Jennie V. Cannon
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Jennie Amelia Vennerström Cannon, also known as Jennie Vennerstrom Cannon (1869–1952), was an American artist who spent most of her career in California but gained national recognition. She received the first master's degree from the Art Department at
Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...
, studied in New York with
William Merritt Chase William Merritt Chase (November 1, 1849October 25, 1916) was an American painter, known as an exponent of Impressionism and as a teacher. He is also responsible for establishing the Chase School, which later would become Parsons School of Design. ...
, whom she befriended and later persuaded to teach at
Carmel-by-the-Sea Carmel-by-the-Sea (), often simply called Carmel, is a city in Monterey County, California, United States, founded in 1902 and incorporated on October 31, 1916. Situated on the Monterey Peninsula, Carmel is known for its natural scenery and ric ...
, California, and received both the Elliott Bronze Medal and the Langdon Prize 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 fin ...
. From her studio-homes in
Berkeley Berkeley most often refers to: *Berkeley, California, a city in the United States **University of California, Berkeley, a public university in Berkeley, California * George Berkeley (1685–1753), Anglo-Irish philosopher Berkeley may also refer ...
and
Carmel, California Carmel-by-the-Sea (), often simply called Carmel, is a city in Monterey County, California, United States, founded in 1902 and municipal corporation, incorporated on October 31, 1916. Situated on the Monterey Peninsula, Carmel is known for its n ...
, her art was sent on traveling exhibitions across the United States. She was instrumental in founding the
Carmel Art Association The Carmel Art Association (CAA) is a Not-for-profit arts organization and Art museum, gallery located in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California. The CAA is Carmel's oldest gallery. It features the work of many local artists living on the Monterey Peninsu ...
and the California League of Fine Arts in Berkeley. She championed women's equality in art communities across northern California. Her published art reviews appeared for decades in regional newspapers. An online facsimile of the entire text of Vol. 1 is posted on the Traditional Fine Arts Organization website ()


Early life

Jennie Amelia Vennerström was born to impoverished immigrants from Sweden on August 31, 1869 outside of
Albert Lea Albert Lea may refer to: *Albert Lea, Minnesota, U.S. *Albert Lea Township, Freeborn County, Minnesota, U.S. *Albert Miller Lea Albert Miller Lea (July 23, 1808 – January 16, 1891) was an American engineer, soldier, and topographer with the ...
,
Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...
. Within a few years her mother had died and her father had abandoned the family. She and her sister were passed among relatives and received little formal education. Jennie became a voracious reader and with a series of part-time jobs and special tutoring she earned a bachelor's degree from
Hamline University Hamline University is a private liberal arts college in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Founded in 1854, Hamline is known for its emphasis on experiential learning, service, and social justice. The university is named after Bishop Leonidas Lent Hamline o ...
in 1895. Her career in art quickly accelerated with her studies under Arthur Bridgman Clark and
Bolton Brown Bolton Coit Brown (November 27, 1864 – September 15, 1936) was an American painter, lithographer, and mountaineer. He was one of the original founders of the Byrdcliffe Colony in Woodstock, NY, part of what is now referred to as the Woodstock A ...
at
Stanford University Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. Stanford is consider ...
, where she earned the first Master's degree in art.


Career

On January 9, 1898 she married the botanist William Austin Cannon in
Pacific Grove, California Pacific Grove is a coastal city in Monterey County, California, in the United States. The population at the 2020 census was 15,090. Pacific Grove is located between Point Pinos and Monterey. Pacific Grove has numerous Victorian-era houses, so ...
. When the couple moved to New York City in 1901, Jennie studied with the genre painter Edgar Melville Ward 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 fin ...
, where she was awarded the prestigious Elliott Bronze Medal in Sculpture and the Langdon Prize for Graphic Design. The following year she studied with
William Merritt Chase William Merritt Chase (November 1, 1849October 25, 1916) was an American painter, known as an exponent of Impressionism and as a teacher. He is also responsible for establishing the Chase School, which later would become Parsons School of Design. ...
at the New York School of Art, but was compelled to move in September 1903 to
Tucson, Arizona , "(at the) base of the black ill , nicknames = "The Old Pueblo", "Optics Valley", "America's biggest small town" , image_map = , mapsize = 260px , map_caption = Interactive map ...
to accommodate her husband's employment. Every summer she travelled to the Monterey Peninsula on the Pacific Coast and in 1907 purchased real estate in
Carmel Carmel may refer to: * Carmel (biblical settlement), an ancient Israelite town in Judea * Mount Carmel, a coastal mountain range in Israel overlooking the Mediterranean Sea * Carmelites, a Roman Catholic mendicant religious order Carmel may also ...
, where she joined the local art colony and habitually exhibited at the
Carmel Arts and Crafts Club The Carmel Arts and Crafts Club was an art gallery, clubhouse founded in 1905, by Elsie Allen, a former art instructor for Wellesley College. The club was located at Monte Verde Street in Carmel-by-the-Sea, California, where the Golden Bough P ...
. In January 1910, she began advanced studies with
Frank Brangwyn Sir Frank William Brangwyn (12 May 1867 – 11 June 1956) was a Welsh artist, painter, watercolourist, printmaker, illustrator, and designer. Brangwyn was an artistic jack-of-all-trades. As well as paintings and drawings, he produced des ...
at the London School of Art and concluded with a grand tour of Europe and North Africa. On her return to the United States she became a prolific exhibitor. Between October 1911 and October 1912 at juried exhibitions in the state and county fairs of Arizona she was awarded a total of 13 first prizes and 3 second prizes. In 1914 Jennie persuaded
William Merritt Chase William Merritt Chase (November 1, 1849October 25, 1916) was an American painter, known as an exponent of Impressionism and as a teacher. He is also responsible for establishing the Chase School, which later would become Parsons School of Design. ...
to teach his last summer class in Carmel and was elected to the Society of Monterey Artists. After a traumatic divorce from her husband in 1917 she traveled to New York City and joined the radical People's Art Guild. On her return to California a year later she became a founding member of the
Laguna Beach Art Association The Laguna Art Museum (LAM) is a museum located in Laguna Beach, California, on Pacific Coast Highway. LAM exclusively features California art and is the oldest cultural institution in the area. It has been known as the Laguna Beach Art Associati ...
and purchased a home in Berkeley, California. Relying solely on the sales of her art and the earnings from her students and weekly art reviews in the ''Berkeley Daily Gazette'', she supported both of her sons through college. In 1923 she was the co-founder of the California League of Fine Arts in Berkeley, where she insisted that women artists be given equal representation on juries; she was honored with the first one-person show in the League Galleries. In 1926 she was the only woman artist with a biography in the official five-volume history of the State of California. A year later she conceived of and helped organize the Carmel Art Association. In the 1930s she deemphasized oil painting in favor of graphic arts and watercolors. Her art traveled across the United States on “circuit exhibitions” sponsored by the
American Federation of Arts The American Federation of Arts (AFA) is a nonprofit organization that creates art exhibitions for presentation in museums around the world, publishes exhibition catalogues, and develops education programs. The organization’s founding in 1909 w ...
and the National League of American Pen Women.''El Palacio, The Magazine of the Museum of New Mexico'' (Santa Fe, NM), January 12–26, 1929, p. 59. She died in Tucson, Arizona, on December 12, 1952.


Published works

''Watershed Drama: Battle Lake, Minnesota''. Berkeley, Calif.: J. J. Gillick & Co., 1943.


References


External links

* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cannon, Jennie V. 1869 births 1952 deaths American Impressionist painters American landscape painters American women painters Artists from Berkeley, California Artists from Tucson, Arizona Painters from California Stanford University alumni 20th-century American women artists People from Carmel-by-the-Sea, California