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for Edwin White
1817 - 1877
The genre, historical, and portrait painter Edwin White commenced studying art about 1835 under the guidance of Philip Hewins in Hartford, Conn. In 1841 he moved to New York City where he continued his studies under John Rubens Smith and began attending the antique school of the National Academy of Design. During the following years White matured as a portraitist and he was frequently represented in the National Academy of Design's annual exhibitions. Eventually, however, he turned increasingly to genre and historical painting and in 1850 he embarked for Europe.
White initially settled in Paris where he enrolled in the Academie des Beaux-Arts and studied under the genre and history painter François Edouard Picot. In 1851, however, he abandoned Paris to study with Carl Wilhelm Hübner in Düsseldorf. White remained in Düsseldorf for two years and, after a brief sojourn through Italy and France, returned to the United States in 1855. During the following years White proved himself a prolific and capable artist and received numerous commissions for his works. He continued to exhibit his works at the National Academy and from 1867 to 1869 served the institution as a visiting instructor. Although White found his greatest recognition in the United States, he was constantly drawn to the Old World. After a second visit to Europe between 1857 and 1859, White decided to settle in Florence in the autumn of 1869. He remained there for the following five years and chose only to return to the United States at the end of his life. The eulogy prepared for him at the Academy's annual meeting of May 8, 1878 recounts his character and endeavors:
His pure and gentile character and kindly manners endeared him to the small circle of his intimate friends. His energies were devoted mostly to subjects of Colonial history, to incidents of Luther's life, and kindred topics of reform and adventure. These he treated with earnestness and feeling, throwing over them an atmosphere rich and glowing with color. He used a bold and solid impasto and powerful light and shade that contrasted with the gentleness of his disposition.
White initially settled in Paris where he enrolled in the Academie des Beaux-Arts and studied under the genre and history painter François Edouard Picot. In 1851, however, he abandoned Paris to study with Carl Wilhelm Hübner in Düsseldorf. White remained in Düsseldorf for two years and, after a brief sojourn through Italy and France, returned to the United States in 1855. During the following years White proved himself a prolific and capable artist and received numerous commissions for his works. He continued to exhibit his works at the National Academy and from 1867 to 1869 served the institution as a visiting instructor. Although White found his greatest recognition in the United States, he was constantly drawn to the Old World. After a second visit to Europe between 1857 and 1859, White decided to settle in Florence in the autumn of 1869. He remained there for the following five years and chose only to return to the United States at the end of his life. The eulogy prepared for him at the Academy's annual meeting of May 8, 1878 recounts his character and endeavors:
His pure and gentile character and kindly manners endeared him to the small circle of his intimate friends. His energies were devoted mostly to subjects of Colonial history, to incidents of Luther's life, and kindred topics of reform and adventure. These he treated with earnestness and feeling, throwing over them an atmosphere rich and glowing with color. He used a bold and solid impasto and powerful light and shade that contrasted with the gentleness of his disposition.
