Ralph Wormeley Curtis (August 28, 1854 – February 4, 1922) was an American painter and graphic artist in 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 ...
style. He spent most of his life in Europe, where he was a close associate of his distant cousin,
John Singer Sargent
John Singer Sargent (; January 12, 1856 – April 14, 1925) was an American expatriate artist, considered the "leading portrait painter of his generation" for his evocations of Edwardian-era luxury. He created roughly 900 oil paintings and more ...
, and
James McNeill Whistler
James Abbott McNeill Whistler (; July 10, 1834July 17, 1903) was an American painter active during the American Gilded Age and based primarily in the United Kingdom. He eschewed sentimentality and moral allusion in painting and was a leading pr ...
. He painted in a variety of genres, but was known mostly for landscapes and urban scenes; especially of Venice.
Early life
![Mrs Ralph Curtis](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/0/0a/Mrs_Ralph_Curtis.jpg)
Curtis was born in
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
on August 28, 1854. His father was the prominent lawyer and banker,
Daniel Sargent Curtis
Daniel Sargent Curtis (1825–1908) was an American lawyer and banker. He was a trustee of the Boston Public Library, director of the Boston National Bank and owner of Palazzi Barbaro, Venice.
Early life
Curtis was born in Boston, Massachuset ...
and his mother was Ariana Randolph Wormeley (1834-1922), a sister of
Elizabeth Wormeley Latimer
Mary Elizabeth Wormeley Latimer (July 26, 1822 – January 4, 1904) was an English-American writer, both of original works and translations.
Early life
Elizabeth was born on July 26, 1822, in London. She was the daughter of Admiral Ralph Randolp ...
, both descendants of
John Randolph (1727–1784).
His maternal grandfather, Ralph Randolph Wormeley, born in Virginia to loyalist parents, was raised in London and joined the Royal Navy, rising to the rank of admiral, while his grandmother, Caroline Preble, was from a venerable Boston family. His mother was therefore born and raised in London
and returned to the United States in 1848.
He spent much of his childhood in the affluent village of
Chestnut Hill. After attending some preparatory academies, including G. W. C. Noble's school in Boston, he studied law at
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of higher le ...
where, in 1876, he was a member of
Hasty Pudding Club
The Hasty Pudding Club, often referred to simply as the Pudding, is a social club at Harvard University, and one of three sub-organizations that comprise the Hasty Pudding - Institute of 1770. The club's motto, ''Concordia Discors'' (discordant h ...
and one of the co-founders of ''
The Harvard Lampoon
''The Harvard Lampoon'' is an undergraduate humor publication founded in 1876 by seven undergraduates at Harvard University in Cambridge, Massachusetts.
Overview
The ''Harvard Lampoon'' publication was founded in 1876 by seven undergraduates ...
''.
Career
Upon graduating, he convinced his parents to let him study art. He began 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 ...
in Paris, where he studied with
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 ...
,
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 the history painter,
Joseph-Nicolas Robert-Fleury
Joseph-Nicolas Robert-Fleury (8 August 17975 May 1890) was a French painter.
Biography
Born in Cologne, he was sent by his family to Paris, and after travelling in Italy returned to France and made his first appearance at the Salon in 1824; h ...
. Upon completing his work there, he found a position in the studios of
Carolus-Duran
Charles Auguste Émile Durand, known as Carolus-Duran (Lille 4 July 1837 – 17 February 1917 Paris), was a French painter and art instructor.
He is noted for his stylish depictions of members of high society in Third Republic France.
Biograph ...
.
It was there he first met John Singer Sargent, who would not only become a close friend, but also have a significant influence on his style.
In 1878, his parents moved to Europe; spending some time in Rome, where he paid them a visit and took more painting lessons. Eventually, they would settle in Venice; buying the
Palazzo Barbaro, which would become a cultural meeting place. One of their frequent guests was James McNeill Whistler, who would also become Curtis' friend and influence his style. Meanwhile, he opened his own studio in Paris. In 1880, he and Sargent visited the Netherlands to copy the works of
Frans Hals
Frans Hals the Elder (, , ; – 26 August 1666) was a Dutch Golden Age painter, chiefly of individual and group portraits and of genre works, who lived and worked in Haarlem.
Hals played an important role in the evolution of 17th-century group ...
and mingled with the art colony in
Scheveningen
Scheveningen is one of the eight districts of The Hague, Netherlands, as well as a subdistrict (''wijk'') of that city. Scheveningen is a modern seaside resort with a long, sandy beach, an esplanade, a pier, and a lighthouse. The beach is po ...
.
[Biographical notes](_blank)
@ the John Singer Sargent Gallery.
From 1881 through 1893, he was a regular exhibitor at the
Salon
Salon may refer to:
Common meanings
* Beauty salon, a venue for cosmetic treatments
* French term for a drawing room, an architectural space in a home
* Salon (gathering), a meeting for learning or enjoyment
Arts and entertainment
* Salon (P ...
and, in 1889, received Honorable Mention at the
Exposition Universelle.
He also had showings at the
Royal Academy of Arts
The Royal Academy of Arts (RA) is an art institution based in Burlington House on Piccadilly in London. Founded in 1768, it has a unique position as an independent, privately funded institution led by eminent artists and architects. Its purpo ...
, the
Grosvenor Gallery
The Grosvenor Gallery was an art gallery in London founded in 1877 by Sir Coutts Lindsay and his wife Blanche. Its first directors were J. Comyns Carr and Charles Hallé. The gallery proved crucial to the Aesthetic Movement because it provided ...
and the
Manchester Art Gallery
Manchester Art Gallery, formerly Manchester City Art Gallery, is a publicly owned art museum on Mosley Street in Manchester city centre. The main gallery premises were built for a learned society in 1823 and today its collection occupies three c ...
. He apparently made little money from his paintings, however; relying on his family's wealth for support.
Personal life
On June 6, 1897, he married Lisa de Wolfe (née Colt) Rotch (1871–1933) of
Providence
Providence often refers to:
* Providentia, the divine personification of foresight in ancient Roman religion
* Divine providence, divinely ordained events and outcomes in Christianity
* Providence, Rhode Island, the capital of Rhode Island in the ...
. Lisa, a daughter of George D'Wolf Colt, who was related to the
Colt
Colt(s) or COLT may refer to:
*Colt (horse), an intact (uncastrated) male horse under four years of age
People
* Colt (given name)
*Colt (surname)
Places
*Colt, Arkansas, United States
*Colt, Louisiana, an unincorporated community, United States ...
firearms family.
Together, they were the parents of:
* Sylvia Curtis (1899–1981),
married Alexander
Steinert Jr. of Boston.
They divorced and in 1947 she married Schuyler Owen (a descendant of signer of the
Declaration of Independence
A declaration of independence or declaration of statehood or proclamation of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the ...
,
Richard Stockton).
* Ralph Wormely Curtis (1908–1973), who married Cesarine Amelia Marie Harjes (1899–1949), the eldest surviving daughter of banker
Henry Herman Harjes
Henry Herman Harjes (20 February 1875 – 20 August 1926) was a French born American polo player and banker with Morgan, Harjes & Co.
Early life
Harjes was born on 20 February 1875 in Paris, France. He was a son of John Henry Harjes (1829–1914 ...
(a partner of
J.P. Morgan in Paris), in 1930.
After the birth of their daughter, Sylvia, they moved to
Beaulieu-sur-Mer
Beaulieu-sur-Mer (; oc, Bèuluec de Mar; it, Belluogo; "Beautiful Place on the Sea"), commonly referred to simply as Beaulieu, is a seaside commune on the French Riviera between Nice and the Principality of Monaco. Located in the Alpes-Marit ...
, a seaside village on the
French Riviera
The French Riviera (known in French as the ; oc, Còsta d'Azur ; literal translation " Azure Coast") is the Mediterranean coastline of the southeast corner of France. There is no official boundary, but it is usually considered to extend fro ...
between
Nice
Nice ( , ; Niçard: , classical norm, or , nonstandard, ; it, Nizza ; lij, Nissa; grc, Νίκαια; la, Nicaea) is the prefecture of the Alpes-Maritimes department in France. The Nice agglomeration extends far beyond the administrative c ...
and
Monaco
Monaco (; ), officially the Principality of Monaco (french: Principauté de Monaco; Ligurian: ; oc, Principat de Mónegue), is a sovereign city-state and microstate on the French Riviera a few kilometres west of the Italian region of Lig ...
, where they had two more children.
Curtis died at Beaulieu-sur-Mer on February 4, 1922.
Selected paintings
File:Ralph Curtis - James McNeill Whistler at a Party.jpg, Whistler at a Party
File:Ralph Curtis - The Bridge of Sighs, Venice.jpg, The Bridge of Sighs
The Bridge of Sighs (Italian: ''Ponte dei Sospiri'', vec, Ponte de i Sospiri) is a bridge in Venice, Italy. The enclosed bridge is made of white limestone, has windows with stone bars, passes over the Rio di Palazzo, and connects the New Priso ...
File:Ralph Curtis - Drifting with the Tide.jpg, Drifting with the Tide, Ralph Curtis
File:Ralph Curtis - Portrait of a Young Woman.jpg, Portrait of a
Young Woman
File:Ralph Curtis - Portrait of Robert Browning.jpg, Portrait of
Robert Browning
Robert Browning (7 May 1812 – 12 December 1889) was an English poet and playwright whose dramatic monologues put him high among the Victorian poets. He was noted for irony, characterization, dark humour, social commentary, historical settings ...
References
Further reading
* Elizabeth Anne McCauley: ''Gondola Days, Isabella Stewart Gardner and the Palazzo Barbaro Circle''. Isabella Stewart Gardner Museum, Boston 2004, .
External links
ArtNet: More works by Curtis.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Curtis, Ralph Wormeley
1854 births
1922 deaths
19th-century American painters
American male painters
20th-century American painters
Artists from Boston
American expatriates in France
The Harvard Lampoon alumni
Académie Julian alumni
19th-century American male artists
20th-century American male artists