Daniel Garber: Study Abroad

"St. James Park, London"
by Daniel Garber

"In May of 1905 at the conclusion of his year of full-time classes with William Merritt Chase and perhaps with Cecilia Beaux, the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art's faculty surveyed his work. Recognizing both his accomplishments and his potential, the Cresson committee awarded Daniel Garber two expense-paid years of independent study abroad, to be dedicated to refining and maturing his art.

Losing no time, Garber sailed for England almost immediately in the company of his wife May and possibly her father. Garber's work in England demonstrates the most whole-heartedly Impressionist moment in his entire career. Perhaps he actually saw the work of Monet, Pissarro and Sisley in London, or maybe the new freedom of his Cresson tour liberated older inclinations, but whatever the cause, his work from these two years has many of the hallmarks of classic Impressionism of the 1870s. Small paintings, done entirely outdoors, with quick, broken brushstrokes and bright, pastel colors dominate his work. 

After five months in England, the Garbers headed south for Italy where they spent another half-year, principally in Florence. Though the tonality of the Italian sketches changed to earth tones and winter moods, the Impressionist style and format remained. As the weather grew warmer, the Garbers moved north again and settled in Paris, where they remained for the second year of his fellowship.

While in Paris, Garber exhibited his work twice at the Salon and continued to sketch in oil and charcoal. He joined the American Artists Association in Paris, but little is known about his friends or experiences there. Judging from his painting, he was little touched by avant-garde movements in France at that time, and apparently remained unswayed by the charms of Parisian art life. Though intending to stay a third year (for his Cresson had been renewed), he abruptly changed his mind and returned to Philadelphia in the late spring of 1907."

To be continued

(Excerpts from Daniel Garber, 1880-1958: Exhibition, June 27 - August 24, 1980, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts" by Kathleen Foster.)