, 1939 in Miami Beach, Florida) was an U.S. painter and a member of The Eight. ... Arthur Bowen Davies (born 1863 in Utica, New York; died 1928) was an avant-garde American artist. ... The Ash Can School was remembered on the USPS stamp. ... 1934 (MCMXXXIV) was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ...

In May 1908, he married 22-year old Irish-born Marjorie Organ.

In 1910, Henri organized the "Exhibition of Independent Artists," a no-jury, no-prize show modeled after the Salon des Independants in France. Works were hung alphabetically to emphasize the egalitarian philosophy. Walt Kuhn, who took part in this show, would come to play a key role in the 1913 Armory Show.-1... Walt Kuhn (27 October 1877 - 13 July 1949) was an American painter born in Brooklyn, New York City. ... 1913 (MCMXIII) was a common year starting on Wednesday. ... Armory Show poster. ...

Henri admired anarchist and Mother Earth publisher Emma Goldman, and taught from 1911 at the Modern School. Goldman, who later sat for a portrait by Henri, described him as "an anarchist in his conception of art and its relation to life." ([2]) Mother Earth was a magazine first published in March 1906 by anarchist Emma Goldman. ... Emma Goldman (June 27, 1869 – May 14, 1940) was a Lithuanian-born anarcho-communist known for her anarchist writings and speeches. ... 1911 (MCMXI) was a common year starting on Sunday (click on link for calendar). ... The Modern School in New York City, circa 1911-12. ...

In 1923, he wrote The Art Spirit, a book which continues to be widely read. 1923 (MCMXXIII) was a common year starting on Monday (link will take you to calendar). ...

 His ideas on art were collected by former pupil Margery Ryerson and published as The Art Spirit (Philadelphia, 1923). 

Quotations

• "It is harder to see than it is to express. The whole value of art rests in the artist's ability to see well into what is before him."
• "Art cannot be separated from life. It is the expression of the greatest need of which life is capable, and we value art not because of the skilled product, but because of its revelation of a life's experience."
• "Paint what you feel. Paint what you see. Paint what is real to you."

External links

• Works by Robert Henri at the Athenaeum
• "Robert Henri and his Influence" (Minnesota Museum of Fine Art)
• Robert Henri biography at the "Artchive"
• "About Robert Henri" (R.H. Love Galleries)

Bibliography

• "The Art Spirit" (Robert Henri, 1923, ISBN 0064301389)
• "Robert Henri and his Circle" (William Innes Homer, 1969, ISBN 0801404983)
• "Robert Henri: His Life and Art" (Bennard B. Perlman, 1991, ISBN 0486267229)