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Constant Mayer (October 3, 1829 – May 12, 1911) was a French painter who emigrated to the
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Constant Mayer (October 3, 1829 – May 12, 1911) was a French painter who emigrated to the United States
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 territori ...
.
Mayer was born in Besançon
Besançon (, , , ; archaic german: Bisanz; la, Vesontio) is the prefecture of the department of Doubs in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. The city is located in Eastern France, close to the Jura Mountains and the border with Switzer ...
, France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...
to a Jewish family. He studied in Paris
Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, 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), ma ...
in the École des Beaux-Arts
École des Beaux-Arts (; ) refers to a number of influential art schools in France. The term is associated with the Beaux-Arts style in architecture and city planning that thrived in France and other countries during the late nineteenth centur ...
and under Léon Cogniet
Léon Cogniet (29 August 1794 – 20 November 1880) was a French history and portrait painter. He is probably best remembered as a teacher, with more than one hundred notable students.
Biography
He was born in Paris. His father was a painter ...
, and followed his profession in that city until 1854, when he moved to New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
. Mayer worked as a colorist at the photography studio of Jeremiah Gurney and CD Fredericks, at 340 Broadway, in Manhattan. With his own studio, at 1155 Broadway, he became known for his genre or historical paintings based on literature, and particularly for his portraits. He also created many sketches and drawings. His sentimental Civil War-themed painting, "Recognition" of 1865, drew considerable attention over the years. In 1869, Mayer was made a chevalier of the Legion of Honor. He had been elected an associate 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 f ...
in 1866, and was also a member of the American Art Union.
Mayer left the U.S. in 1869 for Paris, where he died in 1911. In his will he left much of his assets to Jewish causes - in particular Jewish orphanages. Several of Mayer's works appear in the collections of world-renowned museums, such as 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 Art Institute of Chicago.
Works
Mayer is best known by his life-sized genre pictures. He contributed frequently to the Paris Salon. His works include portraits of General Grant of 1866 andGeneral Sherman
William Tecumseh Sherman ( ; February 8, 1820February 14, 1891) was an American soldier, businessman, educator, and author. He served as a general in the Union Army during the American Civil War (1861–1865), achieving recognition for his com ...
. Other works include:
* “Beggar-Girl” (1863)
* “Consolation” (1864)
* “Recognition” (1865)
* “Good Words” (1866)
* “Riches and Poverty”
* “Maud Muller”
* “Street Melodies” (1867)
* “Early Grief” (1869)
* “Oracle of the Field”
* “Song of the Shirt” (1875)
* “Song of the Twilight” (1879)
* “In the Woods” (1880)
* “The Vagabonds” (1881)
* “Lord's Day” (1883)
* “Lawn Tennis” (1883)
* “Mandolin Player” (1884)
* “First Grief” (1885)
* “The First Communion” (1886)
* “The Sewing School”
Notes
References
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Mayer, Constant 1829 births 1911 deaths 19th-century French painters French male painters 20th-century French painters 20th-century American male artists 19th-century American painters American male painters 20th-century American painters Knights of the Legion of Honour French emigrants to the United States Painters from New York City 19th-century American male artists 19th-century French male artists