1856 - 1935
Douglas Volk combined a long career of teaching with periods of work in landscape, genre, portraiture, and murals. The son of sculptor Leonard Volk, he was taken as an infant to the Midwest, where he attended primary school in Chicago. At age 14 he accompanied his parents to Rome, spending the summers of 1871 and 1872 in Venice with William L. Picknell and William G. Bunce. In Rome, he briefly attended the St. Luke's Academy. Volk moved to Paris in 1873, entering Jean-L‚on G‚r"me's atelier at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts after a short period of work under L‚on Bonnat. With the exception of a visit to the United States in 1876, he remained based in Paris until 1878, spending much of his time with friends J. Alden Weir, George de Forest Brush, and Kenyon Cox.
Following his return from Europe, Volk passed three months in Chicago before assuming a teaching post at the Cooper Union in 1879. A year later, he was elected to the Society of American Artists. In 1885 he accepted an offer to create a school of fine arts at the University of Minneapolis. Teaching brought him back to New York once again, however, when the Art Students League offered him a job in 1893. During the next 25 years, he taught intermittently at the League, Cooper Union, and the National Academy. He developed innovative views on the teaching of art and art history to children, which he outlined in an essay, "A Plea for Art in the Public Schools," printed in the 1895 NAD annual exhibition catalogue.
Volk's paintings won several prizes at Academy exhibitions, such as the Saltus Gold Medal and the Proctor and Maynard Prizes. Following World War I, he was asked to paint portraits of King Albert of Belgium, David Lloyd George, and John J. Pershing. Like his father, he was also known for his depictions of Abraham Lincoln. He served on the NAD Council from 1916 to 1919, followed by a six-year term as recording secretary. From his home in Maine, Volk kept up contact with the Academy until his death. His last letters in the Academy archives indicate that he suffered from poor health and a serious shortage of money.
Following his return from Europe, Volk passed three months in Chicago before assuming a teaching post at the Cooper Union in 1879. A year later, he was elected to the Society of American Artists. In 1885 he accepted an offer to create a school of fine arts at the University of Minneapolis. Teaching brought him back to New York once again, however, when the Art Students League offered him a job in 1893. During the next 25 years, he taught intermittently at the League, Cooper Union, and the National Academy. He developed innovative views on the teaching of art and art history to children, which he outlined in an essay, "A Plea for Art in the Public Schools," printed in the 1895 NAD annual exhibition catalogue.
Volk's paintings won several prizes at Academy exhibitions, such as the Saltus Gold Medal and the Proctor and Maynard Prizes. Following World War I, he was asked to paint portraits of King Albert of Belgium, David Lloyd George, and John J. Pershing. Like his father, he was also known for his depictions of Abraham Lincoln. He served on the NAD Council from 1916 to 1919, followed by a six-year term as recording secretary. From his home in Maine, Volk kept up contact with the Academy until his death. His last letters in the Academy archives indicate that he suffered from poor health and a serious shortage of money.
