Louise Howland King Cox (June 23, 1865—1945) was an American

painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

known for her

portraits A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expressions are predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, personality, and even the mood of the person. For this re ...

of children. She won a number of prizes throughout her career, notably a bronze medal at the 1900 Paris Exposition and a silver medal at the 1901

Pan-American Exposition The Pan-American Exposition was a World's Fair held in Buffalo, New York, United States, from May 1 through November 2, 1901. The fair occupied of land on the western edge of what is now Delaware Park, extending from Delaware Avenue to Elmwood A ...

in Buffalo.

Early and personal life

Louise Howland King Cox, by Kenyon Cox, 1892

Louise Howland King was born in

San Francisco San Francisco (; Spanish language, Spanish for "Francis of Assisi, Saint Francis"), officially the City and County of San Francisco, is the commercial, financial, and cultural center of Northern California. The city proper is the List of Ca ...

California California is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States, located along the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the List of states and territori ...

, on June 23, 1865, to Anna Stott and James King.John William Leonard.
Woman's Who's who of America: A Biographical Dictionary of Contemporary Women of the United States and Canada, 1914-1915
'. American Commonwealth Company; 1914. p. 211. Her family moved to New York when she was a child. In 1872, Anna King had sued her husband for divorce, citing cruel and inhumane treatment. James C. King was convicted for a murder related to that suit in November 1872."The Pine Street Murder: Inquest by Coroner Herrman on the Body of O'Neil. Evidence of the Murdered Man's Wife A Verdict Against King Extraneous Evidence Excluded by the Coroner." ''New York Times.'' Article about November 18, 1872 murder. Retrieved April 26, 2014. In 1880, when she was 14, Louise attended small school of Lucy McGuire in

Dover, New Jersey Dover is a town in Morris County, New Jersey, United States. Located on the Rockaway River, Dover is about west of New York City and about west of Newark, New Jersey. As of the 2010 United States Census, the town's population was 18,157,

. When she first attended art school she lived with her mother and sister Pauline.Howard Wayne Morgan.
Kenyon Cox: 1856-1919 : a Life in American Art
'. Kent State University Press; January 1994. . pp. 124-125. On June 30, 1892, she wed her former teacher

Kenyon Cox Kenyon Cox (October 27, 1856 – March 17, 1919) was an American Painting, painter, illustrator, muralist, writer, and teacher. Cox was an influential and important early instructor at the Art Students League of New York. He was the designer of t ...

Belmont, Massachusetts Belmont is a town in Middlesex County, Massachusetts. It is a western suburb of Boston, Massachusetts, United States; and is part of the Greater Boston metropolitan area. At the time of the 2020 U.S. Census, the town's population stood at 27,295 ...

, at the home of her aunt,Kenyon Cox.
An Artist of the American Renaissance: The Letters of Kenyon Cox, 1883-1919
'. Kent State University Press; January 1995. . p. 16. Mrs. B.M. Jones.Howard Wayne Morgan.
Kenyon Cox: 1856-1919 : a Life in American Art
'. Kent State University Press; January 1994. . p. 129. Kenyon, who had thought he might be a lifelong bachelor, realized that he was in love with Louise, but he did not express his feelings for some time. They wrote long letters to each other during the period that she was a teacher in

Toledo, Ohio Toledo ( ) is a city in and the county seat of Lucas County, Ohio, United States. A major Midwestern United States port city, Toledo is the fourth-most populous city in the state of Ohio, after Columbus, Cleveland, and Cincinnati, and according ...

. In a letter that he wrote to her in 1887, he commended her artistic talent and expressed his belief that she would have a successful career and said: That same year he declared her to be his best student. In January 1892, after she had returned to New York, the couple became engaged and both became like "moonstruck youngsters".Kenyon Cox.
An Artist of the American Renaissance: The Letters of Kenyon Cox, 1883-1919
'. Kent State University Press; January 1995. . pp. 14–15. Kenyon Cox wrote his mother, "Long before I felt the thrill of love, I knew that she would make the best wife in the world for me if I should love her . . . When love came to add to the friendship and confidence, I felt safe and so we mean to marry as soon as we can." They both exhibited their works at the National Academy of Design and the Society of American Artists. In April 1893, Louise suffered a miscarriage and the couple sailed for Europe about the ''SS Maasdam'' weeks before their first anniversary. The trip, partly for her emotional recuperation, included travel to Paris, Italy, and the Netherlands. They had three children. Leonard, born in 1894 and named after Leonard Opdycke, was a war hero and had a career in city planning and architecture. Son

Allyn Allyn is both a unisex given name and a surname. Notable people with the name include: ;Given name: * Leigh-Allyn Baker (born 1972), American actress, director and voice artist * Allyn L. Brown (1883–1973), American judge * Allyn Capron (18 ...

, born two years later, became an artist, particularly noted for his mural paintings, and an interior decorator. Daughter Caroline born in 1898 was also a talented artist. The family lived in New York City on East 67th Street and in 1910 Louise's mother, Anna T. King, a writer, lived with them. Cox enjoyed gardening. She did not support the

Women's suffrage Women's suffrage is the right of women to vote in elections. Beginning in the start of the 18th century, some people sought to change voting laws to allow women to vote. Liberal political parties would go on to grant women the right to vot ...

tte movement. Cox lived in Italy, Hawaii, and a northern suburb of New York following the death of her husband.Ann Lee Morgan Former Visiting Assistant Professor University of Illinois at Chicago.
The Oxford Dictionary of American Art and Artists
'. Oxford University Press; 27 June 2007. . p. 102. She lived in Honolulu, Hawaii by 1930 and as late as 1935. In 1940 she lived on Roaring Brook Road on New Castle, Westchester, New York. At that time she was 74 years of age and still operated and painted in a studio. She died December 11, 1945 in

Windham, Connecticut Windham is a town in Windham County, Connecticut, United States. It contains the former city of Willimantic as well as the boroughs of Windham Center, North Windham, and South Windham. Willimantic, an incorporated city since 1893, was consoli ...

. She was cremated, as was her husband Kenyon, and their ashes were scattered together at Cornish, New Hampshire where they spent their summers. File:Louise Howland King, about 1868 jpg.jpg, Louise Howland King, about 1868 File:Louise and Kenyon, 1895 jpg.jpg, Louise and

, 1896 File:Louise and Kenyon Cox and family, about 1906 jpg.jpg,

, Louise, Leonard, Caroline and Kenyon Cox, about 1906

Education

With financial help from an aunt in Boston, Louise Cox attended 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 ...

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 ...

, and is quoted as saying, "Although I was born in 1865 in San Francisco, it was not until sixteen years later that I started to live, for in 1881 I entered the National Academy of Design." During her time at the National Academy of Design, Louise Cox learned an academic style of painting, grounded in the style of

Jean-Léon Gérôme Jean-Léon Gérôme (11 May 1824 – 10 January 1904) was a French painter and sculptor in the style now known as academicism. His paintings were so widely reproduced that he was "arguably the world's most famous living artist by 1880." The ran ...

(One of her instructors, Professor

Lemuel Wilmarth Lemuel Everett Wilmarth (November 11, 1835 – July 27, 1918) was an American painter. He was a founder of the Art Students League of New York and a member of the National Academy of Design. He was professor in charge of the schools of the Nation ...

, was taught by Gérôme). According to Cox, the Gérôme principles "were based on study, thoroughness, and self-discipline" and her "grounding in the Gérôme tradition prevented my taking on the arty methods in vogue". She left after two years to enroll with the

Art Students League The Art Students League of New York is an art school at American Fine Arts Society, 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 ...

,''Louise Howland King Cox''.
National Academy Museum. Retrieved April 25, 2014. partially supported by a friend of her mother, and studied under

Thomas Dewing Thomas Wilmer Dewing (May 4, 1851November 5, 1938) was an American painter working at the turn of the 20th century. Schooled in Paris, Dewing was noted for his figure paintings of aristocratic women. He was a founding member of the Ten America ...

. She received a less traditional education at the League, which was unendowed and run by students. Some classes were held collaboratively by the students alone. During a student-led sketching class she quickly learned to interpret and understand forms, which she said "helped me in my later portrait painting of young, active children" Students sometimes dressed in mythic and historic

costumes Costume is the distinctive style of dress or cosmetic of an individual or group that reflects class, gender, profession, ethnicity, nationality, activity or epoch. In short costume is a cultural visual of the people. The term also was tradition ...

, which became the subject of her paintings.Howard Wayne Morgan.
Kenyon Cox: 1856-1919 : a Life in American Art
'. Kent State University Press; January 1994. . p. 126. It was at the Art Students League that Louise Cox met her art instructor and future husband,

. Having a solid reputation at the League, Kenyon Cox was selected as the 1885 instructor for the women's life class. Her other instructors included

J. Alden Weir Julian Alden Weir (August 30, 1852 – December 8, 1919) was an American impressionist painter and member of the Cos Cob Art Colony near Greenwich, Connecticut. Weir was also one of the founding members of "The Ten", a loosely allied group of ...

George de Forest Brush George de Forest Brush (September 28, 1855 – April 24, 1941) was an American painter and Georgist. In collaboration with his friend, the artist Abbott H. Thayer, he made contributions to military camouflage, as did his wife, aviator and artist ...

, and

Charles Yardley Turner Charles Yardley "C. Y." Turner (November 25, 1850 – January 1, 1919) was an American painter, illustrator, muralist and teacher. His genre scenes and American historical paintings were popularized through engravings and book illustrations. Bio ...

. She was considered an attractive, industrious student with a good sense of humor.

Career

Cox's first renowned painting was ''The Lotus Eaters'', which was displayed at the National Academy of Design in 1887, the Paris Exposition in 1889, and with ''A Rondel'' at the

Palace of Fine Arts The Palace of Fine Arts is a monumental structure located in the Marina District of San Francisco, California, originally constructed for the 1915 Panama–Pacific International Exposition to exhibit works of art. Completely rebuilt from 1964 to ...

at the 1893

World's Columbian Exposition The World's Columbian Exposition (also known as the Chicago World's Fair) was a world's fair held in Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordi ...

in Chicago, Illinois. In 1893 Cox displayed the painting, ''Psyche'' at an annual exhibition for the Society of American Artists. She was elected a member in the same year. The National Academy of Design awarded her the 1896 Third

Hallgarten Prize The Julius Hallgarten Prizes (defunct) were a trio of prestigious art prizes awarded by 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 ...

for ''Pomona'', and the 1904 Second Hallgarten Prize for ''The Sisters''. Beginning in 1896 Louise and Keynon Cox spent the summers with their children in the country's first major artist colony, the

Cornish Art Colony The Cornish Art Colony (or Cornish Artists’ Colony, or Cornish Colony) was a popular art colony centered in Cornish, New Hampshire from about 1895 through the years of World War I. Attracted by the natural beauty of the area, about 100 artists, ...

in New Hampshire. At Cornish she made paintings of her children and local children, some of which were commissioned portraits.Steve Shipp.
American Art Colonies, 1850-1930: A Historical Guide to America's Original Art Colonies and Their Artists
'. Greenwood Publishing Group; 1996. . p. 13. She was elected an Associate of the

in 1902. She also became a member of the

Woman's Art Club of New York The Woman's Art Club of New York was founded in New York City in 1889 and provided a means for social interaction and marketing of women's works of art. The club accepted members from the United States and abroad. In 1913, the group changed its name ...

. She painted still life, ideal figures, and portraits but was best known for her

portraiture A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expressions are predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, personality, and even the mood of the person. For this re ...

of children. Her works are in 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 ...

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, ...

High Museum of Art The High Museum of Art (colloquially the High) is the largest museum for visual art in the Southeastern United States. Located in Atlanta, Georgia (on Peachtree Street in Midtown, the city's arts district), the High is 312,000 square feet (28, ...

in Atlanta, Georgia,

Smithsonian American Art Museum The Smithsonian American Art Museum (commonly known as SAAM, and formerly the National Museum of American Art) is a museum in Washington, D.C., part of the Smithsonian Institution. Together with its branch museum, the Renwick Gallery, SAAM holds o ...

in Washington, D.C., and the

in New York, New York. Cox also carved wood and was a photographer. She was considered among the "outstanding stained-glass artists," such as Wright Goodhue,

David Maitland Armstrong David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

and

William Willet William Willet (November 1, 1869 – March 29, 1921) was an American portrait painter, muralist, stained glass designer, studio owner and writer. An early proponent of the Gothic Revival and active in the "Early School" of American stained gl ...

. File:Louise Howland King Cox, A Lady, in profile to the left before an 'Arts and Crafts' background, estimate 1892 or before.jpg, ''A Lady, in profile to the left before an Arts and Crafts background'' File:Louise Howland King Cox, A Rondel, 1892, oil on canvas, High Museum of Art, Atlanta, Georgia.jpg, ''A Rondel,'' 1892, oil on canvas,
High Museum of Art, Atlanta, Georgia File:Louise Cox, The Rose, 1898.jpg, Louise Cox, ''The Rose,'' 1898 File:Louise Howland King Cox, Portrait of Leonard Cox, 1895.jpg, ''Portrait of Leonard Cox,'' 1895,

File:Louise Howland King, Allyn Cox in Infancy.jpg, ''Allyn Cox in Infancy,'' 1898, National Academy of Design, New York File:Louise Cox, May Flowers, 1911.jpg, ''May Flowers,'' 1911, Smithsonian American Art Museum File:Louise Howland King Cox, Portrait of a Young Boy in a Sailor's Costume, 1912.jpg, ''Portrait of a Young Boy in a Sailor's Costume,'' 1912

Awards

* 1896 — Third Hallgarten prize of the National Academy of Design for ''Pamona''John Howard Brown.
Lamb's Biographical Dictionary of the United States: Chubb-Erich
'. James H. Lamb Company; 1900. p. 217. * 1900 — Bronze medal at the Paris Universal Exposition * 1901 — Silver medal at the

in Buffalo, New York
Bulletin
'. Smithsonian Institution Press; 1916. p. 127. * 1903 — Julia Shaw Memorial prize from 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 ...

. * 1904 — Silver medal from the St. Louis Exposition in 1904. * 1904 — Second Hallgarten prize of the National Academy of Design.

Works

* ''A Rondel,'' 1892, oil on canvas,

, Atlanta, Georgia * ''Allyn Cox,'' 1940, oil on canvas,

, New York, New York * ''Allyn Cox in Infancy,'' 1898, oil on canvas, National Academy of Design, New York, New York * ''Angiola'', 1897 * ''May Flowers'', 1911, oil on canvas, 24 1/8 × 20 1/8 in. (61.2 × 51.0 cm),

, Gift of William T. Evans * ''Mural Study,'' 1892, oil on canvas, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Washington, District of Columbia * ''Pamona'' * ''Portrait of Leonard Cox'', 1895, oil on canvas, 11 3/4 × 12 in. (29.8 × 30.5 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of Allyn Cox * ''Portrait of a Young Girl'', oil, Lagakos-Turak Gallery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania''Search: Louise Cox.''
SIRIS. Smithsonian Institution. Retrieved April 25, 2014. * ''Portrait of Mrs. John Larkin,'' 1903 * ''Portrait of the Artist's Daughter,'' oil on canvas, private collection * ''Psyche,'' 1893 * ''The Fates,'' 1894 * ''Untitled (Child with Sun Dial),'' , pencil on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of Allyn Cox * ''Untitled (Draped Female Figure),'' , pencil on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of Allyn Cox * ''(Untitled-nude female figure),'' , pencil on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of Allyn Cox * ''Untitled (Seated Draped Female Allegorical Figure),'' , pencil on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of Allyn Cox * ''Untitled (Seated Draped Female Figure, Profile),'' , pencil on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of Allyn Cox * ''Untitled (Seated Young Girl)'', 1903, pencil and pastel on paper, 15 7/8 × 10 3/8 in. (40.2 × 26.5 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of Allyn Cox * ''Untitled '', , pencil on paper, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Bequest of Allyn CoxSearch: Louise Cox"
Collections. Smithsonian American Art Museum. Retrieved April 26, 2014.

References

External links

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cox, Louise 1865 births 1945 deaths American women painters Artists from San Francisco Painters from California National Academy of Design alumni Art Students League of New York alumni 19th-century American painters 20th-century American painters 20th-century American women artists 19th-century American women artists