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.)