AN APPRECIATION: John Twachtman John Henry Twachtman was an American artist at the end of the 19th century. Known as an American Impressionist, his style evolved towards abstraction in which the depiction of objects were secondary to atmosphere.
The son of German immigrants, Twachtman was born in Cincinnati, Ohio on August 4, 1853. While working various odd jobs, his art education began at the Ohio Mechanics Institute. Later, he studied at the Micken School of Design under Frank Duveneck, who had achieved some success with his art. Duveneck urged Twachtman to travel to Munich where he had studied art. Accepting this suggestion, Twachtman journeyed to Germany where he enrolled in the Royal Academy of Fine Arts from 1875 to 1877. There, he acquired a loose, traditional style that relied on a palette of dark tones. In Munich, Twachtman met fellow student William Meritt Chase and together they traveled to Venice after they completed their studies at the Royal Academy. The objective of the expedition was both to see the art of Venice but also to work in its unique light. Twachtman's style was not well-suited to this task and so the trip produced mixed results. For the next few year, Twachtman traveled back and forth to Europe. In 1878, he was in Cincinnati teaching at the Women's Art Association. By 1880, he was in Florence, Italy teaching at Duveneck's art school. The next year, he was in Cincinnati where he married Martha Shudder. The couple then went to live in Europe until just before the birth of their first child in 1882. During, this trip, Twachtman and his friend J. Alden Weir undertook a painting expedition to the Netherlands. Returning to Europe in 1883, Twachtman enrolled in the prestigious Academie Julian in Paris. During this trip, Twachtman's style changed significantly. His images became more vague and he turned to a softer palette. This change reflected the influence of the work of James Abbott McNeill Whistler as well as the Impressionists. Like many young artists of the time, Twachtman was also influenced by Japanese wood block prints. By 1886, Twachtman and his family returned to the United States. While they had been in Europe, Weir had acquired a farm in Connecticut that was within visiting distance from New York City. Weir invited Twachtman to stay and the two spent much time painting landscapes. Twachtman was so impressed that he acquired his own farm in nearby Cos Cob. During this period, both Twachtman's and Weir's styles became increasingly Impressionistic. The two continued to work together and exhibited together. In 1893, a New York gallery held an exhibition in which works by Weir and Twachtman were hung along side of works by Claude Monet. In addition to painting landscapes of his farm and genre paintings featuring his wife and children, Twachtman taught art both in Cos Cob and at the Art Students League in New York. Ssoon, the presence of Twachtman and Weir in Connecticut attracted other artists and an artists colony emerged. This has been variously called the “Cos Cob School” and the “Greenwich School.” Twachtman's personality was not well-suited to being at the center of an artist's colony. A loner, Twachtman had few friends besides Weir. He was moody and subject to periods of depression. This contributed to his eventual separation from his wife and children. Although his work earned a medal at the 1893 Columbia Exposition in Chicago, commercial success was elusive. Twachtman's vague and almost abstract works did not sell well. In addition to teaching, he supplemented his income by doing illustrations for magazines. In 1897, Twachtman, along with Weir, protested the Society of American Artists' dismissive attitude toward Impressionism by joining with eight other similarly-minded artists to form a group known as “Ten American Painters” or “The Ten”. Twachtman continued to exhibit with The Ten for the rest of his life. Looking for fresh inspiration, Twachtman visited Gloucester, Massachusetts in 1900. Finding such inspiration, Twachtman became a part of the Gloucester artist's colony. He died there suddenly shortly after his 49th birthday in 1902. |
Above: Twachtman's best known work "Arques-la-Bataille."
Below: Twachtman is also known for his vague winter scenes. Above: Places located at or near his farm in Connecticut were a frequent source of inspiration.
Below: Although primarily a landscape painter, Twachtman also painted portraits and genre scenes of his family. Above: At the end of his career, Twachtman also found inspiration at Gloucester, Massachusetts. "Fishing Boats at Gloucester."
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Artist appreciation - John Henry Twachtman