1869 - 1965
Born into a Quaker family, Edward Redfield spent his youth in Philadelphia, where his father, a plant nursery owner, sold fruits and flowers at the Dock Street Market. In his teens, Redfield studied at two Philadelphia technical schools, the Spring Garden Institute and the Franklin Institute, before working with a commercial artist, Henry Rolf, to prepare for entrance into the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. Redfield's practice of completing a work in one sitting with no preliminary sketching was intially learned from Wolf.
Redfield spent the years from 1885 to 1889 at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. While working instructors including Thomas Anshutz, James Kelly and Thomas Hovenden, Redfield befriended Robert Henri, Charles Grafly and Alexander Sterling Calder. In 1889, Redfield, along with Grafly and Henri, enrolled at the Paris Academie Julian, studying under Adolphe William Bouguereau and Tony Robert-Fleury. Although he matriculated at the Ecole des Beaux Arts the following year, Monet and Pissarro were the primary influences on his work during this time. Redfield visited Brolles, in the forest of Fontainbleau in 1889, and found the scenic winter countryside was so inspirational that he abandonned portraiture in favor of scenes of snow covered landscapes. In 1891, in the village of Bois-le-Rei with Henri, Redfield met a local woman, Elise Devin Deligant, whom he married in London in 1893. Before his return to the United States, Redfield also visited Venice with Henri and William Gedney Bunce.
In 1898, Redfield and his wife moved to Center Bridge,
Pennsylvania, to raise a family. The accidental death of their first child caused the couple to return to Fontainebleau for two years, an area they would continue to visit until the 1920s.
At Center Bridge, Redfield began to execute the large scale plein air snow scenes of the Delaware River region for which he was best known. With Daniel Garber, he is credited as a founder of the Pennsylvania school of landscape painting. Redfield is noted for his vigorous interpretations of the local region, rendered directly from nature, often under brutal weather conditions.
In 1902 financed by a patron, Redfield began spending the summers in Booth Bay, Maine, where he began executing marines. He spent at least six months in New York in 1909, painting a series of tonal nocturnes of the city skyline. Redfield resigned from the National Academy in December of 1909, in protest of several wrongly addressed letters; he was reinstated by the Academy's Council in March of 1936. In the late teens, spring landscapes entered his oeuvre. Redfield began depicting the squalid urban environment after 1919, when he resided in Pittsburgh for several years. There was little change in Redfield's work after the 1920s, although he continued to paint into the 1940s. He burned 1000 of his works in a bonfire in 1947, in despair over the death of his wife. Redfield turned to producing early American crafts in his later years.
Redfield spent the years from 1885 to 1889 at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. While working instructors including Thomas Anshutz, James Kelly and Thomas Hovenden, Redfield befriended Robert Henri, Charles Grafly and Alexander Sterling Calder. In 1889, Redfield, along with Grafly and Henri, enrolled at the Paris Academie Julian, studying under Adolphe William Bouguereau and Tony Robert-Fleury. Although he matriculated at the Ecole des Beaux Arts the following year, Monet and Pissarro were the primary influences on his work during this time. Redfield visited Brolles, in the forest of Fontainbleau in 1889, and found the scenic winter countryside was so inspirational that he abandonned portraiture in favor of scenes of snow covered landscapes. In 1891, in the village of Bois-le-Rei with Henri, Redfield met a local woman, Elise Devin Deligant, whom he married in London in 1893. Before his return to the United States, Redfield also visited Venice with Henri and William Gedney Bunce.
In 1898, Redfield and his wife moved to Center Bridge,
Pennsylvania, to raise a family. The accidental death of their first child caused the couple to return to Fontainebleau for two years, an area they would continue to visit until the 1920s.
At Center Bridge, Redfield began to execute the large scale plein air snow scenes of the Delaware River region for which he was best known. With Daniel Garber, he is credited as a founder of the Pennsylvania school of landscape painting. Redfield is noted for his vigorous interpretations of the local region, rendered directly from nature, often under brutal weather conditions.
In 1902 financed by a patron, Redfield began spending the summers in Booth Bay, Maine, where he began executing marines. He spent at least six months in New York in 1909, painting a series of tonal nocturnes of the city skyline. Redfield resigned from the National Academy in December of 1909, in protest of several wrongly addressed letters; he was reinstated by the Academy's Council in March of 1936. In the late teens, spring landscapes entered his oeuvre. Redfield began depicting the squalid urban environment after 1919, when he resided in Pittsburgh for several years. There was little change in Redfield's work after the 1920s, although he continued to paint into the 1940s. He burned 1000 of his works in a bonfire in 1947, in despair over the death of his wife. Redfield turned to producing early American crafts in his later years.
