GENERAL DESCRIPTION
Both as an artist and a teacher, Frank Duveneck influenced American painting and was one of the country's best known realist painters during the late 19th century. Stylistically, he was indebted to European sources, a reflection of his many years abroad. His exact observation penetrated beneath the surface and revealed the character or personality of his sitters. He was a consummate workman, a sure and vigorous draughtsman, a good colorist, and an able designer.
Duveneck was born in 1848 in Covington, Kentucky to German parents, and his earliest training came from assisting local artisans painting, modeling, and carving church decorations. In 1869 he went to Munich, enrolled in the Royal Bavarian Academy, and his style and subject matter soon showed the imprint of the Munich School. He arrived in the city at a time when reaction against the pseudo-classical ideals of the mid-19th century had gained strength, taking the form of a deep admiration for the realism of Frans Hals , Diego Velásquez, and Francisco de Goya. The dark and strongly brushed style for which Duveneck is best known derives from these artists as well as the German Realist painter Wilhelm Leibl, one of his teachers at the Academy.
Following a trip back to the United States and exhibitions in Boston and New York, Duveneck established his own school abroad. In 1878 he began training students in Munich and continued instruction in the rural village of Polling during the summers. He eventually became well known as a teacher, and his large group of American followers were dubbed the "Duveneck Boys." He worked subsequently in both Paris and Florence (where he met fellow expatriate artist James Abbott McNeill Whistler in 1880). After his wife's death in 1888, he traveled back and forth frequently between America and Europe and eventually moved back to Covington and began teaching at Cincinnati's art academy. During the summers he and his students ventured to Gloucester, Massachusetts, where he painted en plein air and socialized with the large artist community there.
Duveneck's portraits and genre paintings of urchins, laborers, and other lower class characters have an earthy naturalism that links them with Thomas Eakins and also looks forward to the Ashcan School, while more exotic and cosmopolitan subjects reminiscent of John Singer Sargent and William Merritt Chase also enter his work. Toward the end of his life, Duveneck's palette and "touch" lightened considerably, as the impressionist side of his art gained predominance.
Adapted from
- Steven Nash, DMA acquisition proposal (1987.368), 1987.
- Famous American Paintings, Dallas Museum of Fine Arts for the State Fair of Texas, October 9-November 7, 1948.
NOTES
Added geographic locations to artist record.
trained in- Munich, 1869-1873, enrolled at theRoyal Academy studying under Wilhelm Diez and Wilhelm Liebl
worked in- Cincinnati 1873-1875, 1888-1919- taught at the Ohio Mechanics Institute in Cincinnati (starting 1874, students include Robert Frederick Blum and John H. Twachtman); Return to Cincinnati after wife's death in 1888, travelled extensively until 1900, then taught at Cincinnati Art School
worked in- Munich, 1875, 1878, Traveled to Munich with John H. Twachtman and Henry Farny in 1875 and closely associated with William Merritt Chase and Walter Shirlaw; Began teaching his own painting class in 1878.
worked in- Paris, May 1876 and 1887
worked in- Venice, 1877, traveled to Venice for nine months with William Merritt Chase and John H. Twachtman
worked in- Polling, Bavaria, Germany, 1878, Taught his own paitning class in Polling during the summers. Students include John White Alexander.
worked in- Florence, 1879-1881- Stays in Florence at the encouragement of one of his private pupils and future wife, Elizabeth Boott (1846-1888) a Bostonian who also lived in Florence. Met James Abbott McNeill Whistler there in 1880.
worked in - Gloucester, MA, 1890-1919, summers in Gloucester while living in Cincinnati.
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Famous American Paintings
Exhibition ID: 10611
Exhibition catalogue
12711305: UMO
267925764: UMO. [Caption] Frank Duveneck, 1874. Source: Zeitgenössischer Fotograf, Wikimedia Commons, accessed July 15, 2016.
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ARCHIVAL RESOURCES
FUN FACTS
- Duveneck's influence as a teacher is reflected in the caliber of his students. Artists who trained with him in Germany and are represented in the DMA collection include John Twachtman and John White Alexander.
- Duveneck is often described as having spent most of his life in the city of his birth, Cincinnati, Ohio. He was actually born and raised in Covington, Kentucky, which lies directly across the Ohio River from Cincinnati. Though Duveneck resided in Covington, he spent time in the neighboring city because it had a large German immigrant population and then an art academy where he taught for over two decades.
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General Description
Both as an artist and a teacher, Frank Duveneck influenced American painting and was one of the country's best known realist painters during the late 19th century. Stylistically, he was indebted to European sources, a reflection of his many years abroad. His exact observation penetrated beneath the surface and revealed the character or personality of his sitters. He was a consummate workman, a sure and vigorous draughtsman, a good colorist, and an able designer.
Duveneck was born in 1848 in Covington, Kentucky to German parents, and his earliest training came from assisting local artisans painting, modeling, and carving church decorations. In 1869 he went to Munich, enrolled in the Royal Bavarian Academy, and his style and subject matter soon showed the imprint of the Munich School. He arrived in the city at a time when reaction against the pseudo-classical ideals of the mid-19th century had gained strength, taking the form of a deep admiration for the realism of Frans Hals , Diego Velásquez, and Francisco de Goya. The dark and strongly brushed style for which Duveneck is best known derives from these artists as well as the German Realist painter Wilhelm Leibl, one of his teachers at the Academy.
Following a trip back to the United States and exhibitions in Boston and New York, Duveneck established his own school abroad. In 1878 he began training students in Munich and continued instruction in the rural village of Polling during the summers. He eventually became well known as a teacher, and his large group of American followers were dubbed the "Duveneck Boys." He worked subsequently in both Paris and Florence (where he met fellow expatriate artist James Abbott McNeill Whistler in 1880). After his wife's death in 1888, he traveled back and forth frequently between America and Europe and eventually moved back to Covington and began teaching at Cincinnati's art academy. During the summers he and his students ventured to Gloucester, Massachusetts, where he painted en plein air and socialized with the large artist community there.
Duveneck's portraits and genre paintings of urchins, laborers, and other lower class characters have an earthy naturalism that links them with Thomas Eakins and also looks forward to the Ashcan School, while more exotic and cosmopolitan subjects reminiscent of John Singer Sargent and William Merritt Chase also enter his work. Toward the end of his life, Duveneck's palette and "touch" lightened considerably, as the impressionist side of his art gained predominance.
Adapted from
- Steven Nash, DMA acquisition proposal (1987.368), 1987.
- Famous American Paintings, Dallas Museum of Fine Arts for the State Fair of Texas, October 9-November 7, 1948.
Fun Facts
- Duveneck's influence as a teacher is reflected in the caliber of his students. Artists who trained with him in Germany and are represented in the DMA collection include John Twachtman and John White Alexander.
- Duveneck is often described as having spent most of his life in the city of his birth, Cincinnati, Ohio. He was actually born and raised in Covington, Kentucky, which lies directly across the Ohio River from Cincinnati. Though Duveneck resided in Covington, he spent time in the neighboring city because it had a large German immigrant population and then an art academy where he taught for over two decades.
Archival Resources
Web Resources
Notes
Added geographic locations to artist record.
trained in- Munich, 1869-1873, enrolled at theRoyal Academy studying under Wilhelm Diez and Wilhelm Liebl
worked in- Cincinnati 1873-1875, 1888-1919- taught at the Ohio Mechanics Institute in Cincinnati (starting 1874, students include Robert Frederick Blum and John H. Twachtman); Return to Cincinnati after wife's death in 1888, travelled extensively until 1900, then taught at Cincinnati Art School
worked in- Munich, 1875, 1878, Traveled to Munich with John H. Twachtman and Henry Farny in 1875 and closely associated with William Merritt Chase and Walter Shirlaw; Began teaching his own painting class in 1878.
worked in- Paris, May 1876 and 1887
worked in- Venice, 1877, traveled to Venice for nine months with William Merritt Chase and John H. Twachtman
worked in- Polling, Bavaria, Germany, 1878, Taught his own paitning class in Polling during the summers. Students include John White Alexander.
worked in- Florence, 1879-1881- Stays in Florence at the encouragement of one of his private pupils and future wife, Elizabeth Boott (1846-1888) a Bostonian who also lived in Florence. Met James Abbott McNeill Whistler there in 1880.
worked in - Gloucester, MA, 1890-1919, summers in Gloucester while living in Cincinnati.
Need to add text entries to the constituent record in TMS.
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