Frank Vincent DuMond (August 20, 1865 – February 6, 1951) was one of the most influential teacher-painters in 20th-century America. He was an illustrator and

American Impressionist American Impressionism was a style of painting related to European Impressionism and practiced by American artists in the United States from the mid-nineteenth century through the beginning of the twentieth. The style is characterized by loose b ...

painter of portraits and landscapes, and a prominent teacher who instructed thousands of art students throughout a career spanning over fifty years.

Early life and education

Frank Vincent DuMond was born on August 20, 1865 in

Rochester, New York Rochester () is a City (New York), city in the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, the county seat, seat of Monroe County, New York, Monroe County, and the fourth-most populous in the state after New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffalo, ...

, to Elisabeth and Alonzo DuMond, partner/owner of an ornamental iron works manufacturer. They also had a younger son, Frederick Melville DuMond (1867 - 1927). Frank DuMond was interested in drawing from a young age, and was involved in the local art scene in the early 1880s. He got a job creating illustrations for a sign painting business.''Archives of American Art Journal'', p. 26. After graduating from a Rochester public school, DuMond moved to New York City in 1884. From 1884 to 1888, he attended the

Art Students League of New York The Art Students League of New York is an art school at 215 West 57th Street in Manhattan, New York City, New York. The League has historically been known for its broad appeal to both amateurs and professional artists. Although artists may stu ...

, studying under Carroll Beckwith and William Sartain. DuMond financed his art education by taking a job creating illustrations for New York's ''

Daily Graphic ''The Daily Graphic: An Illustrated Evening Newspaper'' was the first American newspaper with daily illustrations. It was founded in New York City in 1873 by Canadian engravers George-Édouard Desbarats and William Leggo, and began publication ...

'' newspaper. As a result of his fine work there, he was offered a job at ''

Harper's Weekly ''Harper's Weekly, A Journal of Civilization'' was an American political magazine based in New York City. Published by Harper & Brothers from 1857 until 1916, it featured foreign and domestic news, fiction, essays on many subjects, and humor, ...

''. He also later did work for such magazines as ''

Century A century is a period of 100 years. Centuries are numbered ordinally in English and many other languages. The word ''century'' comes from the Latin ''centum'', meaning ''one hundred''. ''Century'' is sometimes abbreviated as c. A centennial or ...

'', ''

McClure's ''McClure's'' or ''McClure's Magazine'' (1893–1929) was an American illustrated monthly periodical popular at the turn of the 20th century. The magazine is credited with having started the tradition of muckraking journalism (investigative journ ...

'', and ''

Scribner's Charles Scribner's Sons, or simply Scribner's or Scribner, is an American publisher based in New York City, known for publishing American authors including Henry James, Ernest Hemingway, F. Scott Fitzgerald, Kurt Vonnegut, Marjorie Kinnan Rawli ...

''. He moved to Paris to continue his studies, as did his brother Frederick. From 1888 or 1889 to 1891, Frank DuMond attended the

Académie Julian The Académie Julian () was a private art school for painting and sculpture founded in Paris, France, in 1867 by French painter and teacher Rodolphe Julian (1839–1907) that was active from 1868 through 1968. It remained famous for the number a ...

,askart.com
/ref> where his instructors included

Benjamin Constant Henri-Benjamin Constant de Rebecque (; 25 October 1767 – 8 December 1830), or simply Benjamin Constant, was a French people, Franco-Switzerland, Swiss political thinker, activist and writer on political theory and religion. A committed repub ...

Jules Joseph Lefebvre Jules Joseph Lefebvre (; 14 March 183624 February 1911) was a French figure painter, educator and theorist. Early life Lefebvre was born in Tournan-en-Brie, Seine-et-Marne, on 14 March 1836. He entered the École nationale supérieure des Bea ...

, and Gustav Boulanger. He attained recognition in 1890 when a painting of his, ''Holy Family'', exhibited at the

Salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon, a venue for cosmetic treatments * French term for a drawing room, an architectural space in a home * Salon (gathering), a meeting for learning or enjoyment Arts and entertainment * Salon (P ...

, was awarded a prestigious medal. His early work was in the

Art Nouveau Art Nouveau (; ) is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. The style is known by different names in different languages: in German, in Italian, in Catalan, and also known as the Modern ...

style, then in Paris he was influenced by the

Barbizon school The Barbizon school of painters were part of an art movement towards Realism in art, which arose in the context of the dominant Romantic Movement of the time. The Barbizon school was active roughly from 1830 through 1870. It takes its name f ...

, later becoming an

Impressionist Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...

. In 1895 he married Helen Savier of Portland, Oregon, another artist. They spent five years painting in France, where he also held summer classes for the Art Students League, painting landscapes outdoors from dawn until sunset. In 1900 he was elected into the

National Academy of Design The National Academy of Design is an honorary association of American artists, founded in New York City in 1825 by Samuel Morse, Asher Durand, Thomas Cole, Martin E. Thompson, Charles Cushing Wright, Ithiel Town, and others "to promote the fin ...

, and became a full Academician in 1906. Iris - Frank VIncent DuMond

Work

DuMond exhibited at the Cotton States Exposition in Atlanta, the

World's Columbian Exposition The World's Columbian Exposition (also known as the Chicago World's Fair) was a world's fair held in Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordi ...

in Chicago, the

Pan-American Exposition The Pan-American Exposition was a World's Fair held in Buffalo, New York, United States, from May 1 through November 2, 1901. The fair occupied of land on the western edge of what is now Delaware Park, extending from Delaware Avenue to Elmwood A ...

in Buffalo, and the

Saint Louis Exposition The Saint Louis Exposition or St. Louis Expo was a series of annual agricultural and technical fairs held in St. Louis' Fairgrounds Park, from the 1850s to 1902. In 1904, the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, a major World's Fair, was held in St. ...

. He served as director of fine arts at the

Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition The Lewis and Clark Centennial Exposition, commonly also known as the Lewis and Clark Exposition, and officially known as the Lewis and Clark Centennial and American Pacific Exposition and Oriental Fair, was a worldwide exposition held in Portlan ...

in Portland in 1905, and he helped organize the first exhibition at the Portland Art Museum that year. For the 1915 Panama-Pacific Exposition, he prepared two huge murals, 12 feet high by 47 feet long, which now hang in the

San Francisco Public Library The San Francisco Public Library is the public library system of the city and county of San Francisco. The Main Library is located at Civic Center, at 100 Larkin Street. The library system has won several awards, such as ''Library Journals L ...

Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc, 1896, Figure 18

The editor of ''Harper's'', who was also president of the Art Students League, convinced him to take a job teaching at the League. He still performed illustration work for a while in addition to teaching, including the artwork for

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has p ...

's ''

Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc ''Personal Recollections of Joan of Arc, by the Sieur Louis de Conte'' is an 1896 novel by Mark Twain which recounts the life of Joan of Arc. The novel is presented as a translation by "Jean Francois Alden" of memoirs by Louis de Conte, a fictio ...

''. In a teaching career spanning more than fifty years, DuMond taught thousands of artists at the Art Students League. His students included

Norman Rockwell Norman Percevel Rockwell (February 3, 1894 – November 8, 1978) was an American painter and illustrator. His works have a broad popular appeal in the United States for their reflection of Culture of the United States, the country's culture. Roc ...

Georgia O'Keeffe Georgia Totto O'Keeffe (November 15, 1887 – March 6, 1986) was an American modernist artist. She was known for her paintings of enlarged flowers, New York skyscrapers, and New Mexico landscapes. O'Keeffe has been called the "Mother of Amer ...

John Marin John Marin (December 23, 1870 – October 2, 1953) was an early American modernist artist. He is known for his abstract landscapes and watercolors. Biography Marin was born in Rutherford, New Jersey. His mother died nine days after his birth, ...

, Frank J. Reilly,

Charles Webster Hawthorne Charles Webster Hawthorne (January 8, 1872 – November 29, 1930) was an American portrait and genre painter and a noted teacher who founded the Cape Cod School of Art in 1899. He was born in Lodi, Illinois, and his parents returned to Maine ...

Frank Herbert Mason Frank Herbert Mason (February 20, 1921 – June 16, 2009) was an American painter and teacher. Early life Frank Herbert Mason was born on February 20, 1921, in Cleveland, Ohio.Mary ThomasFirst exhibit at Point Park gallery impressive ''Pittsb ...

, Ogden Pleissner,

Kenneth Hayes Miller Kenneth Hayes Miller (March 11, 1876 – January 1, 1952) was an American painter, printmaker, and teacher. Career Born in Oneida, New York, he studied at the Art Students League of New York with Kenyon Cox, Henry Siddons Mowbray and with Willia ...

Louis Bouché Louis George Bouché (March 18, 1896 – August 7, 1969) was an American artist, muralist, and decorator. He was a 1933 Guggenheim Fellow. Life Bouché was born in New York City. He traveled to Paris at age thirteen in 1909 to live with famil ...

Eugene Speicher Eugene (Edward) Speicher NA (April 5, 1883 – May 11, 1962) was an American portrait, landscape, and figurative painter. He was one of the foremost realists of his generation who closely upheld the mantle of his mentor, Robert Henri. Biography ...

, Helen Winslow Durkee
Arthur Maynard
and

Rosina Cox Boardman Rosina Cox Boardman (1878–1970) was an American painter of portrait miniatures and botanical illustrations. Early life Born in New York City in 1878, Boardman was a descendant of several of the oldest families in the state, including the Livin ...

. DuMond developed a Prismatic Palette, used especially for landscapes. His students were taught to see a progression of prismatic light in pre-mixed paints placed in a tonal progression flowing from yellow to violet on the warm side and from yellow to green to blue green to violet on the cool side. A student quoted DuMond, "Silently glowing over this whole landscape is a rainbow. You must learn to see it. It is there always." Variations of the Prismatic Palette are still used by many artists and teachers and by schools, including the Ridgewood Art Institute in New Jersey. DuMond was a member of the Old Lyme Art Colony in

Old Lyme, Connecticut Old Lyme is a coastal town in New London County, Connecticut, United States. The main street of the town, Lyme Street, is a historic district with several homes once owned by sea captains. Lyme Academy of Fine Arts is located in Old Lyme and ther ...

, where he lived in a neighborhood called Grassy Hill. For several years he headed the Art Students League's Lyme Summer School of Art, where he also taught outdoors, as he had in France. After the school moved to Woodstock, NY, DuMond continued to give private classes in Old Lyme. DuMond died in New York City on February 6, 1951, at the age of 85.

Collections

DuMond's work is in the permanent collections of the following institutions:Unless otherwise noted, reference for collections is: *

Brandywine River Museum The Brandywine Museum of Art is a museum of regional and American art located on U.S. Route 1 in Chadds Ford, Pennsylvania on the banks of the Brandywine Creek. The museum showcases the work of Andrew Wyeth, a major American realist painter, and ...

Bruce Museum of Arts and Science The Bruce Museum is a museum in downtown Greenwich, Connecticut with both art and natural history exhibition space. The Bruce's main building sits on a hill in a downtown park, and its tower (not open to the public) can be easily seen by drivers pa ...

* Cooper–Hewitt, National Design Museum *

Cummer Museum of Art and Gardens The Cummer Museum of Art and Gardens is a museum located in Jacksonville, Florida. It was founded in 1961 after the death of Ninah Cummer, who bequeathed her gardens and personal art collection to the new museum. The Cummer Museum has since expa ...

Delaware Art Museum The Delaware Art Museum is an art museum located on the Kentmere Parkway in Wilmington, Delaware, which holds a collection of more than 12,000 objects. The museum was founded in 1912 as the Wilmington Society of the Fine Arts in honor of the artis ...

Denver Art Museum The Denver Art Museum (DAM) is an art museum located in the Civic Center of Denver, Colorado. With encyclopedic collections of more than 70,000 diverse works from across the centuries and world, the DAM is one of the largest art museums between t ...

Florence Griswold Museum The Florence Griswold Museum is an Art Museum at 96 Lyme Street in Old Lyme, Connecticut centered on the home of Florence Griswold (1850–1937), which was the center of the Old Lyme Art Colony, a main nexus of American Impressionism. The Museum is ...

* Lyman Allyn Art Museum *

National Arts Club The National Arts Club is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit and members club on Gramercy Park, Manhattan, New York City. It was founded in 1898 by Charles DeKay, an art and literary critic of the ''New York Times'' to "stimulate, foster, and promote public ...

New Britain Museum of American Art The New Britain Museum of American Art is an art museum in New Britain, Connecticut. Founded in 1903, it is the first museum in the country dedicated to American art. A total of 72,000 visits were made to the museum in the year ending June 30, 200 ...

Portland Art Museum The Portland Art Museum in Portland, Oregon, United States, was founded in 1892, making it one of the oldest art museums on the West Coast and seventh oldest in the US. Upon completion of the most recent renovations, the Portland Art Museum becam ...

Richmond Art Museum The Richmond Art Museum was founded in 1898 as the Art Association of Richmond, Indiana. Artist John Elwood Bundy and author and attorney William Dudley Foulke were instrumental in the founding. Permanent collection Its collection includes imp ...

San Francisco Arts Commission The San Francisco Arts Commission (SFAC) is the City agency that champions the arts as essential to daily life by investing in a vibrant arts community, enlivening the urban environment and shaping innovative cultural policy in San Francisco, Cali ...

Smithsonian American Art Museum The Smithsonian American Art Museum (commonly known as SAAM, and formerly the National Museum of American Art) is a museum in Washington, D.C., part of the Smithsonian Institution. Together with its branch museum, the Renwick Gallery, SAAM holds o ...

Society of Illustrators The Society of Illustrators is a professional society based in New York City. It was founded in 1901 to promote the art of illustration and, since 1959, has held an annual exhibition. History Founding The Society of Illustrators was founded on ...

* Strong Museum *

Virginia Museum of Fine Arts The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, or VMFA, is an art museum in Richmond, Virginia, United States, which opened in 1936. The museum is owned and operated by the Commonwealth of Virginia. Private donations, endowments, and funds are used for the su ...

References

Sources

* {{DEFAULTSORT:DuMond, Frank 1865 births 1951 deaths 19th-century American painters 20th-century American painters American illustrators American Impressionist painters American male painters American art educators Art Students League of New York faculty Art Students League of New York alumni Académie Julian alumni Orientalist painters Artists from Rochester, New York People from Briarcliff Manor, New York 19th-century American male artists 20th-century American male artists Members of the American Academy of Arts and Letters