Henry Ives Cobb Jr. (March 24, 1883 – August 1974) was an American artist and architect who lived and worked in
New York, New York
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Uni ...
. He is known primarily for his paintings of scenes in and around
Manhattan
Manhattan (), known regionally as the City, is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. The borough is also coextensive with New York County, one of the original counties of the U.S. state ...
, especially
Central Park
Central Park is an urban park in New York City located between the Upper West Side, Upper West and Upper East Sides of Manhattan. It is the List of New York City parks, fifth-largest park in the city, covering . It is the most visited urban par ...
. He was a member of the
American Institute of Architects
The American Institute of Architects (AIA) is a professional organization for architects in the United States. Headquartered in Washington, D.C., the AIA offers education, government advocacy, community redevelopment, and public outreach to su ...
and 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 ...
, as well as the
Society of Independent Artists
Society of Independent Artists was an association of American artists founded in 1916 and based in New York.
Background
Based on the French Société des Artistes Indépendants, the goal of the society was to hold annual exhibitions by avant-gard ...
and the
Royal Academy
The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its pur ...
.
Early life
Cobb was born in Illinois, and was the first of ten children of architect
Henry Ives Cobb
Henry Ives Cobb (August 19, 1859 – March 27, 1931) was an architect from the United States. Based in Chicago in the last decades of the 19th century, he was known for his designs in the Richardsonian Romanesque and Victorian Gothic styles. ...
and Emma Martin Smith.
In 1904, Cobb graduated cum laude from
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
, with honorable mention in the fine arts, and in August of that year he went to Paris to study architecture at the
Ecole des Beaux Arts. In 1908, Cobb joined his father's architecture firm at 42 Broadway, New York, New York. His daughter Margaret Baron Cobb was born the same year.
Career
In June 1914, Cobb left his father's firm, his wife, and his two young children, to enroll at the Royal Academy of Munich, where he studied under
Carl von Marr
Carl von Marr (February 14, 1858 – July 10, 1936) was an American-born German painter whose work encompassed religious and mythological subjects, genre, and portraits. He was also a professor of art in Munich.
Biography
He was born in Mi ...
and
historicist
Historicism is an approach to explaining the existence of phenomena, especially social and cultural practices (including ideas and beliefs), by studying their history, that is, by studying the process by which they came about. The term is widely u ...
Gabriel von Hackl
Gabriel (von) Hackl (24 March 1843 – 5 June 1926) was a German historicism (art), historicist painter.
Life and work
He was born in Maribor, Lower Styria, Austrian Empire. A surgeon's son, he attended the gymnasium (school), gymnasium in his ...
. Despite having worked as an architect for seven years, he identified himself as a "painter" on his passport application.
Set design
In his 30s, Cobb made a brief foray into stage and set design. He created the scenery for a
Nora Bayes
Nora Bayes (born Rachel Eleonora "Dora" Goldberg; October 3, 1880March 19, 1928) was an American singer and vaudeville performer who was popular internationally between the 1900s and 1920s. She is credited with co-writing the song "Shine On, Har ...
show in 1916, and designed the sets for the
Jerome Kern
Jerome David Kern (January 27, 1885 – November 11, 1945) was an American composer of musical theatre and popular music. One of the most important American theatre composers of the early 20th century, he wrote more than 700 songs, used in over ...
/
Guy Bolton
Guy Reginald Bolton (23 November 1884 – 4 September 1979) was an Anglo-American playwright and writer of musical comedies. Born in England and educated in France and the US, he trained as an architect but turned to writing. Bolton preferred w ...
/
P.G. Wodehouse
Sir Pelham Grenville Wodehouse, ( ; 15 October 188114 February 1975) was an English author and one of the most widely read humorists of the 20th century. His creations include the feather-brained Bertie Wooster and his sagacious valet, Jee ...
musical "Have a Heart," which starred
Billy B. Van and
Louise Dresser
Louise Dresser (born Louise Josephine Kerlin; October 5, 1878 – April 24, 1965) was an American actress. She is perhaps best known for her roles in the many films in which she played the wife of Will Rogers, including ''State Fair'' and ' ...
. The musical opened at
Broadway
Broadway may refer to:
Theatre
* Broadway Theatre (disambiguation)
* Broadway theatre, theatrical productions in professional theatres near Broadway, Manhattan, New York City, U.S.
** Broadway (Manhattan), the street
**Broadway Theatre (53rd Stree ...
's
Liberty Theater
The Liberty Theatre is a former Broadway theater at 234 West 42nd Street in the Theater District of Midtown Manhattan in New York City. Opened in 1904, the theater was designed by Herts & Tallant and built for Klaw and Erlanger, the partnership ...
in January 1917 and was favorably reviewed by the
New York Times
''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid d ...
. and the New York Sun. In April, the show played at the Capital in Washington, D.C. and was well received by the Washington Times. Cobb was also identified as creating the sets for
Ruth Comfort Mitchell's "The Sweetmeat Game" which starred
Olive Wyndham
Olive Frances Wyndham Meysenberg (June 16, 1886 – November 24, 1971) was an American actress on stage and in silent films.
Early life
Meysenburg was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, the daughter of E. A. von Meysenburg, a German diplomat, ...
and ran at the
Palace Theater in November 1916.
Military service
In May 1917, he entered Officers' Training Camp in Plattsburgh, NY. In August, he was commissioned a 1st lieutenant, Field Artillery, and sailed for France on September 6, 1917. He worked as a translator, was later discharged as a captain, and returned to the United States in September 1919.
Return to architecture
Following a period of study in portraiture, Cobbs returned to architecture and from 1926 to 1927, secured building permits for three buildings he designed in New York City. Two of the buildings, one at 150 East 50th Street (now the San Carlos Hotel) and one at 152 East 39th Street (The Hotel Dryden), still exist. One, at 64-66 Park Avenue, has been demolished.
In May 1929, Cobb gave a lecture on "the Practical Aspects of Interior Architecture" at Kauffman's department store in Philadelphia. He was identified in the advertisement as the "son of the illustrious architect who designed the beautiful Gothic buildings on the University of Chicago campus, a Beaux Arts man, and a member of the Royal Academy of Munich." The advertisement continues, "His philosophy proceeds somewhat as follows: 'We should be doing things that suit American living -- not looking back over our shoulders to follow the details of 200 years ago. I believe that if we do this we shall have a truly American style within the next hundred years.'"
Throughout the 1920s and 1930s, Cobb wrote articles on interior design and architecture for
Good Housekeeping
''Good Housekeeping'' is an American women's magazine featuring articles about women's interests, product testing by The Good Housekeeping Institute, recipes, diet, and health, as well as literary articles. It is well known for the "Good House ...
magazine, where he was a member of
Helen Koues's Good Housekeeping Studio of Architecture and Furnishings, along with
C. Herrick Hammond,
Myron Hunt
Myron Hubbard Hunt (February 27, 1868 – May 26, 1952) was an American architect whose numerous projects include many noted landmarks in Southern California and Evanston, Illinois. Hunt was elected a Fellow in the American Institute of Archi ...
, and
Dwight James Baum
Dwight James Baum (June 24, 1886 – December 14, 1939) was an American architect most active in New York and in Sarasota, Florida. His work includes Cà d'Zan, the Sarasota Times Building (1925), Sarasota County Courthouse (1926), early residenc ...
.
Cobb had studied and practiced architecture at the behest of his father, but his heart was always elsewhere. "Scratch an architect and you will find a man who wanted to be a painter," Cobb told Arts Magazine in 1935. When his father died in 1931, Cobb Jr. closed the architecture firm almost immediately to "pursue the elusive muse of painting."
Fine arts
In 1924, Cobb, after a period of study with
Robert Henri
Robert Henri (; June 24, 1865 – July 12, 1929) was an American painter and teacher.
As a young man, he studied in Paris, where he identified strongly with the Impressionists, and determined to lead an even more dramatic revolt against A ...
, entered a portrait sketch, a still life, and two landscapes in the Eighth Annual Exhibition of the
Society of Independent Artists
Society of Independent Artists was an association of American artists founded in 1916 and based in New York.
Background
Based on the French Société des Artistes Indépendants, the goal of the society was to hold annual exhibitions by avant-gard ...
, held at the
Waldorf Astoria
The Waldorf Astoria New York is a luxury hotel and condominium residence in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. The structure, at 301 Park Avenue between 49th and 50th Streets, is a 47-story Art Deco landmark designed by architects Schultz ...
from March 7 to March 30. The following year, Cobb entered two landscape sketches in the Society's Ninth Annual Exhibition.
Cobb spent the years from 1931 through at least 1959 immersed in the fine arts, creating many sketches, lithographs, and paintings. He worked primarily in oil and
gouache
Gouache (; ), body color, or opaque watercolor is a water-medium paint consisting of natural pigment, water, a binding agent (usually gum arabic or dextrin), and sometimes additional inert material. Gouache is designed to be opaque. Gouache h ...
, although he also created many
political cartoons
A political cartoon, a form of editorial cartoon, is a cartoon graphic with caricatures of public figures, expressing the artist's opinion. An artist who writes and draws such images is known as an editorial cartoonist. They typically combine ...
, some indicating opposition to
The New Deal
The New Deal was a series of programs, public work projects, financial reforms, and regulations enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1939. Major federal programs agencies included the Civilian Cons ...
, in charcoal. The Kleeman galleries in New York City held a show of his political cartoons in January 1936.
In 1933 and 1934,
James Newlin Price held shows of Cobb's paintings at his Ferargil Galleries at 63 East 57th Street, New York.
Throughout the 1950s, Cobb created many gouaches of scenes around New York City, including numerous paintings of Central Park, several paintings of construction sites, pictures of bridges, street scenes, as well as depictions of the Puerto Rican Day parade and scenes at a densely populated public pool.
Collections
Cobb's work has been in the collection of the
Muscarelle Museum of Art at the College of William and Mary as well as in the private collection of
Leona Helmsley
Leona Roberts Helmsley (July 4, 1920 – August 20, 2007) was an American businesswoman. Her flamboyant personality and reputation for tyrannical behavior earned her the nickname Queen of Mean.
After allegations of non-payment were made by co ...
. All, or very nearly all, of Cobb's paintings which have sold at auction have been attributed to his father, despite some being signed "II" or "Jr.," and some bearing dates later than 1931. He commonly signed his oil paintings "HIC," and his gouache works with a block-printed "Henry Ives Cobb," only once or twice adding "II" or "Jr." to the signature. His father, by contrast, signed his work with a cursive signature. In the 1970s, two New York galleries held shows of his work: The Seventeenth Street Gallery and the Elizabeth Bartholet Gallery.
Personal life
In the summer of 1906, he married Carolyn Satterlee Postlethwaite, daughter of William Morton Postlethwaite, chaplain and professor at
West Point
The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known Metonymy, metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academies, United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a f ...
. The Reverend
Endicott Peabody
Endicott Howard Peabody (February 15, 1920 – December 2, 1997) was an American politician from Massachusetts. A Democrat, he served a single two-year term as the 62nd Governor of Massachusetts, from 1963 to 1965. His tenure is probably b ...
, founder of the
Groton School
Groton School (founded as Groton School for Boys) is a private college-preparatory boarding school located in Groton, Massachusetts. Ranked as one of the top five boarding high schools in the United States in Niche (2021–2022), it is affiliated ...
, presided. The wedding made the national news, appearing in newspapers as far away as Palestine, Texas. In the fall of 1907, his son was born in Paris.
*Henry Ives Cobb, III
In January 1915, Carolyn Postlethwaite Cobb filed for divorce in the third district court at Ada, Idaho. Mrs. Cobb subsequently moved to England and with her partner Norman Webb ran the Easton Park Hotel in Chagford, Devon, where
Evelyn Waugh
Arthur Evelyn St. John Waugh (; 28 October 1903 – 10 April 1966) was an English writer of novels, biographies, and travel books; he was also a prolific journalist and book reviewer. His most famous works include the early satires ''Decli ...
wrote much of
Brideshead Revisited
''Brideshead Revisited: The Sacred & Profane Memories of Captain Charles Ryder'' is a novel by English writer Evelyn Waugh, first published in 1945. It follows, from the 1920s to the early 1940s, the life and romances of the protagonist Charles ...
.
Leigh Fermor was also a guest.
In October 1920, Cobb married Gwendolyn Wickersham Akin, daughter of
George W. Wickersham
George Woodward Wickersham (September 19, 1858 – January 25, 1936) was an American lawyer and Attorney General of the United States in the administration of President William H. Taft. He returned to government to serve in appointed positio ...
, U.S. Attorney General under
William Howard Taft
William Howard Taft (September 15, 1857March 8, 1930) was the 27th president of the United States (1909–1913) and the tenth chief justice of the United States (1921–1930), the only person to have held both offices. Taft was elected pr ...
. The Reverend
William Laurence Sullivan
William Laurence Sullivan (November 15, 1872—October 5, 1935) was an American Unitarian clergyman, prolific author and literary critic, whose ''Letters to His Holiness, Pope Pius X'' (1910), was the last work by a U.S. author to have been pl ...
presided.
The couple lived in Hewlett, Long Island, New York.
Death
Henry Ives Cobb died in
Monterey, Massachusetts
Monterey is a small town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,095 at the 2020 census.
History
Prior to settlement by European-Americ ...
, probably while visiting his step-daughter Mildred Akin Lynes and her husband
Russell Lynes, an author, tastemaker, and former managing editor of
Harper's Magazine
''Harper's Magazine'' is a monthly magazine of literature, politics, culture, finance, and the arts. Launched in New York City in June 1850, it is the oldest continuously published monthly magazine in the U.S. (''Scientific American'' is older, b ...
, who had a home in
North Egremont.
["Russell Lynes, 80, An Editor & Arbiter of Taste," (September 16, 1991), New York Times.] Mrs. Lynes donated Cobb's collection of
John LaFarge
John La Farge (March 31, 1835 – November 14, 1910) was an American artist whose career spanned illustration, murals, interior design, painting, and popular books on his Asian travels and other art-related topics.
La Farge is best known for ...
's sketches and renderings to
Columbia University
Columbia University (also known as Columbia, and officially as Columbia University in the City of New York) is a private research university in New York City. Established in 1754 as King's College on the grounds of Trinity Church in Manhatt ...
, where they can be found in the
Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library
The Avery Architectural and Fine Arts Library is a library located in Avery Hall on the Morningside Heights campus of Columbia University in the New York City. It is the largest architecture library in the world. Serving Columbia's Graduate Schoo ...
.
References
{{DEFAULTSORT:Cobb, Henry Ives Jr.
1883 births
1974 deaths
American alumni of the École des Beaux-Arts
Artists from New York City
Architects from New York City
Academy of Fine Arts, Munich alumni
Broadway set designers
Art Students League of New York alumni
20th-century translators
The Harvard Lampoon alumni
20th-century American architects
Society of Independent Artists