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Will Hicok Low (March 31, 1853November 27, 1932) or Will Hicock Low was an American artist,
He was an instructor in the schools of
UNCG American Publishers' Trade Bindings: Will Hicok Low
{{DEFAULTSORT:Low, Will Hicok 1853 births 1933 deaths American muralists 19th-century American painters American male painters 20th-century American painters National Academy of Design members National Academy of Design faculty Artists from Albany, New York American portrait painters Art Nouveau illustrators American illustrators 19th-century American male artists 20th-century American male artists Members of the American Academy of Arts and Letters
Will Hicok Low (March 31, 1853November 27, 1932) or Will Hicock Low was an American artist, muralist
A mural is any piece of graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage.
Word mural in art
The word ''mural'' is a Spanish ...
, and writer on art.
Biography
He was born atAlbany, New York
Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York City ...
. In 1873 he entered the atelier
An atelier () is the private workshop or studio of a professional artist in the fine or decorative arts or an architect, where a principal master and a number of assistants, students, and apprentices can work together producing fine art or v ...
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 ...
in the École des Beaux Arts
École may refer to:
* an elementary school in the French educational stages normally followed by Secondary education in France, secondary education establishments (collège and lycée)
* École (river), a tributary of the Seine flowing in région ...
at Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
, subsequently joining the classes 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 ...
, with whom he remained until 1877. Returning to New York
New York most commonly refers to:
* New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York
* New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States
New York may also refer to:
Film and television
* '' ...
, he became a member of 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 ...
in 1878 and of 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 ...
in 1890. His pictures of New England
New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...
types, and illustrations of John Keats
John Keats (31 October 1795 – 23 February 1821) was an English poet of the second generation of Romantic poets, with Lord Byron and Percy Bysshe Shelley. His poems had been in publication for less than four years when he died of tuberculo ...
, brought him into prominence.
He married Berthe Julienne in France in 1878.
Subsequently, he turned his attention to decoration, and executed panels and medallions for the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel
The Waldorf Astoria New York is a luxury hotel and condominium residence in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. The structure, at 301 Park Avenue between 49th and 50th Streets, is a 47-story Art Deco landmark designed by architects Schultze ...
in 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 ...
, a panel for the Essex County Court House in Newark, New Jersey
Newark ( , ) is the most populous city in the U.S. state of New Jersey and the seat of Essex County and the second largest city within the New York metropolitan area.stained glass
Stained glass is coloured glass as a material or works created from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant religious buildings. Although tradition ...
windows for various churches, including St. Paul's Methodist Episcopal Church
The Methodist Episcopal Church (MEC) was the oldest and largest Methodist denomination in the United States from its founding in 1784 until 1939. It was also the first religious denomination in the US to organize itself on a national basis. In ...
, Newark
Newark most commonly refers to:
* Newark, New Jersey, city in the United States
* Newark Liberty International Airport, New Jersey; a major air hub in the New York metropolitan area
Newark may also refer to:
Places Canada
* Niagara-on-the ...
.
He was an instructor in the schools of 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 ...
, New York, during 1882 to 1885, and in the school of the National Academy of Design from 1889 to 1892. Low, who is known to a wider circle as the friend of R. L. Stevenson, published some reminiscences, ''A Chronicle of Friendships, 1873-1900'' (1908).
In 1909 he illustrated the book "In Arcady" by Hamilton Wright Mabie
Hamilton Wright Mabie, A.M., L.H.D., LL.D. (December 13, 1846 – December 31, 1916) was an American essayist, editor, critic, and lecturer.
Biography
Hamilton Wright Mabie was born at Cold Spring, New York on December 13, 1846. He was the young ...
. The style was influenced by the Art Nouveau
Art Nouveau (; ) is an international style of art, architecture, and applied art, especially the decorative arts. The style is known by different names in different languages: in German, in Italian, in Catalan, and also known as the Modern ...
movement.
After the death of Berthe, in 1909 he married the former Mary Fairchild, the former wife of sculptor Frederick William MacMonnies
Frederick William MacMonnies (September 28, 1863 – March 22, 1937) was the best known expatriate American sculptor of the Beaux-Arts school, as successful and lauded in France as he was in the United States. He was also a highly accomplishe ...
.
He painted a series of murals in the New York State Education Department rotunda in Albany, New York. Using figures and symbols from Roman and Greek mythology paired with New York buildings and landscapes, the artist charts major milestones in human progress—in terms of art, science, technology, modernization, liberty, democracy, and quality of life. The earliest panels, such as Architecture, Astronomy & Geography, and Medicine & Chemistry, combine theory and practical skills. Another eight, including Theseus, the Pathfinder, feature modern inventions to show how far humankind had progressed by the early 20th century. The final paintings reflect a patriotic theme, with subjects such as The Standard, The United States Military Academy, and the Shaft of Union. Taken together, these paintings—originally gracing the entrances of the State Library Main Reading Room, the Law Library, and the Periodicals Library—complement the Rotunda's architectural nobility and its aura of intellectual enlightenment.
Another mural by him is located in the Howard M. Metzenbaum U.S. Courthouse.
Notes
External links
UNCG American Publishers' Trade Bindings: Will Hicok Low
{{DEFAULTSORT:Low, Will Hicok 1853 births 1933 deaths American muralists 19th-century American painters American male painters 20th-century American painters National Academy of Design members National Academy of Design faculty Artists from Albany, New York American portrait painters Art Nouveau illustrators American illustrators 19th-century American male artists 20th-century American male artists Members of the American Academy of Arts and Letters