John Leslie Breck (1860–1899) was an American artist who died at the age of 39. During his short life he painted a number of notable works, and is credited with introducing

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 ...

to the United States with a show in Boston in 1890. He died in 1899, reported as death by asphyxiation from lighting gas poisoning, and is interred in Forest Hills Cemetery in Boston. His works remain in a number of American museums and private collections.

Life & Work

Breck was born off

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China ( abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delt ...

at sea in 1860, the son of a US Naval Officer. Returning to the United States, he grew up in

Newton, Massachusetts Newton is a city in Middlesex County, Massachusetts, United States. It is approximately west of downtown Boston. Newton resembles a patchwork of thirteen villages, without a city center. According to the 2020 U.S. Census, the population of Ne ...

, where he attended the Governor’s Academy for a year before matriculating from St. Mark's School in 1877. Following his graduation, the young artist studied painting at the Royal Munich Academy. Breck returned to Boston in 1882 and spent the next part of his career painting in New England. In 1886, John Leslie Breck returned to Europe to study in Paris 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 ...

. While at school, Breck established many connections that would impact his artistic style. He studied under

Gustave Boulanger Gustave Clarence Rodolphe Boulanger (25 April 1824 – 22 September 1888) was a French figurative painter and academic artist and teacher known for his Classical and Orientalist subjects. Education and career The Néo-Grecs and the Prix de Rom ...

and

Jules-Joseph Lefebvre Jules Joseph Lefebvre (; 14 March 183624 February 1911) was a French figure painter, educator and theorist. Early life Lefebvre was born in Tournan-en-Brie, Seine-et-Marne, on 14 March 1836. He entered the École nationale supérieure des Bea ...

, and also met a handful of fellow American artists studying abroad. In 1887 Breck, along with fellow American artists

Willard Metcalf Willard Leroy Metcalf (July 1, 1858March 9, 1925) was an American painter born in Lowell, Massachusetts. He studied at the School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and later attended Académie Julian, Paris. After early figure-painting and ill ...

and

Theodore Robinson Theodore Robinson (June 3, 1852April 2, 1896) was an American painter best known for his Impressionist landscapes. He was one of the first American artists to take up Impressionism in the late 1880s, visiting Giverny and developing a close frie ...

, traveled to

Giverny Giverny () is a commune in the northern French department of Eure.Commune de Giverny (27285)< ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, home of the

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

master Claude Monet, where he was befriended by Claude Monet. Breck introduced impressionism to the United States in 1890. Breck by then had already absorbed both the formal aspects of Dutch Mastery. At Giverny he learned and adopted the impressionist style and techniques of

Claude Monet Oscar-Claude Monet (, , ; 14 November 1840 – 5 December 1926) was a French painter and founder of impressionist painting who is seen as a key precursor to modernism, especially in his attempts to paint nature as he perceived it. During ...

. Despite some success exhibiting in the Salon in 1888 and 1889, Breck left Paris after breaking with Monet’s stepdaughter, Blanche Hoschédé-Monet.

Legacy

Upon his return to Boston in 1890 he exhibited at the St. Botolph Club in 1890. At that show, and with his remaining paintings of the period, one can note that the atmospheric perspective and vibrant colors of his landscapes of

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

Giverny Giverny () is a commune in the northern French department of Eure.Commune de Giverny (27285)< ...

, and

Venice Venice ( ; it, Venezia ; vec, Venesia or ) is a city in northeastern Italy and the capital of the Veneto Regions of Italy, region. It is built on a group of 118 small islands that are separated by canals and linked by over 400 ...

demonstrate not only his great talent as a landscape artist but his integration into the great artistic movement of impressionism. He died in 1899. There is a notable 1891 portrait of Breck in France by his friend

James Carroll Beckwith James Carroll Beckwith (September 23, 1852 – October 24, 1917) was an American landscape, portrait and genre painter whose Naturalist style led to his recognition in the late nineteenth and very early twentieth century as a respected figure in ...

on permanent exhibition at the

National Gallery of Art The National Gallery of Art, and its attached Sculpture Garden, is a national art museum in Washington, D.C., United States, located on the National Mall, between 3rd and 9th Streets, at Constitution Avenue NW. Open to the public and free of char ...

, in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

The John Leslie Breck fund, a legacy of the artist's estate, at St. Marks School of Southborough continues to support the fine arts there.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Breck, John Leslie 1860 births 1899 deaths Artists from Newton, Massachusetts St. Mark's School (Massachusetts) alumni Painters from Massachusetts American landscape painters 19th-century American painters American male painters Académie Julian alumni American Impressionist painters The Governor's Academy alumni 19th-century American male artists