Julius Garibaldi Melchers (August 11, 1860 – November 30, 1932) was an American artist. He was one of the leading American proponents of naturalism. He won a 1932 Gold medal from the American Academy of Arts and Letters.

Biography

The son of German-born American sculptor Julius Theodore Melchers, Gari Melchers was a native of

Detroit, Michigan Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at ...

, who at seventeen studied art at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf under von Gebhardt and is associated with the

Düsseldorf school of painting The Düsseldorf school of painting is a term referring to a group of painters who taught or studied at the Düsseldorf Academy (now the Staatliche Kunstakademie Düsseldorf or Düsseldorf State Art Academy) during the 1830s and 1840s, when the A ...

. After three years went to Paris, where he worked at 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 ...

, and the Ecole des Beaux Arts, where he studied under

Lefebvre Lefebvre () is a common northern French surname. Other variations include Lefèbvre, Lefèvre, Lefeuvre (western France) and Lefébure (northern France and Normandy). In the Occitan and Arpitan extension area, the variation is Fabre, Favre, Faure ...

and

Boulanger Boulanger () is a typical French and Francophone surname, equivalent of the English ''Baker'', the Italian ''Panettiere'', etc. It is shared by several notable persons: *André Boulanger (1886–1958), French professor of literature and Latin sch ...

.Baulch, Vivian M. (January 31, 1998
Detroit is fertile ground for art
. Michigan History, ''The Detroit News''. Retrieved on June 6, 2008. Attracted by the pictorial side of

Holland Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former province on the western coast of the Netherlands. From the 10th to the 16th c ...

, he settled at Egmond. In 1882, Melchers presented ''The Letter'', painted the previous year in

Brittany Brittany (; french: link=no, Bretagne ; br, Breizh, or ; Gallo language, Gallo: ''Bertaèyn'' ) is a peninsula, Historical region, historical country and cultural area in the west of modern France, covering the western part of what was known ...

, at the

Paris Salon The Salon (french: Salon), or rarely Paris Salon (French: ''Salon de Paris'' ), beginning in 1667 was the official art exhibition of the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris. Between 1748 and 1890 it was arguably the greatest annual or biennial art ...

; this first presentation by a young artist was well received. In 1884, he founded an art colony at Egmond aan Zee in the Netherlands with American artist George Hitchcock.Catron, Joanna D. The Story of Gari Melchers. Fredericksburg, VA: Belmont, the Gari Melchers Estate & Memorial Gallery, 2002. Print. His first important Dutch picture, ''The Sermon'', brought him favorable attention at the Paris Salon of 1886. He became a member of 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 ...

, New York; the

Royal Academy of Berlin The Royal Prussian Academy of Sciences (german: Königlich-Preußische Akademie der Wissenschaften) was an academy established in Berlin, Germany on 11 July 1700, four years after the Prussian Academy of Arts, or "Arts Academy," to which "Berlin ...

;

Société Nationale des Beaux Arts Lactalis is a French multinational dairy products corporation, owned by the Besnier family and based in Laval, Mayenne, France. The company's former name was Besnier SA. Lactalis is the largest dairy products group in the world, and is the sec ...

, Paris; International Society of Sculptors, Painters and Gravers, London, and the

Secession Society Secession is the withdrawal of a group from a larger entity, especially a political entity, but also from any organization, union or military alliance. Some of the most famous and significant secessions have been: the former Soviet republics lea ...

, Munich; and, besides receiving a number of medals, his decorations include the

Legion of Honor The National Order of the Legion of Honour (french: Ordre national de la Légion d'honneur), formerly the Royal Order of the Legion of Honour ('), is the highest French order of merit, both military and civil. Established in 1802 by Napoleon ...

, France; the order of the Red Eagle, Germany; and knight of the Order of St Michael, Bavaria. In 1889, he and

John Singer Sargent John Singer Sargent (; January 12, 1856 – April 14, 1925) was an American expatriate artist, considered the "leading portrait painter of his generation" for his evocations of Edwardian-era luxury. He created roughly 900 oil paintings and more ...

became the first American painters to win a Grand Prize at the Paris Universal Exposition. His paintings from the World Columbian Exposition (1893) held in Chicago are now in the Library at the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

in Ann Arbor.Columbia Encyclopedia Sixth Edition (2008
Melchers, Gari
Retrieved on June 14, 2008. In 1903, he married Corinne Lawton Mackall, a Baltimore painter born in 1880, who studied at the Maryland Institute Practical School for the Mechanic Arts and at the

Académie Colarossi The Académie Colarossi (1870–1930) was an art school in Paris founded in 1870 by the Italian model and sculptor Filippo Colarossi. It was originally located on the Île de la Cité, and it moved in 1879 to 10 rue de la Grande-Chaumière in the ...

. Mackall was 20 years younger than her husband and often modeled for her husband. In 1904 he was named an Officer in the French

. In 1909 he was appointed Professor of Art at the Grand Ducal Saxony School of Art in

Weimar Weimar is a city in the state of Thuringia, Germany. It is located in Central Germany between Erfurt in the west and Jena in the east, approximately southwest of Leipzig, north of Nuremberg and west of Dresden. Together with the neighbouri ...

, Germany. In 1915 he returned to New York City to open a studio at

Abraham Archibald Anderson Abraham Archibald Anderson (1846 – 1940) was an American artist, rancher and philanthropist. Biography Anderson was born in New Jersey as one of ten children of William Anderson (1814 – 1887), a civil engineer turned Dutch Reformed Churc ...

Bryant Park Studios The Bryant Park Studios (formerly known as the Beaux-Arts Building) is an office building at 80 West 40th Street in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City, at the corner of 40th Street and Sixth Avenue. The building, overlooking t ...

building. From 1920 to 1928 he served as the president of the New Society of Artists. He was a member of the Virginia Fine Arts Commission and a trustee of the

Corcoran Gallery of Art The Corcoran Gallery of Art was an art museum in Washington, D.C., United States, that is now the location of the Corcoran School of the Arts and Design, a part of the George Washington University. Overview The Corcoran School of the Arts & Design ...

. He served as chairman of the Art Committee of the

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 ...

. Throughout his career, whether abroad or in his commercial headquarters in New York City or his country retreat at Belmont in Falmouth, Virginia, the artist maintained a fascination with northern light. He spent his final years at

Belmont Estate The Belmont Estate, now Belmont Manor and Historic Park, is a former plantation located at Elkridge, Howard County, Maryland, United States. Founded in the 1730s and known in the Colonial period as "Moore's Morning Choice",Stein, p. 197. it was ...

in Falmouth, Virginia, near Fredericksburg. He died there on November 30, 1932.

Works

Besides portraits, his chief works are: ''The Supper at Emmaus'', in the

Krupp The Krupp family (see pronunciation), a prominent 400-year-old German dynasty from Essen, is notable for its production of steel, artillery, ammunition and other armaments. The family business, known as Friedrich Krupp AG (Friedrich Krup ...

collection at

Essen Essen (; Latin: ''Assindia'') is the central and, after Dortmund, second-largest city of the Ruhr, the largest urban area in Germany. Its population of makes it the fourth-largest city of North Rhine-Westphalia after Cologne, Düsseldorf and D ...

; ''The Family'',

National Gallery The National Gallery is an art museum in Trafalgar Square in the City of Westminster, in Central London, England. Founded in 1824, it houses a collection of over 2,300 paintings dating from the mid-13th century to 1900. The current Director o ...

, Berlin; ''Mother and Child'', Luxembourg; and the decoration, at the

Library of Congress The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...

, Washington, ''Peace and War''. The artist was also commissioned by Charles Lang Freer to paint the portrait of President Theodore Roosevelt, one of the most notable public figures he painted during his prolific career. The panels ''Peace'' and ''War'' were commissioned for 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 of 1893. He completed a set for three murals in 1921 for the

Detroit Public Library The Detroit Public Library is the second largest library system in the U.S. state of Michigan by volumes held (after the University of Michigan Library) and the 21st-largest library system (and the fourth-largest public library system) in the Uni ...

, depicting the history of Detroit. Here's the stor
backstory
of that project. He subsequently wa
commissioned
to paint four murals of notable Missourians (Eugene Field,

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 ...

, Major James Rollins, and

Susan Blow Susan Elizabeth Blow (June 7, 1843 – March 27, 1916) was an American educator who opened the first successful public kindergarten in the United States. She was known as the "Mother of the Kindergarten." Early life The eldest of nine childre ...

) for the Governor's office in the Missouri State Capitol. His work was also part of the painting event in the art competition at the

1932 Summer Olympics The 1932 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the X Olympiad and also known as Los Angeles 1932) were an international multi-sport event held from July 30 to August 14, 1932 in Los Angeles, California, United States. The Games were held duri ...

. His painting ''Winter'' was stolen in Germany by the Nazis in 1933 and discovered at the

Arkell Museum The Arkell Museum is a museum in Canajoharie, New York that has an extensive collection of American paintings, primarily from 1860–1940, as well as historical exhibits about the history of the Mohawk River Valley and of the Beech-Nut babyfood co ...

Canajoharie, New York Canajoharie () is a Administrative divisions of New York#Town, town in Montgomery County, New York, Montgomery County, New York (state), New York, United States. The population was 3,730 in 2010. Canajoharie is located south of the Mohawk River o ...

in 2019. Gari Melchers Home & Studio holds the largest collection of Melchers’ art — 1,677 paintings and drawings. An amazingly prolific artist, Melchers’ paintings are also in museum collections worldwide. File:Gari Melchers - Marriage.jpg, ''Marriage'', 1893 File:The Bride by Gari Melchers - Renwick Gallery - DSC08384.JPG, ''The Bride'', ca. 1907 File:Gari Melchers - Joan of Arc.jpg, ''

Joan of Arc Joan of Arc (french: link=yes, Jeanne d'Arc, translit= �an daʁk} ; 1412 – 30 May 1431) is a patron saint of France, honored as a defender of the French nation for her role in the siege of Orléans and her insistence on the coronati ...

'' (unknown date) File:Gari Melchers - The Sermon (1886).jpg, ''The Sermon'', 1886 Image:Gari-Melchers-War-Highsmith.jpeg, ''Mural of War'', 1896. Image:Gari-Melchers-Peace-Highsmith.jpeg, ''Mural of Peace'', 1896

Museum

The 18th-century Belmont estate was the country home and studio of prominent portraitist, muralist, and American Impressionist painter Gari Melchers (1860-1932). The house contains Gari and Corinne Melchers’ original furnishings and personal art collection, the studio houses over 1600 works by Melchers, and the 27-acre grounds feature restored formal gardens and miles of walking trails. The site
Gari Melchers Home & Studio
is now an American Association of Museums' Accredited museum and cultural center. The mission of Gari Melchers Home and Studio is to display to the public on a regular basis the art works and furnishings that make up the Belmont collections; to maintain and preserve the collections and physical facilities of the estate in order that they will be available to the public for use by this and future generations; and to interpret the collections in a manner that will serve local educational institutions and the general public as a resource for studying the full range of works of a major American artist together with the tools of his trade in the locale in which he worked. The purpose of Gari Melchers Home and Studio is also to serve as an art center for the people of the Fredericksburg area.

Notes

References

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External links