Harry Siddons Mowbray (August 5, 1858 – 1928) was an American artist. He executed various painting commissions for J.P. Morgan, F.W. Vanderbilt, and other clients. He served as director of the American Academy in Rome from 1902–1904.

Biography

Mowbray was born of English parents at

Alexandria Alexandria ( or ; ar, ٱلْإِسْكَنْدَرِيَّةُ ; grc-gre, Αλεξάνδρεια, Alexándria) is the second largest city in Egypt, and the largest city on the Mediterranean coast. Founded in by Alexander the Great, Alexandria ...

Egypt Egypt ( ar, مصر , ), officially the Arab Republic of Egypt, is a transcontinental country spanning the northeast corner of Africa and southwest corner of Asia via a land bridge formed by the Sinai Peninsula. It is bordered by the Mediter ...

. His father, John Henry Siddons, represented a British bank in Alexandria; he died of

hyperthermia Hyperthermia, also known simply as overheating, is a condition in which an individual's body temperature is elevated beyond normal due to failed thermoregulation. The person's body produces or absorbs more heat than it dissipates. When extreme ...

a year after his son was born. Mowbray's mother moved to America with her son. When Mowbray was five, his mother died, burnt alive in a domestic accident caused by lamp fuel. Left an orphan, the boy was adopted by his aunt, his mother's sister, and her husband, George Mowbray. The family settled at

North Adams, Massachusetts North Adams is a city in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. Its population was 12,961 as of the 2020 census. Best known as the ...

. After a year at the

United States Military Academy The United States Military Academy (USMA), also known metonymically as West Point or simply as Army, is a United States service academy in West Point, New York. It was originally established as a fort, since it sits on strategic high groun ...

at West Point, he went to

Paris Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...

and entered the

atelier An atelier () is the private workshop or studio of a professional artist in the fine or decorative arts or an architect, where a principal master and a number of assistants, students, and apprentices can work together producing fine art or ...

of Leon Bonnat in 1879, his first picture, ''Aladdin'', bringing him to public notice. He studied with Bonnat until 1883. In 1886, he became a member of the

Society of American Artists The Society of American Artists was an American artists group. It was formed in 1877 by artists who felt the National Academy of Design did not adequately meet their needs, and was too conservative. The group began meeting in 1874 at the home of ...

. His painting ''Evening Breeze'' received the Clark Prize at 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 f ...

in 1888, and he was elected to associate membership in the Academy. He was made a full member of the Academy in 1891. Subsequently, Mowbray was best known for his decorative work, especially ''The Transmission of the Law'', Appellate Court House; ceiling for the residence of F. W. Vanderbilt; the ceilings in J.P. Morgan's

Library A library is a collection of materials, books or media that are accessible for use and not just for display purposes. A library provides physical (hard copies) or digital access (soft copies) materials, and may be a physical location or a vir ...

and The Morgan Library & Museum's Annex building; as well as the ceiling and walls of the library of the University Club, all 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 ...

. This last was executed in

Rome , established_title = Founded , established_date = 753 BC , founder = King Romulus (legendary) , image_map = Map of comune of Rome (metropolitan city of Capital Rome, region Lazio, Italy).svg , map_caption ...

, where, in 1903, he was made director of the American Academy. Other works include murals in the Appellate Courthouse and the University Club library in New York; the homes of

C.P. Huntington ''C. P. Huntington'' is a 4-2-4T steam locomotive on static display at the California State Railroad Museum in Sacramento, California, USA. It is the first locomotive purchased by the Southern Pacific Railroad, carrying that railroad's number ...

and

Larz Anderson Larz Anderson (August 15, 1866 – April 13, 1937) was an American diplomat and ''bon vivant''. He served as second secretary at the United States Legation to the Court of St James's, London; as first secretary and later '' chargé d'affai ...

; and the Howard M. Metzenbaum U.S. Courthouse in Cleveland, Ohio. He taught at the Art Students League of New York circa 1901. He was a member of the

U.S. Commission of Fine Arts The U.S. Commission of Fine Arts (CFA) is an independent agency of the federal government of the United States, and was established in 1910. The CFA has review (but not approval) authority over the "design and aesthetics" of all construction with ...

from 1921 to 1928. Among Mowbray's pupils were the painters Mortimer Lichtenauer,

Florence Wolf Gotthold Florence Wolf Gotthold (October 3, 1858 – August 17, 1930) was an American painter. Born Florence Wolf in Uhrichsville, Ohio, Gotthold was the daughter of prominent attorney Simon Wolf; with her parents she moved to Washington, D.C. in 1862. ...

and

Clara Taggart MacChesney Clara Taggart MacChesney (sometimes McChesney) (1860/61-1928) was an American painter and writer known for her figurative painting, landscapes and “scenes and people of Holland.”Petteys, Chris, ''Dictionary of Women Artists: An international ...

.Petteys, Chris, ''Dictionary of Women Artists: An international dictionary of women artists born before 1900'', G.K. Hall & Co., Boston, 1985 p. 458

Notes

References

* * Attribution: *

External links

Mowbray page at artrenewal.org

Discussion of Mowbray's work in the Rotunda of the Morgan Library
{{DEFAULTSORT:Mowbray, Henry Siddons 1858 births 1928 deaths 19th-century American painters 19th-century American male artists 20th-century American painters Art Students League of New York faculty American muralists American male painters Orientalist painters National Academy of Design members 20th-century American male artists

Biography

See also

Notes

References

External links