David Davies: Practice in Lelant

"Nocturne, Templestowe" by David Davies

"The writer put in eight months of the year 1901 working under Davies. In the earlier portion of this period the latter was living at Lelant, a leafy little village at the extreme head of St. Ives Bay, and across the narrow strip of water from the little town of Hayle. At this spot the land rises abruptly from the sea, and for as far as St. Ives itself is varied and picturesque. 

Settled in or near St. Ives were a number of notable painters: Arnesby Brown, Moffat Lindner, Adrian Stokes, Millie-Dow, Louis Grier, Algernon Talmage, Julius Olsson, and others. All these knew and had a high opinion of Davies, but from bashfulness he kept aloof from them and worked at Lelant, in a little studio which had been an apple loft, and which, before Davies' occupation of it, had been rented by the late Alfred East. Here Davies pondered over methods of painting, and evolved one which he employed with great success. 

Briefly, it was based on the theory of the transparency of paint with which varnish is used as a medium, and I think was arrived at in the following way: Davies was in the habit of slipping a small box of pastels into his pocket and taking a couple of white canvases under his arm and setting out to sketch whatever he might find that he particularly liked. On one occasion he came back with two sketches which he fixed by spraying, and then, as an experiment, varnished. He found that the varnishing gave these pastels a resemblance to oil colour, and that in those places where the canvas was untouched the white ground gave a luminosity to the whole that was unattainable by other means. He deduced from this that a canvas primed with a mixture of hard drying, copal varnish, zinc white and china clay, superimposed on a Russian size base, would have a pure white surface of dull porcelain texture; and that painting thinly on this with pale copal varnish would permit the light to shine through from the white ground and give a value to the colour which otherwise it could never possess. He put his theory into practice with great success, and for a long while had many emulators. Owing to the quick drying of the varnish medium, this method called for rapidity of execution, and this Davies could manage with great sureness and felicity. 

His early, close study of form, textures, colour, and tones now constituted a faculty which enabled him without effort instinctively and quickly to put down what he saw through a temperament sensitive to every artistically telling point, and he produced an abundance of pictures of great merit and individual style." 

To be continued

(Excerpts from "The Art & Life of David Davies" by James MacDonald.)  

David Davies: On to Cornwall

 

"St. Ives, Cornwall" by David Davies

"During the latter part of David Daviews' sojourn in Australia, he moved from Templestowe to Cheltenham, and there, for the time being, he painted full daylight subjects, mostly concerned with sky and clouds, carried according to the prevailing weather, and indifferently poised above land or sea. Initially a recorder of inland scenes, he now turned his attention to the water and its capricious behaviour when influenced by wind, sky and the time of day; and this eventually became his main interest.

In 1896 he left for England, and arriving there went to live in Cornwall, where he stayed for twelve years. Cornwall was then becoming known as a working ground for artists, and the Newlyn school was already well founded. Davies, however, settled on the northern side of the peninsula, and lived successively at St. Ives, Lelant, Carbis Bay, Newquay and Tintagel.

In those days Cornwall was not so visitor ridden. As in the case of many other famous holiday places, it was discovered to the world by artists, whose proclamation of its beauties made invasion by the Philistines a foregone conclusion, and in this way they actually, though innocently, were the spearhead of penetration of this quiet and lovely duchy, and the natives, with righteous, indiscriminate resentment, did their best to make things uncomfortable for those who raised for them the rent of net lofts (which were turned into studios), the rent of houses, and the prices of all things. On the beach, on more than one occasion, painters were attacked by fishermen, who used their catch as missiles, in some cases doing considerable damage to their victims' faces. However, by the time this century had arrived not much of this animosity,  the accompaniment of an irksome transitional period, was left."

To be continued

(Excerpts from "The Art and Life of David Davies" by James MacDonald.)  

David Davies: The Evanescence of Form

"Moonrise, Templestowe" by David Davies

"After his sojourn in Europe, David Davies painted a kindlier earth and season, where brown ploughed fields and green or matured crops welcomed the rain or awaited the harvester. Late afternoon or evening effects at this time gave incentive to the painter's powers... Low toned and fused edged motifs were chosen by him in spite of the difficulties that required a sincere thrashing out of their dim and wavering contours and uncertain depths. 

Sincerity such as his required rather that the daily miracle of the evanescence of forms must be intently studied to ensure the representation it deserved. The fugitive effects last but a few minutes, and the varying days, each with a mind of its own, do their best to frustrate the painter in his desire to catch the appearance and mood of the fleeting hour. He must lie in wait, at the same time every day, in the hope that at that hour the scene will approximate to the one he has begun. It never does more than that, but from the study of a number of such effects the painter learns the anatomy of twilight; and to memorable after-glows and dusks he applies the principles of treatment common to the transient hour whose volatility he tries to fix. To attain anything like satisfactory results in it calls for great gifts and great knowledge.

David Davies had both, and from 1893 to 1896, he turned out a number of pictures in which were admirably caught the tremulous sense of gloaming and all that that magical hour holds. With one exception, these pictures were bought by private individuals, and only one was acquired by the national Gallery of the capital city of his native State. This is a 'Moonrise,' unique in the beauty of its presentation of all those difficult, elusive components that make up the theme. Why other other works of a man who, in this picture, so plainly showed his great ability to paint and interpret the rare moods of nature were not purchased by the official guardians and fosterers of Australian art is a genuine puzzle to painters. They know what his difficulties were, how he tackled them and how he surmounted them, but bigotry or stupidity stood in the way of acquiring more works of like quality from the same source."  

To be continued

(Excerpts from "The Art and Life of David Davies" by James MacDonald.)  

David Davies: Beginnings

"Under the Burden and Heat of the Day" by David Davies

"David Davies was born in Ballarat, central Victoria, Australia, on the Yarrowee River, about 1862, of Welsh parents. Perhaps his Welsh parentage may be taken to account for his persistent endeavour to get at the inner meaning of nature, and so to present it, that in his work, apparent, matter of fact statements of reality always have, inherent in them, the mystery that pervades life.

In character he was dreamy and retiring, but industrious, and while a youth, went to Melbourne to study under the late G.F. Folingsby, who at that time also had under him Langstaff, Abbey Altson, E.P. Fox, and others who subsequently did good work. Davies settled down to hard work and learned to draw. He became so good a draughtsman that, many years later, after long abstinence from figure work, he was able, without straining his artistic powers, very creditably to execute portrait commissions.

He won no travelling scholarship, but about 1890 he went to Paris, where he studied at Julian's and, incidentally, married a fellow student. In 1893, two years after his marriage, he returned to Australia, and took up his residence at Templestowe, and there he produced a large number of pictures which, for their portrayal of an unfamiliar aspect of Australia, were altogether original.

No one before had shown on canvas that he saw the country just as this man saw it. Before he first left Australia he had painted a picture called 'The Burden and Heat of the Day,' showing two men, under a tree, behind whose shadow, in the blinding pallid glare of noon, the sun beats down on a parched and bleaching landscape, aquiver with grilling heat. Though tight of drawing, and hard as to textures and modelling, paramount in it is the feeling of relentless, steely, midsummer and its effect on the two prostrated men." 

To be continued

(Excerpts from "The Art and Life of David Davies" by James MacDonald, 1930.)  

David Davies: A Prelude

"Moonrise" by David Davies

"All artists worth their salt report the world as they see it. When they fail to do this, they are insincere and never can be great, but are the 'spielers' of the art world.

No artist has any task but to practise how to express himself; to perfect a method of setting down for all to see, things, which, without any effort on his part, heredity and environment, through his eyes, vouchsafe to his understanding. No merit attaches to the revelations he gets; he has no hand in them, but his good or bad husbandry of them makes the difference between a lawful claim to excellence and honour, and the forfeiture of all such claims.

The artist's duty is to keep a vigilant watch on nature, seen through the fluid lenses of his moods; train his judgment to select what is essential to the successful preservation of his conviction, and, with enthusiastic pains, acquire the indispensable trade-skill to state in plastic terms for others' benefit, what all can see, but which he, more than they, is privileged, at first hand, vividly to discern and appreciate at its true beauty-value.

All human-kind has a sense of beauty, and all types and grades of men try to express it. Human development is gauged by the measure of success attending its effort to express the inward spiritual reaction to outward impressions, and the higher the development, the rarer and finer will be the quality of its product.

None but the blind can evade the loveliness of the drives of our public gardens, banked with the splendour of the noon-flower, or shut out the trumpetings of the sunset; so the depicting of these, and kindred things of beauty, is not so much required of the artist, and he is free to show his brethren beauties that to them are less obvious"...which brings us to David Davies." 

To be continued

(Excerpts from "The Art of David Davies" by James MacDonald.) 

Henry Farny: Death

"Indian Encampment" by Henry Farny

Monday 25, 1916 in "The Cincinnati Enquirer:" "Henry F. Farny one of the most celebrated painters of Indians and Indians life that America has produced, died at midnight Saturday at German Deaconess Hospital, after an illness of two months. His passing brings to a close one of the most remarkable careers in the annals of American art, a career that began with boyhood struggles against poverty and discouragements and ended with the showering of a whole world's plaudits upon him. 

The first signs of failing health were observed a little more than two months ago, a complication of diseases, due largely to exposures and hard life in the Western mountains, being the cause that was found necessary to take him to German Deaconess Hospital shortly after his illness became apparent, and there he remained until the hour of his death. Besides his widow and son, two sisters survive him. The funeral will be held at 2 o'clock Tuesday afternoon in the Crematory Chapel. Services will be conducted by Carson Lodge of Masons. 

He had earned the respect of fellow Cincinnati artists. Shortly after his death, Lewis Henry Meakin remembered Farny as 'a man of rare gifts and unusual personality. His art was of the kind that was understood and cared for by a wide range of people. His skill in craftsmanship, the invisible excellence of his design or composition, his fertility of invention and his remarkable ability in making use of the material at his command: his clearness of vision and the readiness and dexterity with which he caught and embodied an idea commanded the respect and admiration of his fellow-artists and the artistically cultured at the same time...' 

However, from the time of his death until recently, Farny's works dropped into obscurity outside of Cincinnati. The majority of his paintings were in private collections in Cincinnati and often were passed from one generation to another. No exhibitions of his work are known to have been held elsewhere until recently. However, over the last ten years, interest in Farny's work has increased dramatically because of the upsurge in the popularity of Western painting. His paintings are now widely sought after by dealers and collectors."

(Excerpts from "The Artist's Materials and Techniques" by Cecile D. Mear in "Henry Farny Paints the Wild West.") 

 

Henry Farny: A Change of Scene

"Pere Marquette into the Unknown" by Henry Farny

"Henry Farny remained primarily in Cincinnati for the rest of his life, frequently exhibiting his work there, as well as at the South Carolina Interstate and West Indian Exposition in 1901-1902, and the Saint Louis Exposition in 1904. Many of the artist's paintings were purchased at his Cincinnati studio, mostly by local clients. In fact, it seems that a number of Farny's patrons had to wait considerable lengths of time before receiving paintings they had commissioned. There are several letters almost pleading with Farny to undertake and complete work. Because of this demand for his paintings, there was little need for Farny to travel or exhibit widely.

In 1902, President Theodore Roosevelt visited Cincinnati, and during an  official visit to an exhibition, he praised several of Farny's paintings. Farny had known Roosevelt for some time and had apparently hunted with him. A painting of Roosevelt on a grouse hunt is now in a private collection. In early 1904, the German Prince Hohenlohe visited Farny's studio because he had been an admirer of the artist ever since a Cincinnatian had presented a Farny painting to Emperor William some years before. Of course, incidents such as these probably increased Farny's reputation and the demand for his paintings.

In 1907, Farny married his ward, Ann Ray, who gave birth to their son, Daniel, in 1908. At about this time, Farny showed a lack of interest in Indian subjects and considered giving them up. He seems to have wanted a new challenge, and so he planned a trip to Europe to study portrait painting, but it is unknown whether he went. He did begin a series of historical paintings, the first of which was completed in 1908. Although he apparently planned a series of paintings that dealt with the early exploration of America, only four are known to exist. One example is 'Into the Unknown,' dated 1910 which represents Father Le Caron who voyaged into the Canadian wilderness in 1615. His compositions and motifs for these paintings are not significantly different from those in his Indian paintings. He used similar landscape motifs but replaced the Indians with historical figures in these works."

To be continued 

(Excerpts from "Henry Farny" by Denny Carter.)