Louise Cox (painter)

Louise Cox

Cox circa 1890. Photo by Rockwood.
Born Louise Howland King
(1865-06-23)June 23, 1865[1]
San Francisco, California
Died December 11, 1945(1945-12-11) (aged 80)
Windham, Connecticut
Nationality American
Education
Known for Painting
Spouse(s) Kenyon Cox (1892–1919, his death)[2]
Kenyon Cox, Portrait of Louise Howland King Cox, 1892. Kenyon Cox wrote his mother, "Long before I felt the thrill of love, I knew that she would make the best wife in the world for me if I should love her . . . When love came to add to the friendship and confidence, I felt safe and so we mean to marry as soon as we can."

Louise Howland King Cox (June 23, 1865—1945) was an American painter known for her portraits of children. She won a number of prizes throughout her career, notably a bronze medal at the Paris Exposition of 1900 and a silver medal at the Pan-American Exposition in Buffalo.[2]

Early and personal life

Louise Howland King was born in San Francisco, California on June 23, 1865[3] to Anna Stott[nb 1] and James King.[8] Her family moved to New York when she was a child,[9] by 1870 when she lived with her mother Anna, father and lawyer James C. King, and sisters Coursen and Mary in Manhattan.[10] In 1872, Anna King had sued her husband for divorce, citing cruel and inhumane treatment.[11][12] James C. King was convicted for a murder related to that suit in November 1872.[12][nb 2] In 1880, when she was 14, Louise attended small school of Lucy McGuire in Dover, New Jersey with her older sister Coursen (16) and younger sister Mary (13).[15] When she first attended art school she lived with her mother and sister Pauline.[16]

On June 30, 1892 she Louise King her former teacher Kenyon Cox in Belmont, Massachusetts at the home of her aunt,[17][18] Mrs. B.M. Jones.[19] Kenyon, who had thought he might be a lifelong bachelor, realized that he was in love with Louise in 1866, but he did not express his feelings for some time. They wrote long letters to each other during the period that she was a teacher in Toledo, Ohio.[20] In a letter that he wrote to her in 1887, he commended her artistic talent and expressed his believe that she would have a successful career and said:

I am glad to find that you count enough upon my interest in your work and progress to let me know where you are and what you are doing. You are quite right to count upon it... If I can ever be of use to you in recommending you as a teacher or in any other way, do not fail to command me. Above all, my criticism or advice, such as it is, you will always have.[9]

That same year he declared her to be his best student.[21] In January 1892, after she had returned to New York, the couple became engaged and both became like "moonstruck youngsters".[20] They both exhibited their works at the National Academy of Design and the Society of American Artists. In April 1893, Louise suffered a miscarriage and the couple sailed for Europe about the SS Maasdam weeks before their first anniversary. The trip, partly for her emotional recuperation, included travel to Paris, Italy, and the Netherlands.[22]

They had three children. Leonard, born in 1894 and named after Leonard Opdycke, was a World War I war hero and had a career in city planning and architecture. Son Allyn, born two years later, became an artist, particularly noted for his mural paintings, and an interior decorator. Daughter Caroline born in 1898 was also a talented artist.[18][23]

The family lived in New York City on East 67th Street and in 1910 Louise's mother, Anna T. King, a writer, lived with them.[24] Cox enjoyed gardening. She did not support the Women's suffragette movement.[8] Cox lived in Italy, Hawaii, and a northern suburb of New York following the death of her husband.[23] She lived in Honolulu, Hawaii by 1930[25] and as late as 1935. In 1940 she lived on Roaring Brook Road on New Castle, Westchester, New York. At that time she was 74 years of age and still operated and painted in a studio.[26] She died December 11, 1945 in Windham, Connecticut. She was cremated, as was her husband Kenyon, and their ashes were scattered together at Cornish, New Hampshire where they spent their summers.[3][27]

Education

Louise Cox, The Rose, 1898

With financial help from an aunt in Boston,[16] Louise Cox attended the National Academy of Design in New York City, and is quoted as saying, "Although I was born in 1865 in San Francisco, it was not until sixteen years later that I started to live, for in 1881 I entered the National Academy of Design."[28] During her time at the National Academy of Design, Louise Cox learned an academic style of painting, grounded in the style of Jean-Léon Gérôme (One of her instructors, Professor Lemuel Wilmarth, was taught by Gérôme). According to Cox, the Gérôme principles "were based on study, thoroughness, and self-discipline" and her "grounding in the Gérôme tradition prevented my taking on the arty methods in vogue".[28]

She left after two years to enroll with the Art Students League,[29] partially supported by a friend of her mother,[16] and studied under Thomas Dewing.[23] She received a less traditional education at the League, which was unendowed and run by students. Some classes were held collaboratively by the students alone. During a student-led sketching class she quickly learned to interpret and understand forms, which she said "helped me in my later portrait painting of young, active children"[28] Students sometimes dressed in mythic and historic costumes, which became the subject of her paintings.[21]

It was at the Art Students League that Louise Cox met her art instructor and future husband, Kenyon Cox. Having a solid reputation at the League, Kenyon Cox was selected as the 1885 instructor for the women's life class.[28] Her other instructors included J. Alden Weir, George de Forest Brush, and Charles Yardley Turner.[29] She was considered an attractive, industrious student with a good sense of humor.[30]

Career

Cox's first renowned painting was The Lotus Eaters, which was displayed at the National Academy of Design in 1887, the Paris Exposition in 1889,[2] and with A Rondel at the Columbian Exposition in 1893.[2][31] In 1893 Cox displayed the painting, Psyche at an annual exhibition for the Society of American Artists. She was elected a member in the same year.[32]

Beginning in 1896 Louise and Keynon Cox spent the summers with their children in the country's first major artist colony, the Cornish Art Colony in New Hampshire.[33] At Cornish she made paintings of her children and local children, some of which were commissioned portraits.[34]

In 1902, she was elected into the National Academy of Design as an Associate Academician.[8] She also became a member of the Woman's Art Club of New York.[35]

She painted still life, ideal figures, and portraits but was best known for her portraiture of children.[23][35][36] Her works are in the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.,[8] High Museum of Art in Atlanta, Georgia, Smithsonian American Art Museum in Washington, D.C. and the National Academy of Design in New York, New York.[37] Cox also carved wood and was a photographer.[34] She was considered among the "outstanding stained-glass artists," such as Wright Goodhue, David Maitland Armstrong and William Willet.[38]

Awards

Works

Notes

  1. ↑ Anna Stott, later Anna Stott King, (October 1, 1843-September 5, 1931)[4] attended Punahou School and Oahu College between 1857 and 1858 in Honolulu, then the Sandwich Islands[5] and about 1910 wrote "The Infant Mariner" about her childhood on the Northern Lights out of Fairhaven, Massachusetts.[6] Her parents were married on April 17, 1863 at her father, Captain William Stott's home in Honolulu.[7]
  2. ↑ On November 18, 1872 attorney James C. King shot Anthony F. O'Neil, a witness in the divorce suit of Anna King vs. James C. King. O'Neil and his wife had just given testimony that King was very brutal to his wife and then O'Neil was shot and killed by King. During the court trial that convicted King, an attorney, Mr. Stanley, gave evidence that he had defended King in a case where he shot is father-in-law, Capt. Stott in Honolulu, the Sandwich Islands.[12][13] Captain Stott's will dictated that Anna Stott King would receive only $500 of her father's estate while she was married to King. When King died, she was entitled to $10,000, her full portion of his estate. Since James King was sentenced to life in Sing-Sing prison in New York, the state of New York considered him "civilly dead". Anna Stott King then petitioned to receive the remainder of her father's estate that was bequeathed to her.[14]

References

  1. ↑ The National Cyclopaedia of American Biography. pp. 301–302.
  2. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 "Mrs. Kenyon Cox, Portrait Painter: Artist's Widow, Recipient of Many Prizes, Dies—Known for Work with Children". The New York Times. December 12, 1945. p. 26.
  3. 1 2 "Louise Cox". American Art Museum. Retrieved 24 July 2013.
  4. ↑ Anna Theresa Stott King. Riverside Cemetery, Fairhaven, Bristol County, Massachusetts. Find a Grave. Retrieved April 26, 2014.
  5. ↑ Punahou School. Catalogue of the Teachers and Pupils of Punahou School and Oahu College, for Twenty-five Years, Ending 1866: With an Account of the Quarter Century Celebration, Held at Punahou, June 15th, 1866. H.M. Whitney; 1866. p. 12.
  6. ↑ "The Infant Mariner." Old-Time New England. 48:2 (1957): 29-42.
  7. ↑ "Married: King - Stott." The Friend. Hawaii. May 1, 1863.
  8. 1 2 3 4 5 6 John William Leonard. Woman's Who's who of America: A Biographical Dictionary of Contemporary Women of the United States and Canada, 1914-1915. American Commonwealth Company; 1914. p. 211.
  9. 1 2 Kenyon Cox. An Artist of the American Renaissance: The Letters of Kenyon Cox, 1883-1919. Kent State University Press; January 1995. ISBN 978-0-87338-517-6. p. 86.
  10. ↑ James C. and Anna King and daughters, 18th Street and 3rd Avenue. New York Ward 18 District 19 (2nd Enum), New York, New York. 1870 U.S. census, population schedules. NARA microfilm publication M593, 1,761 rolls. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, n.d.
  11. ↑ The Courts: Civil Notes. New York Herald-Tribune. August 31, 1872.
  12. 1 2 3 "The Pine Street Murder: Inquest by Coroner Herrman on the Body of O'Neil. Evidence of the Murdered Man's Wife A Verdict Against King Extraneous Evidence Excluded by the Coroner." New York Times. Article about November 18, 1872 murder. Retrieved April 26, 2014.
  13. ↑ "Domestic News". Sacramento Daily Union, Volume 44, Number 6749, November 19, 1872.
  14. ↑ The Islander. Thos. G. Thrum, business agent; 1875. p. 146–147, 170.
  15. ↑ Louise King (born in California), 1880 Census, Dover, New Jersey. Tenth Census of the United States, 1880. (NARA microfilm publication T9, 1,454 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.
  16. 1 2 3 Howard Wayne Morgan. Kenyon Cox: 1856-1919 : a Life in American Art. Kent State University Press; January 1994. ISBN 978-0-87338-485-8. pp. 124-125.
  17. ↑ "Certificate of Marriage". Archives of American Art. Retrieved 24 July 2013.
  18. 1 2 Kenyon Cox. An Artist of the American Renaissance: The Letters of Kenyon Cox, 1883-1919. Kent State University Press; January 1995. ISBN 978-0-87338-517-6. p. 16.
  19. ↑ Howard Wayne Morgan. Kenyon Cox: 1856-1919 : a Life in American Art. Kent State University Press; January 1994. ISBN 978-0-87338-485-8. p. 129.
  20. 1 2 Kenyon Cox. An Artist of the American Renaissance: The Letters of Kenyon Cox, 1883-1919. Kent State University Press; January 1995. ISBN 978-0-87338-517-6. pp. 14–15.
  21. 1 2 Howard Wayne Morgan. Kenyon Cox: 1856-1919 : a Life in American Art. Kent State University Press; January 1994. ISBN 978-0-87338-485-8. p. 126.
  22. ↑ Kenyon Cox. An Artist of the American Renaissance: The Letters of Kenyon Cox, 1883-1919. Kent State University Press; January 1995. ISBN 978-0-87338-517-6. p. 85, 118.
  23. 1 2 3 4 Ann Lee Morgan Former Visiting Assistant Professor University of Illinois at Chicago. The Oxford Dictionary of American Art and Artists. Oxford University Press; 27 June 2007. ISBN 978-0-19-802955-7. p. 102.
  24. ↑ Kenyon and Louise Cox. Manhattan Ward 19, New York, New York. Thirteenth Census of the United States, 1910 (NARA microfilm publication T624, 1,178 rolls). Records of the Bureau of the Census, Record Group 29. National Archives, Washington, D.C.
  25. ↑ Louise Cox, born June 23, 1865 in San Francisco. Sailed on the SS Matsonia July 2 to July 8, 1930. Home address listed as Honolulu. National Archives and Records Administration (NARA); Washington, D.C.; Passenger Lists of Vessels Arriving at Honolulu, Hawaii, compiled 02/13/1900 - 12/30/1953; National Archives Microfilm Publication: A3422; Roll: 109; Record Group Title: Records of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, 1787 - 2004; Record Group Number: RG 85.
  26. ↑ Louise Cox, Artist, born in California. 1940 United States Federal Census. United States of America, Bureau of the Census. Washington, D.C.: National Archives and Records Administration, 1940.
  27. ↑ Louise Howland King Cox. Find a Grave. Retrieved April 26, 2014.
  28. 1 2 3 4 Richard Murray; Louise Howland King Cox (1987). "Louise Cox at the Art Students League: A Memoir". Archives of American Art Journal. The Smithsonian Institution. 27 (1): 16–17.
  29. 1 2 Louise Howland King Cox. National Academy Museum. Retrieved April 25, 2014.
  30. ↑ Kenyon Cox. An Artist of the American Renaissance: The Letters of Kenyon Cox, 1883-1919. Kent State University Press; January 1995. ISBN 978-0-87338-517-6. p. 15.
  31. ↑ Howard Wayne Morgan. Kenyon Cox: 1856-1919 : a Life in American Art. Kent State University Press; January 1994. ISBN 978-0-87338-485-8. p. 134.
  32. ↑ Dearinger, David (2004). Paintings and Sculpture in the Collection of the National Academy of Design. Hudson Hills. p. 131.
  33. ↑ Howard Wayne Morgan. Kenyon Cox: 1856-1919 : a Life in American Art. Kent State University Press; January 1994. ISBN 978-0-87338-485-8. p. 185.
  34. 1 2 Steve Shipp. American Art Colonies, 1850-1930: A Historical Guide to America's Original Art Colonies and Their Artists. Greenwood Publishing Group; 1996. ISBN 978-0-313-29619-2. p. 13.
  35. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 John Howard Brown. Lamb's Biographical Dictionary of the United States: Chubb-Erich. James H. Lamb Company; 1900. p. 217.
  36. 1 2 "Mayflowers". Smithsonian American Art Museum.
  37. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Search: Louise Cox. SIRIS. Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved April 25, 2014.
  38. ↑ Edward F. Bergman. The Spiritual Traveler: New York City : the Guide to Sacred Spaces and Peaceful Places. Hidden Spring; 1 January 2001. ISBN 978-1-58768-003-8. p. 77.
  39. 1 2 Bulletin. Smithsonian Institution Press; 1916. p. 127.
  40. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 Search: Louise Cox". Collections. Smithsonian American Art Museum. Retrieved April 26, 2014.
  41. ↑ "Portrait of Leonard Cox". Smithsonian American Art Museum. Retrieved 24 July 2013.
  42. ↑ Kenyon Cox. An Artist of the American Renaissance: The Letters of Kenyon Cox, 1883-1919. Kent State University Press; January 1995. ISBN 978-0-87338-517-6. p. 141.
  43. ↑ "Untitled (Seated Young Girl)". Smithsonian American Art Museum. Retrieved 24 July 2013.

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