William Jacob Baer (January 29, 1860 – September 21, 1941) was an American artist, considered the foremost American miniature painter.
Biography
![Brooklyn Museum - Portrait of a Woman in Black - William Jacob Baer](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/5/53/Brooklyn_Museum_-_Portrait_of_a_Woman_in_Black_-_William_Jacob_Baer.jpg)
William Jacob Baer was born in
Cincinnati, Ohio
Cincinnati ( ) is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Hamilton County. Settled in 1788, the city is located at the northern side of the confluence of the Licking and Ohio rivers, the latter of which marks the state line wi ...
on January 29, 1860.
He was a lithographer's apprentice at Donaldson and Company in Cincinnati from 1876 to 1879. During the same period he attended an evening modeling class at the
McMicken School of Design
The Art Academy of Cincinnati is a private college of art and design in Cincinnati, Ohio, accredited by the National Association of Schools of Art and Design. It was founded as the McMicken School of Design in 1869, and was a department of the U ...
, taught by
Louis Rebisso
Louis Thomas Rebisso (1837 in Italy – 3 May 1899 in Norwood, Ohio) was an Italian-born United States of America, American sculptor and teacher.
Biography
In Italy, Rebisso studied with the sculptor Rubalto and in an art academy under Varni. At ...
. He continued his training in
Munich
Munich ( ; german: München ; bar, Minga ) is the capital and most populous city of the German state of Bavaria. With a population of 1,558,395 inhabitants as of 31 July 2020, it is the third-largest city in Germany, after Berlin and Ha ...
at the
Royal Academy from 1880 to 1884, studying oil painting with
Ludwig Löfftz. He received medals in all his courses, and the Academy purchased one of his watercolors.
In 1913, Baer was elected into 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 f ...
as an Associate member.
Upon his return to the United States, Baer settled into the
Montclair, New Jersey
Montclair () is a township in Essex County in the U.S. state of New Jersey. Situated on the cliffs of the Watchung Mountains, Montclair is a wealthy and diverse commuter town and suburb of New York City within the New York metropolitan area. ...
art colony to continue his career as a genre painter, portrait painter, and teacher. He was attracted there by his friend, Alexander Drake (the art editor ''
Scribner’s Monthly
''Scribner's Monthly: An Illustrated Magazine for the People'' was an illustrated American literary periodical published from 1870 until 1881. Following a change in ownership in 1881 of the company that had produced it, the magazine was relaunch ...
''). Drake encouraged him to teach a class in engraving and black-and-white draftsmanship for illustrators; class members were dubbed the "Carbonari".
In 1888 Baer became the instructor at
Round Lake, New York
Round Lake is a village in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population was 1,245 at the 2020 census. The name is derived from a circular lake adjacent to the village. In 1975, the Round Lake Historic District, which encompasses the v ...
, for summer classes at a
Chautauqua
Chautauqua ( ) was an adult education and social movement in the United States, highly popular in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Chautauqua assemblies expanded and spread throughout rural America until the mid-1920s. The Chautauqua br ...
-like cultural enterprise to which he remained attached until 1891; in 1893 he took over the classes at Chautauqua itself for several years. In 1892 and '93, he turned from figure painting to miniatures (both portraits and other subjects), initially under the patronage of
Alfred Corning Clark
Alfred Corning Clark I (November 14, 1844 – April 8, 1896) was an American philanthropist and patron of the arts.
Early life
He was the son of Edward Cabot Clark (1811–1882) and Caroline ( née Jordan) Clark (1815–1874). His fath ...
, and soon Baer not only became the most renowned miniaturist in the country but also spearheaded the miniature-painting revival that began at that time. He was the first president of the
American Society of Miniature Painters, New York.
Baer exhibited at the
Chicago Worlds Fair of 1893. In New York and at the
Paris Exposition of 1900, Baer was awarded a 1st class medals. He also was a regular exhibitor at 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 f ...
, N.Y., the
Chicago Art Institute
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 ...
and the
Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art. Among his miniatures are ''The Golden Hour'', ''Daphne'', ''In Arcadia'', and ''Madonna with the Auburn Hair''.
In 1913, Baer was elected into 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 f ...
as an Associate member.
Baer died in
East Orange, New Jersey on September 21, 1941.
Notes
References
*American Federation of Arts
''American Art Directory, Volume 3'' Editor Florence Nightingale Levy, R.R. Bowker., 1900.
*Carr, Carolyn Kinder, ''Revisiting the White City: American Art at the 1893 World's Fair, National Portrait Gallery, 1993.
* Dearinger, David Bernard,
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 f ...
(U.S.), ''Paintings and Sculpture in the Collection of the National Academy of Design: 1826-1925'', Hudson Hills, 2004.
* Michigan State Library, ''Biographical Sketches of American Artists''
"Baer, William J.", p. 21–22.Michigan State library, 1912.
External links
*
William Jacob Baer writing about painting ivoryfrom the Smithsonian
Archives of American Art
The Archives of American Art is the largest collection of primary resources documenting the history of the visual arts in the United States. More than 20 million items of original material are housed in the Archives' research centers in Washingt ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Baer, William Jacob
1860 births
1941 deaths
19th-century American painters
American male painters
20th-century American painters
Artists from Cincinnati
Academy of Fine Arts, Munich alumni
19th-century American male artists
20th-century American male artists