Harry Aiken Vincent (1861-1931) was a largely self-taught American artist known for his

plein air ''En plein air'' (; French for 'outdoors'), or ''plein air'' painting, is the act of painting outdoors. This method contrasts with studio painting or academic rules that might create a predetermined look. The theory of 'En plein air' painting ...

landscape paintings. Many of his oil paintings portrayed marine scenes at the start or end of the day, featuring boats and fishing activity in New England, particularly on

Cape Ann Cape Ann is a rocky peninsula in northeastern Massachusetts, United States on the Atlantic Ocean. It is about northeast of Boston and marks the northern limit of Massachusetts Bay. Cape Ann includes the city of Gloucester and the towns of ...

, and in France. The treatment of water, sky, light and color in his works was representative of the American school of

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

. He was also skilled at water color and drawing in charcoal. Vincent was born in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

and began his artistic career working for Thomas G. Moses of Sosman and Landis as a

scenic painter Theatrical scenic painting includes wide-ranging disciplines, encompassing virtually the entire scope of painting and craft techniques. An experienced scenic painter (or scenic artist) will have skills in landscape painting, figurative painting, ' ...

for theaters, creating elaborate backdrops. His earliest known oil paintings often depicted rural scenes of towns and farms outside of Chicago. In 1893 he exhibited at the World's Fair in Chicago. Vincent moved to the New York City area in the late 1890s, when his work increasingly drew the recognition of his peers and the attention of collectors. In 1907 he won the Shaw Prize awarded for a work in black and white by the Salmagundi Club. He also won the Turnbull Prize in 1918, and the Porter Prize in 1925. In 1928 he was recognized with the Samuel Twybill Shaw prize for watercolor. He also won the Paul L. Hammond prize given by the New York Watercolor Club for his painting "Rockport Harbor". In the latter part of his career, until his death in 1931, Vincent lived in Rockport, Massachusetts, on Atlantic Avenue facing the inner harbor. He became a respected senior member of the

Rockport Art Association Rockport Art Association is an art association in the United States. It started as an artist's cooperative and became a gathering place of New England artists of the 20th century. The artists Aldro Hibbard, Antonio Cirino, Paul Strisik, Anthony ...

, which he helped to found in 1921, serving as its first President, and the

North Shore Art Association The North Shore Art Association of East Gloucester, Massachusetts is one of the oldest art associations in the United States. Founded in 1922, it was the gathering place of some of the great American artists of the 20th century. Childe Hassam, ...

. Like other

artists, he created many views of

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean to the west, east of Monmouth and east ...

harbor, and interpretations of an iconic fish shack on a wharf in Rockport, known fondly as Motif Number One. Street scenes and landscapes of the local granite quarries also attracted his eye, but he was continuously drawn to seaside settings. In the 1920s he found new subjects through travels in Europe, including England, Italy (Venice and Chioggia) and France (St Tropez, Menton). While in Brittany, he produced a series of scenes of

Concarneau Concarneau (, meaning ''Bay of Cornouaille'') is a commune in the Finistère department of Brittany in north-western France. Concarneau is bordered to the west by the Baie de La Forêt. The town has two distinct areas: the modern town on the main ...

, a small fishing village. Harry Vincent was married twice, to Catherine F. Ryan in Chicago in 1884, with whom he had two children, and then to Mildred Deitz in New York in 1916.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vincent, Harry Aiken 1861 births 1931 deaths Artists from Chicago Impressionist artists 20th-century American painters 21st-century American painters Painters from Illinois