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| "The Ghost Story" by Walter MacEwen |
"Walter MacEwen was born to John and Elizabeth MacEwen on February 13, 1860 in Chicago, Illinois. He studied business and accounting while working off hours as a clerk at his father's contracting company. It seems his father, a Scottish-born manufacturer and builder, was cultivating him to eventually enter the family business.
One day a panhandler entered the office in search of a handout. MacEwen extended him a ten-dollar loan and took an artist's box of paints and brushes as collateral. When the man did not return to redeem his property MacEwen began experimenting with the supplies and by the spiring of 1877, decided that painting was his true vocation."
"When considering a suitable venue for professional art training, Walter MacEwen had several things to consider, the first being simple logistics. Chicago did not establish its own institution until 1879, therefore he would have to leave his hometown and his father's employ to move forward with his plan, which began with study at the Munich Academy - a short lived venture.
After his first year he left and was drawn to Paris. He relocated there in 1881 and continued his training at the Academie Julian with Tony Robert-Fleury. Robert-Fleury was highly regarded for his historical compositions and portraits, and the students from his atelier moved up quickly through the ranks of young artists striving for recognition. Simultaneously MacEwen studied with Fernand Cormon, an academic painter of historical subjects."
To be continued
(Excerpts from "Walter MacEwen: A Forgotten Episode in American Art" by Rhonda Kay Cross.)
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