Lawton S. Parker (7 April 1868 – 1954) was an American

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 ...

painter.

Biography

Born in Fairfield, Michigan, raised in Kearney, Nebraska, Parker studied at the

Art Institute of Chicago The Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago's Grant Park, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the world. Recognized for its curatorial efforts and popularity among visitors, the museum hosts approximately 1.5 mill ...

beginning in 1886. He traveled to France and studied at the

École des Beaux-Arts École des Beaux-Arts (; ) refers to a number of influential art schools in France. The term is associated with the Beaux-Arts style in architecture and city planning that thrived in France and other countries during the late nineteenth century ...

. For a time, he was associated with the Giverny art colony and adopted an impressionist style. After returning to the United States, in 1892 he was appointed professor of the

St. Louis School of Fine Arts The St. Louis School of Fine Arts was founded as the Saint Louis School and Museum of Fine Arts in 1879 as part of Washington University in St. Louis, and has continuously offered visual arts and sculpture education since then. Its purpose-buil ...

. He became director of art at

Beloit College Beloit College is a private liberal arts college in Beloit, Wisconsin. Founded in 1846, when Wisconsin was still a territory, it is the state's oldest continuously operated college. It is a member of the Associated Colleges of the Midwest and h ...

in 1893, and president of the New York School of Art in 1898-99. Beginning 1903, he resided 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 taught at the Art Institute. Among his sitters for portraits were Martin A. Ryerson, J. Ogden Armour, N. W. Harris, Harry P. Judson, and Peter S. Grosscup. He received the silver medal at the

Saint Louis Exposition The Saint Louis Exposition or St. Louis Expo was a series of annual agricultural and technical fairs held in St. Louis' Fairgrounds Park, from the 1850s to 1902. In 1904, the Louisiana Purchase Exposition, a major World's Fair, was held in St. ...

in 1904; gold medals at the International Exposition, Munich, in 1905, and at the

Paris Salon The Salon (french: Salon), or rarely Paris Salon (French: ''Salon de Paris'' ), beginning in 1667 was the official art exhibition of the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris. Between 1748 and 1890 it was arguably the greatest annual or biennial art ...

in 1913 (the first American so honored); and was awarded the medal of honor at the

Panama–Pacific International Exposition The Panama–Pacific International Exposition was a world's fair held in San Francisco, California, United States, from February 20 to December 4, 1915. Its stated purpose was to celebrate the completion of the Panama Canal, but it was widely s ...

in 1915. Parker was also the president of the

Rodin Studios The Rodin Studios, also known as 200 West 57th Street, is an office building at Seventh Avenue and 57th Street in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. It was designed by Cass Gilbert in the French Gothic style and built from 1916 to 1917. Na ...

corporation, which developed an artists' cooperative housing of the same name in New York City. He died at age 86 in

Pasadena, California Pasadena ( ) is a city in Los Angeles County, California, northeast of downtown Los Angeles. It is the most populous city and the primary cultural center of the San Gabriel Valley. Old Pasadena is the city's original commercial district. I ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Parker, Lawton 1868 births 1954 deaths 19th-century American painters American male painters 20th-century American painters American Impressionist painters American alumni of the École des Beaux-Arts People from Lenawee County, Michigan People from Kearney, Nebraska Académie Carmen alumni 19th-century American male artists 20th-century American male artists