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Historical records matching John La Farge
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About John La Farge
- A two-page article about the importance of John La Farge is available in The Boston Globe, Friday, September 4, 2015, Weekend Section G, pages 1 and 4. The article has been uploaded to the "Sources" tab of this profile. (Click on "Sources". Click on "Add Source". Click on the listed document. At the next screen, click on the tiny image of the document at the top-center of the screen. The document opens and is viewable.)
- John's biography is available at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/John_LaFarge
- "John LaFarge (March 31, 1835 – November 14, 1910) was an American painter, muralist, stained glass window maker, decorator, and writer.
- "Biography
- "LaFarge was born in New York City to wealthy French parents and was raised bilingually. His interest in art began during his studies at Mount St. Mary's University in Maryland and St. John's College (now Fordham University) in New York. He initially intended to study law, but this changed after his first visit to Paris, France in 1856. Stimulated by the arts in the city, he studied with Thomas Couture and became acquainted with notable literary people. LaFarge also studied with the painter William Morris Hunt in Newport, Rhode Island.
- "LaFarge's earliest drawings and landscapes, from his studies in Newport, show marked originality, especially in the handling of color values. Many of La Farge's mythological and religious paintings, including Virgil, were executed in an area of Rhode Island known as "Paradise," in a forest which La Farge called "The Sacred Grove" after Virgil.
- "He was a pioneer in the study of Japanese art, the influence of which is seen in his work. During his life, LaFarge maintained a studio at 51 West 10th Street in Greenwich Village, which now is part of the site of Eugene Lang College at the New School University.
- "Between 1859 and 1870, he illustrated Tennyson's Enoch Arden and Robert Browning's Men and Women.
- "In the 1870s, LaFarge began to do murals, which became popular for public buildings as well as churches. His first mural was done in Trinity Church, Boston, in 1873. Then followed his decorations in the Church of the Ascension (the large altarpiece) and St. Paul's Chapel (Columbia University), New York. For the Minnesota State Capitol at St. Paul, he executed at age 71 four great lunettes representing the history of law. He created a similar series based on the theme of Justice for the State Supreme Court building at Baltimore, Maryland. He also took private commission from wealthy patrons (e.g. Cornelius Vanderbilt) and was reputedly worth $150,000 at one point.
- "LaFarge made extensive travels in Asia and the South Pacific, which inspired his painting. He visited Japan in 1886, and the South Seas in 1890 and 1891, in particular spending time and absorbing the culture of Tahiti. Henry Adams accompanied him on these trips as a travel companion. He visited Hawaii in September 1890, where he painted scenic spots on Oahu and traveled to the Island of Hawaii to paint an active volcano.
- "He learned several languages (ancient and modern), and was erudite in literature and art; by his cultured personality and reflective conversation, he influenced many other people. Though naturally a questioner, he venerated the traditions of religious art, and preserved his Catholic faith.
- "On his death in 1910, John LaFarge was interred in the Green-Wood Cemetery in Brooklyn, New York.
- "Stained glass
- "La Farge experimented with color problems, especially in the medium of stained glass. He rivaled the beauty of medieval windows and added new resources by inventing opalescent glass and by his original methods of superimposing and welding his materials.
- "Among his many stained glass works are windows at:
- "Trinity Church, Boston (1877–78)
- "Biltmore Estate in Asheville, North Carolina (1881)
- "Church of St. Joseph of Arimathea in Greenburgh, New York (1883)
- "St. Paul's Chapel, Columbia University, NYC (1888–99) Restored by The Greenland Studio NYC
- "First Unitarian Church of Philadelphia (1891)
- "Trinity Episcopal Church in Buffalo, New York (1886–89)
- "All Saints Episcopal Church, Briarcliff Manor, New York (1889)
- "Edwin Booth as Hamlet, at Church of the Transfiguration, Episcopal (Manhattan), New York City (1898) Restored by Victor Rothman Stained Glass, Yonkers, New York
- "Mount Vernon Church, Boston, 1890s
- "Our Lady of Mercy Chapel at Salve Regina University in Newport, Rhode Island
- "Christ Church in Lincoln, Rhode Island
- "The Cathedral of All Saints, Albany, New York
- "Marriage and children
- "He was married on October 15, 1860 at Newport, Rhode Island, to Margaret Mason Perry, who was born on February 26, 1839 in Newport, Rhode Island, and died on May 2, 1925.
- "Her father was Christopher Grant Perry, the son of Elizabeth Champlin Mason and Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry. He was a descendant of Gov. Thomas Prence (1599 - March 29, 1673) a co-founder of Eastham, Massachusetts, a political leader in both the Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay colonies, and governor of Plymouth (1634, 1638, and 1657–1673); and Elder William Brewster, (c. 1567 - April 10, 1644), the Pilgrim leader and spiritual elder of the Plymouth Colony, who had been a passenger on the Mayflower.
- "Her mother was Frances Sergeant, who was the daughter of Sarah Bache, the daughter of Sarah Franklin Bache and Richard Bache, and Chief Justice Thomas Sergeant. She was a great-granddaughter of Deborah Read and Benjamin Franklin, one of the Founding Fathers of the United States of America. His eldest son, Christopher Grant LaFarge, was a partner in the New York-based architectural firm of Heins & LaFarge. He designed projects in Beaux-Arts style, notably the original Byzantine Cathedral of St. John the Divine, the Yale undergraduate society St. Anthony Hall (extant 1893–1913) pictured at, and the original Astor Court buildings of the Bronx Zoo.
- "His son Oliver Hazard Perry LaFarge I became an architect and real estate developer. Part of his career in real estate was in a Seattle partnership with Marshall Latham Bond, Bond & LaFarge. He designed the Perry Building, still standing in the city. Later in life O.H.P. LaFarge designed buildings for General Motors.
- "John LaFarge, Jr., S.J., became a Jesuit priest and a strong supporter of anti-racist policies.
- "Legacy and honors
- "He received the Cross of the Legion of Honor from the French Government
- "He was elected president of National Society of Mural Painters from 1899 through 1904, and was a member of the principal artistic societies of the United States
- "In 1904, he was one of the first seven artists chosen for membership in the American Academy of Arts and Letters
- "Veneration
- "LaFarge is honored together with Ralph Adams Cram and Richard Upjohn with a feast day on the liturgical calendar of the Episcopal Church (USA) on December 16.
- "Selection of LaFarge's writings
- "The American Art of Glass (a pamphlet)
- "Considerations on Painting (New York, 1895)
- "An Artist's Letters from Japan (New York, 1897)
- "The Great Masters (New York)
- "Hokusai: a talk about Japanese painting (New York, 1897)
- "The Higher Life in Art (New York, 1908)
- "One Hundred Great Masterpieces
- "The Christian Story in Art
- "Letters from the South Seas (unpublished)
- "Correspondence (unpublished)
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John La Farge's Timeline
| 1835 |
March 31, 1835
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Manhattan, New York, New York, United States
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| 1862 |
January 6, 1862
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Newport, Rhode Island, United States
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October 28, 1862
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Glen Cove, Nassau, NY, United States
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| 1865 |
September 23, 1865
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Newport, Newport, Rhode Island, United States
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| 1867 |
September 6, 1867
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Middletown or Newport, Rhode Island, United States
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| 1869 |
July 10, 1869
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Middletown or Newport, Rhode Island, United States
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| 1872 |
March 26, 1872
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Newport, Newport County, Rhode Island, United States
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| 1874 |
January 10, 1874
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Newport, Newport, Rhode Island, United States
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| 1880 |
February 13, 1880
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Newport, Newport County, Rhode Island, United States
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