James Fairman (1826 in

Glasgow Glasgow ( ; sco, Glesca or ; gd, Glaschu ) is the most populous city in Scotland and the fourth-most populous city in the United Kingdom, as well as being the 27th largest city by population in Europe. In 2020, it had an estimated popul ...

– 12 March 1904, in

Brooklyn, New York Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...

) was a Scottish-born American landscape painter, art teacher, art critic and military officer.

Biography

His father, Laurenz Fehrman, was a Swedish military officer who served under King Charles XIV John in the Coalition Wars. When the King changed sides, he fled to Scotland, where he married James' mother, Mary Farquharson Black. In 1832, after his father's early death, his mother decided to emigrate to the United States. They settled in New York City. In 1842, having shown some aptitude for drawing, he began attending evening classes 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 fin ...

. Upon the recommendation of the portrait painter,

Frederick Styles Agate Frederick Styles Agate (29 January 1803 – 1 May 1844) was a noted painter best known for his paintings ''Ugolino'' and ''Old Oaken Bucket''. Life and work He was born to Thomas Agate and his British wife, Hannah Agate in Sparta, New York in ...

, he became a full-time student. Following his graduation, he found employment as an apprentice at Harper & Brothers publishing, in

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 ...

. In 1851, he paid a visit to London to see the

Great Exhibition The Great Exhibition of the Works of Industry of All Nations, also known as the Great Exhibition or the Crystal Palace Exhibition (in reference to the temporary The Crystal Palace, structure in which it was held), was an International Exhib ...

. He later described what he saw there as his "revelation". Over the next ten years, he became increasingly involved in the Abolitionist movement and discovered that he had a talent for public speaking; attending a course on the subject taught by

Edward Delafield Smith Edward Delafield Smith (May 8, 1826 Rochester, New York – April 12, 1878 Shrewsbury, New Jersey) was an American lawyer who served as United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York during the American Civil War. Career At 33 year ...

. In 1858, when a dispute arose over removing Bible study from the New York public schools, he opposed the change, ran for a seat on the school board committee, and was elected. An unsuccessful campaign for Congress soon followed.

Civil War service

In 1861, a few months after the Civil War began, he enlisted as a Captain with Company B of the

10th New York Infantry The 10th New York Infantry Regiment was an infantry regiment that served in the Union Army during the American Civil War. It was also known as the McChesney Zouaves or National Guard Zouaves. Service The regiment was organized in New York City ...

. He was, however, released after four weeks for trying to recruit his own regiment. He then became a recruiter for the 4th Excelsior Regiment, on behalf of Congressman

Daniel Sickles Daniel Edgar Sickles (October 20, 1819May 3, 1914) was an American politician, soldier, and diplomat. Born to a wealthy family in New York City, Sickles was involved in a number of scandals, most notably the 1859 homicide of his wife's lover, U. ...

. Having little success there, he applied to the

96th New York Volunteer Infantry The 96th New York Infantry Regiment (aka "Plattsburg Regiment") was an infantry regiment in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Service The 96th New York Infantry was organized at Plattsburgh, New York February 20-March 7, 1862 and mu ...

and was accepted as a colonel. After only three weeks of training, his unit took part in the Peninsula Campaign. During this time, four complaints were brought against him as the result of disputes with subordinate officers. He was also reprimanded for insulting a superior officer, General

William High Keim William High Keim (June 13, 1813 – May 18, 1862) was a Republican member of the U.S. House of Representatives from Pennsylvania, as well as a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War. Early life and career William High Keim ...

; calling him a "Pennsylvania Dutchman" who obtained his position through political influence. When similar complaints followed, he was asked to resign and he did, in September 1862.

Later career

He then returned to New York and opened his own studio. He also gave lectures on behalf of the

Cooper Union The Cooper Union for the Advancement of Science and Art (Cooper Union) is a private college at Cooper Square in New York City. Peter Cooper founded the institution in 1859 after learning about the government-supported École Polytechnique in ...

. Until 1871, he participated in exhibits at the National Academy and the

American Watercolor Society The American Watercolor Society, founded in 1866, is a nonprofit membership organization devoted to the advancement of watercolor painting in the United States. Qualifications AWS judges the work of a painter before granting admission to the soc ...

. However, his disputatious character reasserted itself, and he came to be viewed as an outsider. As a result, he left the United States, travelling through Europe and spending several months in

Palestine __NOTOC__ Palestine may refer to: * State of Palestine, a state in Western Asia * Palestine (region), a geographic region in Western Asia * Palestinian territories, territories occupied by Israel since 1967, namely the West Bank (including East ...

. In 1872, attracted by the paintings of the Düsseldorfer Malerschule, he went there to open a studio and stayed for three years.

Bettina Baumgärtel Bettina Baumgärtel (born 1957) is a German art historian who is head of the painting collection of the Museum Kunstpalast in Düsseldorf. She is a leading authority on the art of Angelica Kauffman and founded the Angelika Kauffmann Research Projec ...

, Sabine Schroyen, Lydia Immerheiser, Sabine Teichgröb: "Verzeichnis der ausländischen Künstler und Künstlerinnen. Nationalität, Aufenthalt und Studium in Düsseldorf". In

(Ed.): ''Die Düsseldorfer Malerschule und ihre internationale Ausstrahlung 1819–1918''.

Michael Imhof Verlag Michael Imhof Verlag is a German publishing company in Petersberg, Hesse. They are known especially for publishing books with a local interest, on art, on history, politics, religion, nature, and culture Culture () is an umbrella term which ...

, Petersberg 2011, , Vol.1, pg. 430 In 1875, he moved to Paris, where he also stayed for three years. This was followed by some time in London. Every so often, he visited the United States to sell his paintings. This would involve planned events, to which he invited journalists, and populist-themed lectures; attacking the established, academic art scene. He returned to the United States in 1881 and settled briefly in Chicago, where he had friends he had helped out financially after the

Great Chicago Fire The Great Chicago Fire was a conflagration that burned in the American city of Chicago during October 8–10, 1871. The fire killed approximately 300 people, destroyed roughly of the city including over 17,000 structures, and left more than 10 ...

. For one year, he held a teaching position in Olivet, Michigan, then moved back to New York. He died there, in his studio, in 1904.

Selected paintings

File:Fairman-Edinburgh.jpg,

Edinburgh Castle Edinburgh Castle is a historic castle in Edinburgh, Edinburgh, Scotland. It stands on Castle Rock (Edinburgh), Castle Rock, which has been occupied by humans since at least the Iron Age, although the nature of the early settlement is unclear. ...

After the Storm File:Fairman-Jerusalem.jpg, Jerusalem from the Mount of Olives File:Fairman-Rescue.jpg, The Sea Rescue File:Fairman-Alpine.jpg, Alpine Landscape with River

References

External links