America
The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...
n artist best known for his murals, which were commissioned for both public and private buildings.
Early life and education
Dodge was born at Liberty, Virginia in the Piedmont near Lynchburg. In 1879, his mother, Mary de Leftwich Dodge, an aspiring artist, moved her family to Europe. After living initially in
Munich
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the States of Germany, German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the List of cities in Germany by popu ...
they moved to Paris, where she worked on art. Dodge later followed her example and became an artist. He spent most of his childhood years in France, where his mother was working on art. He studied at the
Raphaël Collin
Louis-Joseph-Raphaël Collin (17 June 1850 – 21 October 1916) was a French painter born and raised in Paris, where he became a prominent academic painter and a teacher. He is principally known for the links he created between French and Japa ...
Dodge received early commissions that gained him attention in the United States, first at the
Columbian Exposition of 1893
The World's Columbian Exposition (also known as the Chicago World's Fair) was a world's fair held in Chicago in 1893 to celebrate the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World in 1492. The centerpiece of the Fair, hel ...
in Chicago where his mural "Glorification of the Arts and Sciences" adorned the interior dome of the Administration Building. The exposition was held to mark the 400th anniversary of Christopher Columbus's arrival in the New World. He was living in Paris when he applied for commissions for mural works for the
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...
, which he completed in 1895.
Move to New York City
After he and his family settled in New York, Dodge taught at the
Art Students League of New York
The Art Students League of New York is an art school at 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.
Although artists may stu ...
and at
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 ...
.
He became known as a muralist when the genre was at a peak of popularity, commissioned for major public buildings as well as hotels and mansions. Murals were seen as a kind of art that could reach directly to the people. Dodge drew on a variety of styles for his murals, settling on a heroic, neoclassical look. Achieving success with commissions for his murals, Dodge designed his family home in Setauket, Long Island, in 1906, the classical ''Villa Francesca,'' named after his wife.
In his private work, Dodge's paintings show the influence of
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 ...
. Toward the end of his career, Dodge became interested in
Mayan
Mayan most commonly refers to:
* Maya peoples, various indigenous peoples of Mesoamerica and northern Central America
* Maya civilization, pre-Columbian culture of Mesoamerica and northern Central America
* Mayan languages, language family spoken ...
art. His work is held in the permanent collections of the
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...
and 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 ...
.
Personal life
De Leftwich's completion of a series of murals for the
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...
in 1895 enabled him to marry Francesca (Fanny) Theodora Bland Pryor, daughter of
Sara Agnes Rice Pryor
Sara Agnes Rice Pryor, born Sara Agnes Rice (February 19, 1830 – February 15, 1912), was an American writer and community activist in New York City. Born and reared in Virginia, she moved North after the American Civil War with her husband and ...
and
Roger Atkinson Pryor
Roger Atkinson Pryor (July 19, 1828 – March 14, 1919) was a Virginian newspaper editor and politician who became known for his fiery oratory in favor of secession; he was elected both to national and Confederate office, and served as a gen ...
of Virginia and New York. Her mother was a civic activist and author who published several books in the early 1900s; her father was an attorney and became a justice of the New York State Supreme Court.
De Leftwich died at his New York City home at 52 West 9th Street in Manhattan. He is buried in Woodlawn Cemetery in The
Bronx
The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...
, New York City.
Murals
Dodge's important murals include:
* Murals for the Administration Building dome, designed by
Richard Morris Hunt
Richard Morris Hunt (October 31, 1827 – July 31, 1895) was an American architect of the nineteenth century and an eminent figure in the history of American architecture. He helped shape New York City with his designs for the 1902 entrance faà ...
, 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.
* Murals for the Thomas Jefferson Building,
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...
,
Washington, D.C.
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, 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, ...
, circa 1895.
* ''History of Canada'' murals for the
King Edward Hotel
The Omni King Edward Hotel is a historic luxury hotel in Downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada. The hotel is located at 37 King Street (Toronto), King Street East, and it occupies the entire block bounded by King Street on the north, Victoria Street ...
, Toronto, Ontario, the subject of a landmark artists' rights lawsuit, 1903.
* Murals for the Onondaga County Court House,
Syracuse, New York
Syracuse ( ) is a City (New York), city in and the county seat of Onondaga County, New York, Onondaga County, New York, United States. It is the fifth-most populous city in the state of New York following New York City, Buffalo, New York, Buffa ...
, 1904.
* Four lobby murals for the
Astor Hotel
Hotel Astor was a hotel on Times Square in the Midtown Manhattan neighborhood of New York City. Built in 1905 and expanded in 1909–1910 for the Astor family, the hotel occupied a site bounded by Broadway (Manhattan), Broadway, Shubert Alley, ...
, depicting ''Ancient and Modern New York'', 1904.
* Zodiac ceiling mosaic and other work, at the
Surrogate's Courthouse
The Surrogate's Courthouse (also the Hall of Records and 31 Chambers Street) is a historic building at the northwest corner of Chambers and Centre Streets in the Civic Center of Manhattan in New York City. Completed in 1907, it was design ...
(aka Hall of Records), New York City, circa 1905.
* Mural for the
Algonquin Hotel
The Algonquin Hotel is a hotel at 59 West 44th Street in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, United States. The 181-room hotel, opened in 1902, was designed by architect Goldwin Starrett for the Puritan Realty Company. The hotel has hosted numer ...
, New York, 1906.
* Works for a number of New York hotels and theaters, including three murals and the color scheme for the
Fulton Theatre/Helen Hayes Theatre
The Fulton Theatre was a Broadway theatre located at 210 West 46th Street in Manhattan, New York City, that was opened in 1911. It was renamed the Helen Hayes Theatre in 1955. The theatre was demolished in 1982. Since the former Little Theatre be ...
, architects
Herts & Tallant
Henry Beaumont Herts (January 23, 1871 – March 27, 1933) was an American architect.
Herts was born in New York City, attended Columbia University without graduating, and apprenticed under Bruce Price. He studied architecture in Europe at th ...
, 1911 (razed).
* "Atlantic and Pacific", one of several murals he made for the
Panama Pacific International Exposition
Panama ( , ; es, link=no, Panamá ), officially the Republic of Panama ( es, República de Panamá), is a transcontinental country spanning the southern part of North America and the northern part of South America. It is bordered by Cost ...
, San Francisco, 1915.
* Six murals for
Buffalo City Hall
Buffalo City Hall is the seat for municipal government in the City of Buffalo, New York. Located at 65 Niagara Square, the 32-story Art Deco building was completed in 1931 by Dietel, Wade & Jones.
The building is one of the largest and talle ...
, Buffalo, New York. Two large murals in the main entrance hall represent the city's role as a border city, while four murals at the end of hallways show the city's work in "Charity," "Protection," "Education," and "Construction." Completed 1931.
* Ceiling murals of battle scenes, Governor's Reception Room,
New York State Capitol
The New York State Capitol, the seat of the Government of New York State, New York state government, is located in Albany, New York, Albany, the List of U.S. state capitals, capital city of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. The seat o ...
,
Albany, 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 ...
.
* Three murals in the Great Reading Room, Seerley Hall at the
University of Northern Iowa
The University of Northern Iowa (UNI) is a public university in Cedar Falls, Iowa. UNI offers more than 90 majors across the colleges of Business Administration, Education, Humanities, Arts, and Sciences, Social and Behavioral Sciences and grad ...
. The first is called ''In Memoriam,'' the second ''Education,'' and the third is a combination of three paintings, called ''The Glory and Grandeur of Iowa''. The three sections of the third are known as ''Agriculture,'' ''The Council of Indians,'' and ''The Commonwealth''.
Gallery
Image:dodgealbany2.jpg, Central panel, ceiling of the Governor's Reception Room at the
New York State Capitol
The New York State Capitol, the seat of the Government of New York State, New York state government, is located in Albany, New York, Albany, the List of U.S. state capitals, capital city of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York. The seat o ...
in Albany, 1929
Image:Dodge Sunlit Path.jpg, Sunlit Path, 1891
Image:DodgeVictorianWomanInWhite.jpg, Victorian Woman in White, 1891
Image:Painting Art Library WmDodge.jpg, Mural in
Library of Congress
The Library of Congress (LOC) is the research library that officially serves the United States Congress and is the ''de facto'' national library of the United States. It is the oldest federal cultural institution in the country. The library is ...
Jefferson building, 1896
Image:DodgeMeditation.jpg, Meditation, 1897
Image:LastDaysofTenochtitlanB.jpg, Last Days of Tenochtitlan (Tulane University -
Surrogate's Courthouse
The Surrogate's Courthouse (also the Hall of Records and 31 Chambers Street) is a historic building at the northwest corner of Chambers and Centre Streets in the Civic Center of Manhattan in New York City. Completed in 1907, it was design ...
, New York City
File:Ceiling mosaic in the Surrogate's Courthouse (32331)c.jpg, Detail from the Surrogate's Courthouse mosaic, New York City