James McNeill Whistler - Portrait Arthur J

Arthur Jerome Eddy (November 5, 1859 - July 21, 1920 in

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

) was an American lawyer, author, art collector, and a prominent member of the first generation of American Modern art collectors. His book ''Cubists and Post-Impressionism'' was the first American book promoting these new art movements and the work of

Wassily Kandinsky Wassily Wassilyevich Kandinsky (; rus, Василий Васильевич Кандинский, Vasiliy Vasilyevich Kandinskiy, vɐˈsʲilʲɪj vɐˈsʲilʲjɪvʲɪtɕ kɐnʲˈdʲinskʲɪj; – 13 December 1944) was a Russian painter a ...

.
"Arthur Jerome Eddy" Dictionary of Art Historians Eddy's collection was distinguished by the inclusion of German expressionism, German expressionists and Wassily Kandinsky. Eddy was known for his support of the

Armory Show The 1913 Armory Show, also known as the International Exhibition of Modern Art, was a show organized by the Association of American Painters and Sculptors in 1913. It was the first large exhibition of modern art in America, as well as one of ...

, purchasing work from the show in New York and Chicago and lecturing on the art during the Chicago show. In 1931, a portion of Eddy's collection was donated by his widow and son to the

Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago's Grant Park, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the world. Recognized for its curatorial efforts and popularity among visitors, the museum hosts approximately 1.5 mill ...

as the "Arthur Jerome Eddy Memorial Collection" which is an important core of the Museum's collection of Modern art.The Arthur Jerome Eddy Collection of Modern Paintings and Sculptures, Part II of The Bulletin of the Art Institute of Chicago, Volume XXV, No.9, v December, 1931, Introduction by Daniel Catton Rich, p.5

Early life and education

Eddy was born in

Flint Flint, occasionally flintstone, is a sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as the variety of chert that occurs in chalk or marly limestone. Flint was widely used historically to make stone tools and start fir ...

Michigan Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...

, to Jerome Eddy, the city's mayor. His father purchased the Flint Michigan paper, the

Genesee Democrat The ''Genesee Democrat'' was a major paper in Flint, Michigan printed from 1845 to 1906 under different names. It was an early paper in the county being challenged by the '' Wolverine Citizen'', and the ''Flint Globe''.Chapter XVI: The Press
The History of Genesee County, MI. One source says that Eddy graduated from the "literary department" of Harvard University. A second source indicates that he "entered Harvard Law School in 1877 but in 1879 returned to be publisher of the Genesee Democrat newspaper. He continued studying law with a local expert. In 1888 he moved to Chicago to begin his legal career, passing the Illinois Bar in 1890." Arthur J. Eddy married Lulu Crapo Orrell, a granddaughter of Michigan Governor Henry H. Crapo and cousin of the founder of General Motors, William Crapo Durant. His son, Jerome Orrell Eddy was born May 12, 1891, and died December 28, 1951.

Business career

Eddy practiced corporate law with Wetten, Matthews & Pegler, which later became the firm of Eddy, Wetten & Pegler. Mr. Eddy was one of the driving forces in creating the

National Carbon Company The National Carbon Company was founded in 1886 by the former Brush Electric Company executive W. H. Lawrence, in association with Myron T. Herrick, James Parmelee, and Webb Hayes, son of U.S. President Rutherford B. Hayes, in Cleveland, Ohio. ...

which combined multiple carbon companies into one company that controlled approximately 75% of the US carbon market in the world. Carbon was used to make numerous products related to the use of electricity. He helped organize American Steel Foundry Corporation, National Turbine Company, and American Linseed Oil Company."Arthur Jerome Eddy Dies After Operation" New York Times, July 22, 1920 He helped established the Bridge Builder's Society.

Writings

Eddy wrote on a variety of subjects and in various formats. These included "2000 Miles on an Automobile" (Travelog), "Law of Combinations" (economics), "Tales of a Small Town" (short stories), "Ganton & Co." (a novel) and "The Warning" (a play). He wrote several very important books on art including "Delight, the Soul of Art", "Recollections of James McNeill Whistler", and "Cubists and Post Impressionism." He wrote an article on tile roofs that appeared in

Gustav Stickley Gustav Stickley (March 9, 1858 – April 15, 1942) was an American furniture manufacturer, design leader, publisher, and a leading voice in the American Arts and Crafts movement. Stickley's design philosophy was a major influence on American ...

's magazine, ''

The Craftsman Craftsman may refer to: A profession *Artisan, a skilled manual worker who makes items that may be functional or strictly decorative *Master craftsman, an artisan who has achieved such a standard that he may establish his own workshop and take o ...

''. He contributed poetry and edited a Chicago literary magazine, Contributors' Magazine, which was the self-published work of the Contributor's Club. Members of the club included

Eugene Field Eugene Field Sr. (September 2, 1850 – November 4, 1895) was an American writer, best known for his children's poetry and humorous essays. He was known as the "poet of childhood". Early life and education Field was born in St. Louis, Missour ...

, Harriet Monroe, George P. Upton,

Potter Palmer Potter Palmer (May 20, 1826 – May 4, 1902) was an American businessman who was responsible for much of the development of State Street in Chicago. Born in Albany County, New York,Frederick Roehrig in Pasadena. The house was cited as "the most complete example of the California (Southern Californian!) interpretation of Arts and Crafts principles."''Toward A Simpler Way of Life: The Arts & Crafts Architects of California'' Robert Winter, University of California Press, 1997, p. 111 to 122

William Le Baron Jenney William Le Baron Jenney (September 25, 1832 – June 14, 1907) was an American architect and engineer who is known for building the first skyscraper in 1884. In 1998, Jenney was ranked number 89 in the book ''1,000 Years, 1,000 People: Ran ...

wrote an article, "A Remarkable Dwelling," about the Eddy House in the May 1906 Inland Architect and News Record. An article about the house was published in ''

'' magazine. The house was "one of the most important bungalow designs of the period, strongly influencing later ranch style houses throughout California and later the United States." The Pasadena house was torn down in 1973.

Automobiles

Mr. Eddy was an early automobile enthusiast. The New York Times reported that he set a record in automobile travel by traveling 2900 miles in two months. The trip started in Chicago on August 1, 1901. He traveled to Boston and returned to Chicago on September 30, 1901. He wrote about this trip in his 1902 book, "Two thousand miles on an automobile; being a desultory narrative of a trip through New England, New York, Canada, and the West" under the pseudonym of "A. Chauffeur." He drove a

Winton Motor Carriage Company The Winton Motor Carriage Company was a pioneer United States automobile manufacturer based in Cleveland, Ohio. Winton was one of the first American companies to sell a motor car. In 1912 Winton became one of the first American manufacturers of ...

automobile in the 1901 trip. In 1902, he drove a

Panhard Panhard was a French motor vehicle manufacturer that began as one of the first makers of automobiles. It was a manufacturer of light tactical and military vehicles. Its final incarnation, now owned by Renault Trucks Defense, was formed ...

to Flint Michigan to visit family and gave Margery Durant, the daughter of William Crapo Durant, her first automobile ride. Her father, the future founder of General Motors, responded: “Margery, how could you, how could you, be so foolish as to risk your life in one of those things.”

Art Collector and Patron

His interest in art did not awaken until he saw the

World Columbian Exposition The World's Columbian Exposition (also known as the Chicago World's Fair) was a world's fair held in Chicago in 1893 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. The centerpiece of the Fair, hel ...

in Chicago, where he was most taken with the work of James McNeill Whistler and

Auguste Rodin François Auguste René Rodin (12 November 184017 November 1917) was a French sculptor, generally considered the founder of modern sculpture. He was schooled traditionally and took a craftsman-like approach to his work. Rodin possessed a uniqu ...

. Eddy, who traveled to Paris in the middle of the 1890s, was portrayed by Whistler in the painting ''Arrangement in Flesh Color and Brown: Portrait of Arthur Jerome Eddy''. Around the same time Rodin also sculpted a portrait bust of Eddy, bronze casts of which are in the Musée Rodin in Paris, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Albuquerque Museum of Art and History. In 1902 his first book about art, titled ''Delight, the Soul of Art'', was published. In the following year he published ''Recollections and impressions of James A. McNeill Whistler''. Thus through 1912 he focused on the art of the late 19th century. For Eddy, as for many Americans, the 1913

proved a revelation of

Modern art Modern art includes artistic work produced during the period extending roughly from the 1860s to the 1970s, and denotes the styles and philosophies of the art produced during that era. The term is usually associated with art in which the tradi ...

. Fascinated by the efforts of these artists, he immediately began his collection of

Avant-garde The avant-garde (; In 'advance guard' or ' vanguard', literally 'fore-guard') is a person or work that is experimental, radical, or unorthodox with respect to art, culture, or society.John Picchione, The New Avant-garde in Italy: Theoretical ...

art with the purchase of a Brâncuși sculpture and 25 paintings. "In New York, Eddy purchased 15 of the most radical works on display, including

Marcel Duchamp Henri-Robert-Marcel Duchamp (, , ; 28 July 1887 – 2 October 1968) was a French painter, sculptor, chess player, and writer whose work is associated with Cubism, Dada, and conceptual art. Duchamp is commonly regarded, along with Pablo Picasso ...

's ''Portrait of Chess Players'' (1911) and ''The King and Queen Surrounded by Swift Nudes'' (1912),

Albert Gleizes Albert Gleizes (; 8 December 1881 – 23 June 1953) was a French artist, theoretician, philosopher, a self-proclaimed founder of Cubism and an influence on the School of Paris. Albert Gleizes and Jean Metzinger wrote the first major treatise on ...

's '' Man on a Balcony'' (1912), and

Francis Picabia Francis Picabia (: born Francis-Marie Martinez de Picabia; 22January 1879 – 30November 1953) was a French avant-garde painter, poet and typographist. After experimenting with Impressionism and Pointillism, Picabia became associated with Cubism ...

's ''Dances at the Spring'' (1912). In Chicago, he purchased three additional paintings by the Portuguese artist

Amadeo de Souza Cardoso Amadeo de Souza-Cardoso (14 November 1887 – 25 October 1918) was a Portuguese painter. Belonging to the first generation of Portuguese modernist painters, Amadeo de Souza-Cardoso stands out among all of them for the exceptional quality of ...

, as well as three lithographs by

Maurice Denis Maurice Denis (; 25 November 1870 – 13 November 1943) was a French painter, decorative artist, and writer. An important figure in the transitional period between impressionism and modern art, he is associated with '' Les Nabis'', symbolism, a ...

and four by

Édouard Vuillard Jean-Édouard Vuillard (; 11 November 186821 June 1940) was a French painter, decorative artist and printmaker. From 1891 through 1900, he was a prominent member of the Nabis, making paintings which assembled areas of pure color, and interior s ...

." On two occasions during the show, Mr. Eddy lectured on "Cubism" at the

. On trips to London and Germany he came to know of Wassily Kandinsky and by 1920 had bought four of his paintings. Kandinsky introduced Eddy to another artist in working in Munich at the time,

Albert Bloch Albert Bloch (August 2, 1882 – March 23, 1961) was an American Modernist artist and the only American artist associated with Der Blaue Reiter (The Blue Rider), a group of early 20th-century European modernists. Biography Bloch was born on ...

. Eddy would become Bloch's most important collector, owning over forty paintings and etchings. Eddy's collection in modern art would grow to over 100 works of art. 1914 saw the publication of perhaps his most important writing, ''Cubists and Post-Impressionism'', a large portion of which was based on information that Eddy obtained from the artists themselves. It is considered to be the first work published in the United States in which Modern Art was presented and explained sympathetically. Additionally it was the first adequate account of Kandinsky in America; the artist had been represented by only one painting in the Armory Show the year before. In his last years of life Eddy shifted the focus of his collecting to the American moderns, including some paintings by artists such as

Arthur Dove Arthur Garfield Dove (August 2, 1880 – November 23, 1946) was an American artist. An early American modernist, he is often considered the first American abstract painter.. Dove used a wide range of media, sometimes in unconventional combinati ...

Death

He died after surgery for acute appendicitis at Post Graduate Hospital in New York City. In 1921,

Louis Sullivan Louis Henry Sullivan (September 3, 1856 – April 14, 1924) was an American architect, and has been called a "father of skyscrapers" and "father of modernism". He was an influential architect of the Chicago School, a mentor to Frank Lloy ...

designed a "family memorial enclosure" with the "Dimensions: ca: 51' (diameter)" in Glenwood Cemetery in Flint Michigan which was not built.Louis Sullivan: Prophet of Modern Architecture, Hugh Morrison, W. W. Norton & Company, 2001, p. 286

Memorial Collection

After his death in 1920, some of the collection was dispersed. The Art Institute of Chicago exhibited his collection September 19 to October 22, 1922. In 1931, his widow and son donated 20 paintings and 3 sculptures to the

to form the ''Arthur Jerome Eddy Memorial Collection.'' as described below. The collection includes 19th Century works: *

Édouard Manet Édouard Manet (, ; ; 23 January 1832 – 30 April 1883) was a French modernist painter. He was one of the first 19th-century artists to paint modern life, as well as a pivotal figure in the transition from Realism to Impressionism. Born ...

- ''A Philosopher (Beggar with Oysters)'' (1865) *

Winslow Homer Winslow Homer (February 24, 1836 – September 29, 1910) was an American landscape painter and illustrator, best known for his marine subjects. He is considered one of the foremost painters in 19th-century America and a preeminent figure in ...

- ''Coast of Maine'' (1893) *

James Abbott McNeill Whistler James Abbott McNeill Whistler (; July 10, 1834July 17, 1903) was an American painter active during the American Gilded Age and based primarily in the United Kingdom. He eschewed sentimentality and moral allusion in painting and was a leading pr ...

- ''Portrait of Arthur Jerome Eddy'' (c. 1896) The collection is noted for containing members of the German

Der Blaue Reiter ''Der Blaue Reiter'' (The Blue Rider) is a designation by Wassily Kandinsky and Franz Marc for their exhibition and publication activities, in which both artists acted as sole editors in the almanac of the same name, first published in mid-May ...

(The Blue Rider) movement: *

Gabriele Münter Gabriele Münter (19 February 1877 – 19 May 1962) was a German expressionist painter who was at the forefront of the Munich avant-garde in the early 20th century. She studied and lived with the painter Wassily Kandinsky and was a founding mem ...

- ''Still Life with Queen'' (1912) * Franz Marc - ''The Bewitched Mill'' (c. 1912) * Wassily Kandinsky - ''Trojka'' (1911), ''Landscape with Two Poplars'' (1912), ''Improvisation with Green Center, No. 176'' (1912) and ''Improvisation No. 30'' (1913) Further artists represented in the Art Institute's Eddy collection: *

- ''Scene from a Pantomime'' (1914) * Emilie Charmy - ''Landscape: L'Estaque'' (c. 1910), (Armory Show) *

André Derain André Derain (, ; 10 June 1880 – 8 September 1954) was a French artist, painter, sculptor and co-founder of Fauvism with Henri Matisse. Biography Early years Derain was born in 1880 in Chatou, Yvelines, Île-de-France (region), Île-de-Franc ...

- ''Forest at Martigues'' (c. 1908), (Armory Show) *

- ''Leap of the Rabbit'' (1911)(Armory Show), ''Marine Pont L'Abbe'' (1911), (Armory Show), and ''Stronghold'' (Armory Show - Chicago only) *

Maurice de Vlaminck Maurice de Vlaminck (4 April 1876 – 11 October 1958) was a French painter. Along with André Derain and Henri Matisse, he is considered one of the principal figures in the Fauve movement, a group of modern artists who from 1904 to 1908 we ...

- ''Rueil'' (c. 1912), (Armory Show - Chicago) *

André Dunoyer de Segonzac André Dunoyer de Segonzac (6 July 1884 – 17 September 1974) was a French painter and graphic artist. Biography Segonzac was born in Boussy-Saint-Antoine and spent his childhood there and in Paris. His parents wanted him to attend the military ...

- ''The Pasture'' (c. 1912), (Armory Show) * Robert Genin - ''Thirst'' (1913) *

Auguste Herbin Auguste Herbin (29 April 1882 – 31 January 1960) was a French Painting, painter of modern art. He is best known for his Cubism, Cubist and abstract art, abstract paintings consisting of colorful Geometry, geometric figures. He co-founded the gr ...

- ''House and Flowering Cherry Trees: Hamburg'' * Eugène Zak - ''The Shepard (Armory Show)'' The sculpture in the collection are: *

Constantin Brâncuși Constantin Brâncuși (; February 19, 1876 – March 16, 1957) was a Romanian Sculpture, sculptor, painter and photographer who made his career in France. Considered one of the most influential sculptors of the 20th-century and a pioneer of ...

- ''Sleeping Muse'' (1910), (Armory Show) *

- ''Mask of the Man with the Broken Nose'' (1864) and ''Arthur Jerome Eddy'' (''Portrait Bust''), (1898)

Paintings from Eddy's collection

File:The Philosopher.jpg, Édouard Manet:
''A Philosopher (Beggar with Oysters)'' File:Albert Gleizes, l'Homme au Balcon, 1912, oil on canvas, 195.6 x 114.9 cm, Philadelphia Museum of Art.jpg,

, 1912, '' L'Homme au Balcon, Man on a Balcony (Portrait of Dr. Théo Morinaud)''. Purchased from the

File:Winslow Homer - Coast of Maine.jpg, Winslow Homer:
''Coast of Maine'' File:Franz Marc - The Bewitched Mill.jpg, Franz Marc:
''The Bewitched Mill''

Bibliography

* ''Come Let Us Reason Together: The Tariff, Facts and Figures for the Laborer, the Farmer, the Manufacturer''. The Eddy printing and publishing house, Flint, Michigan, c. 1884 * ''A Plain Talk to Farmers about the Tariff''. Flint, Michigan 1984 * ''The Farmer's Complete Encyclopedia: A compendium of practical information on all subjects relating to the farm and household''. The Eddy printing and publishing house, Flint, Michigan 1885 * ''The Law of Combinations: embracing monopolies, trusts, and combinations of labor and capital''. Callaghan and Company, Chicago 1901 * ''Two thousand miles on an automobile; being a desultory narrative of a trip through New England, New York, Canada, and the West'' J.B. Lippincott Co., Philadelphia 1902. Originally published under the pseudonym "Chauffeur." * ''Delight, the soul of art''. J.B. Lippincott Co., Philadelphia 1902 * ''Recollections and Impressions of James A. McNeill Whistler''. J. B. Lippincott Co., Philadelphia 1903 * ''Tales of a Small Town: By One Who Lived There'' J. B. Lippincott Co., Philadelphia 1907 * ''Tiled roofs; the kind of buildings to which they are suited and a method of construction that makes them practical as well as picturesque'' The Craftsman, May 1907 * ''Ganton & Co.; a story of Chicago commercial and social life''. McClurg, Chicago 1908 * ''Unmask!'' a play, 1909 * ''The New Competition; an examination of the conditions underlying the radical change that is taking place in the commercial and industrial world''. D. Appleton, New York 1912 * ''Cubists and Post-impressionism''. A. C. McClurg & Co., Chicago 1914

Resources

* Art Institute of Chicago: ''The Arthur Jerome Eddy collection of modern paintings and sculpture''. Chicago 1931 * Art Institute of Chicago: ''Paintings in the Art Institute of Chicago''. Chicago 1961 * Distel, Anne. ''Les collectionneurs des impressionnistes, Amateurs et marchands'' La Bibliothèque des Arts, Paris 1989 * Dictionary of Art Historians, "Arthur Jerome Eddy" * Robson, A. Deirdre
"Eddy, Arthur Jerome."
In ''

Grove Art Online ''Grove Art Online'' is the online edition of ''The Dictionary of Art'', often referred to as the ''Grove Dictionary of Art'', and part of Oxford Art Online, an internet gateway to online art reference publications of Oxford University Press, ...

. Oxford Art Online'', (accessed February 28, 2012; subscription required). * Sweet, Frederick A. ''Great Chicago Collectors'' in Apollo Magazine September 1966

References

External links

* *
Arthur Jerome Eddy at the Art Institute of Chicago

Auguste Rodin's portrait bust of Eddy
on the website of the Musée Rodin {{DEFAULTSORT:Eddy, Arthur Jerome American art collectors 1859 births 1920 deaths Illinois lawyers American art critics 19th-century American lawyers