John Fulton Folinsbee
Encyclopedia
John Fulton Folinsbee was an American
landscape painter
and member of the art colony
at New Hope, Pennsylvania
. He is best known today for his impressionist
scenes of New Hope and Lambertville, New Jersey
, particularly the factories, quarries, and canals along the Delaware River
.
Folinsbee was born in 1892 in Buffalo, New York
. As a child, he attended classes at the Art Students’ League of Buffalo, but received his first formal training in with the landscape painter Jonas Lie
when he was fifteen. Between 1907 and 1911, he attended the Gunnery School in Washington, Connecticut
, where he studied with Elizabeth Kempton and Herbert Faulkner. He later studied with Birge Harrison
and John Carlson in Woodstock
(summers, 1912-1914), and also with Frank Vincent DuMond at the Art Students’ League
in New York. At Woodstock, he met Harry (Tony) Leith-Ross, who became a life-long friend and later followed him to New Hope. In 1914, Folinsbee married Ruth Baldwin, the daughter of William H. Baldwin, Jr. and Ruth Standish Baldwin (co-founder of the National Urban League
), whom he had met in Washington, Connecticut. They moved to New Hope in 1916, and had two daughters, Beth and Joan.
Early in his career, Folinsbee painted in a tonalist
style, with an interest in light and atmosphere that grew directly from his time with Harrison and Carlson in Woodstock. By the late nineteen-teens, he had moved away from tonalism into a more structured, impressionist style. In the mid-1920s, Folinsbee began studying the work of Cézanne, which led to a trip to France
in the summer of 1926. The paintings that resulted from this trip, and those that followed later in the decade, reflect a deep understanding of Cézanne's compositional strategies and a desire to reveal the underlying structure of forms. Folinsbee's exploration of structure led eventually to an analytical, highly individual expressionist
style in which he painted for the remainder of his career. His palette darkened, his brushstrokes loosened further, and his sense of light and atmosphere became more dramatic. These later works are concerned with conveying a sense of mood and an intense emotional response to the world around him.
Folinsbee always had a sketchbook or a box of 8 x 10 inch canvasboards with him, ready to capture any scene that caught his eye. He and Leith-Ross were famous for spending afternoons on the bridge at New Hope sketching and tossing anything that displeased them into the Delaware River. Although he painted en plein air, directly from nature, Folinsbee would later transform his small-scale sketches into larger paintings in his studio, and frequently made a number of copies of the same scene on different sizes of canvas.
He was represented by Ferargil Gallery for most of his career, and his paintings were exhibited across the country and in several international exhibitions. Folinsbee won nearly every award given by the National Academy of Design
(where he became a full academician in 1929), receiving several of them many times. He also won awards from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
, the Connecticut Academy of Fine Arts, the Rhode Island School of Design
, the Corcoran Gallery
, and the Salmagundi Club
, and received a bronze medal at the Sesquicentennial Exposition
in Philadelphia in 1926. His work is included in major museums, including the Smithsonian American Art Museum
and the Corcoran Gallery in Washington, DC, the National Academy of Design, and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts.
Folinsbee was also a teacher, and one of his better-known students, Peter G. Cook (who married his daughter Joan), became a colleague and friend. The two collaborated on three post-office murals in Pennsylvania and Kentucky for the Section of Painting and Sculpture
during the 1930s and 1940s. Folinsbee stopped painting in 1971. He died one year later in New Hope.
Culver, Michael. "The Art of John Folinsbee." American Art Review 13, no. 4 (August 2001): 106-111.
Peterson, Brian H. (Editor) (2002). Pennsylvania Impressionism. Philadelphia: James A. Michener Art Museum and University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN 0-8122-3700-5.
Folk, Thomas C. The Pennsylvania Impressionists. Cranbury, NJ: Associated University Presses, 1997.
Hunter, Sam. American Impressionism: The New Hope Circle. Exh. cat. Fort Lauderdale: The Fort Lauderdale Museum of Art and Richard Stuart Gallery, 1985.
Jensen, Kirsten M. "Contour, Bones, and Skin: Cezanne's Influence on John Folinsbee." Fine Art Connoisseur 4, no. 4 (July/August 2007): 51-55.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
landscape painter
Landscape art
Landscape art is a term that covers the depiction of natural scenery such as mountains, valleys, trees, rivers, and forests, and especially art where the main subject is a wide view, with its elements arranged into a coherent composition. In other works landscape backgrounds for figures can still...
and member of the art colony
Art colony
right|300px|thumb|Artist houses in [[Montsalvat]] near [[Melbourne, Australia]].An art colony or artists' colony is a place where creative practitioners live and interact with one another. Artists are often invited or selected through a formal process, for a residency from a few weeks to over a year...
at New Hope, Pennsylvania
New Hope, Pennsylvania
New Hope, formerly known as Coryell's Ferry, is a borough in Bucks County, Pennsylvania, USA. The population was 2,528 at the 2010 census. The borough lies on the west bank of the Delaware River at its confluence with Aquetong Creek. A two-lane bridge carries automobile and foot traffic across the...
. He is best known today for his impressionist
Impressionism
Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement that originated with a group of Paris-based artists whose independent exhibitions brought them to prominence during the 1870s and 1880s...
scenes of New Hope and Lambertville, New Jersey
Lambertville, New Jersey
Lambertville is a city in Hunterdon County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, the city population was 3,906.Lambertville was originally incorporated as a town by an Act of the New Jersey Legislature on March 1, 1849, from portions of West Amwell Township...
, particularly the factories, quarries, and canals along the Delaware River
Delaware River
The Delaware River is a major river on the Atlantic coast of the United States.A Dutch expedition led by Henry Hudson in 1609 first mapped the river. The river was christened the South River in the New Netherland colony that followed, in contrast to the North River, as the Hudson River was then...
.
Folinsbee was born in 1892 in Buffalo, New York
Buffalo, New York
Buffalo is the second most populous city in the state of New York, after New York City. Located in Western New York on the eastern shores of Lake Erie and at the head of the Niagara River across from Fort Erie, Ontario, Buffalo is the seat of Erie County and the principal city of the...
. As a child, he attended classes at the Art Students’ League of Buffalo, but received his first formal training in with the landscape painter Jonas Lie
Jonas Lie
Jonas Lauritz Idemil Lie was a Norwegian novelist, poet, and playwright who is considered to have been one of the Four Greats of 19th century Norwegian literature, together with Henrik Ibsen, Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson and Alexander Kielland.-Background:Jonas Lie was born at Hokksund in Øvre Eiker, in...
when he was fifteen. Between 1907 and 1911, he attended the Gunnery School in Washington, Connecticut
Washington, Connecticut
Washington is a rural town in Litchfield County, Connecticut, in the New England region of the United States. The population was 3,596 at the 2000 census. Washington is known for its picturesque countryside, historic architecture, and active civic and cultural life...
, where he studied with Elizabeth Kempton and Herbert Faulkner. He later studied with Birge Harrison
Lovell Birge Harrison
Lovell Birge Harrison was an American genre and landscape painter, teacher, and writer. He was a prominent practitioner and advocate of Tonalism.-Life:...
and John Carlson in Woodstock
Woodstock, New York
Woodstock is a town in Ulster County, New York, United States. The population was 5,884 at the 2010 census, down from 6,241 at the 2000 census.The Town of Woodstock is in the northern part of the county...
(summers, 1912-1914), and also with Frank Vincent DuMond at the Art Students’ League
Art Students League of New York
The Art Students League of New York is an art school located on West 57th Street in New York City. The League has historically been known for its broad appeal to both amateurs and professional artists, and has maintained for over 130 years a tradition of offering reasonably priced classes on a...
in New York. At Woodstock, he met Harry (Tony) Leith-Ross, who became a life-long friend and later followed him to New Hope. In 1914, Folinsbee married Ruth Baldwin, the daughter of William H. Baldwin, Jr. and Ruth Standish Baldwin (co-founder of the National Urban League
National Urban League
The National Urban League , formerly known as the National League on Urban Conditions Among Negroes, is a nonpartisan civil rights organization based in New York City that advocates on behalf of African Americans and against racial discrimination in the United States. It is the oldest and largest...
), whom he had met in Washington, Connecticut. They moved to New Hope in 1916, and had two daughters, Beth and Joan.
Early in his career, Folinsbee painted in a tonalist
Tonalism
Tonalism was an artistic style that emerged in the 1880s when American artists began to paint landscape forms with an overall tone of colored atmosphere or mist. Between 1880 and 1915, dark, neutral hues such as gray, brown or blue, often dominated compositions by artists associated with the style...
style, with an interest in light and atmosphere that grew directly from his time with Harrison and Carlson in Woodstock. By the late nineteen-teens, he had moved away from tonalism into a more structured, impressionist style. In the mid-1920s, Folinsbee began studying the work of Cézanne, which led to a trip to France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
in the summer of 1926. The paintings that resulted from this trip, and those that followed later in the decade, reflect a deep understanding of Cézanne's compositional strategies and a desire to reveal the underlying structure of forms. Folinsbee's exploration of structure led eventually to an analytical, highly individual expressionist
Expressionism
Expressionism was a modernist movement, initially in poetry and painting, originating in Germany at the beginning of the 20th century. Its typical trait is to present the world solely from a subjective perspective, distorting it radically for emotional effect in order to evoke moods or ideas...
style in which he painted for the remainder of his career. His palette darkened, his brushstrokes loosened further, and his sense of light and atmosphere became more dramatic. These later works are concerned with conveying a sense of mood and an intense emotional response to the world around him.
Folinsbee always had a sketchbook or a box of 8 x 10 inch canvasboards with him, ready to capture any scene that caught his eye. He and Leith-Ross were famous for spending afternoons on the bridge at New Hope sketching and tossing anything that displeased them into the Delaware River. Although he painted en plein air, directly from nature, Folinsbee would later transform his small-scale sketches into larger paintings in his studio, and frequently made a number of copies of the same scene on different sizes of canvas.
He was represented by Ferargil Gallery for most of his career, and his paintings were exhibited across the country and in several international exhibitions. Folinsbee won nearly every award given by the National Academy of Design
National Academy of Design
The National Academy Museum and School of Fine Arts, founded in New York City as the National Academy of Design – known simply as the "National Academy" – is an honorary association of American artists founded in 1825 by Samuel F. B. Morse, Asher B. Durand, Thomas Cole, Martin E...
(where he became a full academician in 1929), receiving several of them many times. He also won awards from the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts is a museum and art school in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was founded in 1805 and is the oldest art museum and school in the United States. The academy's museum is internationally known for its collections of 19th and 20th century American paintings,...
, the Connecticut Academy of Fine Arts, the Rhode Island School of Design
Rhode Island School of Design
Rhode Island School of Design is a fine arts and design college located in Providence, Rhode Island. It was founded in 1877. Located at the base of College Hill, the RISD campus is contiguous with the Brown University campus. The two institutions share social, academic, and community resources and...
, the Corcoran Gallery
Corcoran Gallery of Art
The Corcoran Gallery of Art is the largest privately supported cultural institution in Washington, DC. The museum's main focus is American art. The permanent collection includes works by Rembrandt, Eugène Delacroix, Edgar Degas, Thomas Gainsborough, John Singer Sargent, Claude Monet, Pablo...
, and the Salmagundi Club
Salmagundi Club
The Salmagundi Club, also known as the Salmagundi Art Club, was founded in 1871 in Greenwich Village, Manhattan, New York City, New York, in the United States. It currently is located at 47 Fifth Avenue...
, and received a bronze medal at the Sesquicentennial Exposition
Sesquicentennial Exposition
The Sesqui-Centennial International Exposition of 1926 was a world's fair hosted in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania to celebrate the 150th anniversary of the signing of the United States Declaration of Independence, and the 50th anniversary of the 1876 Centennial Exposition-History:The honor of hosting...
in Philadelphia in 1926. His work is included in major museums, including the Smithsonian American Art Museum
Smithsonian American Art Museum
The Smithsonian American Art Museum is a museum in Washington, D.C. with an extensive collection of American art.Part of the Smithsonian Institution, the museum has a broad variety of American art that covers all regions and art movements found in the United States...
and the Corcoran Gallery in Washington, DC, the National Academy of Design, and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts.
Folinsbee was also a teacher, and one of his better-known students, Peter G. Cook (who married his daughter Joan), became a colleague and friend. The two collaborated on three post-office murals in Pennsylvania and Kentucky for the Section of Painting and Sculpture
Section of Painting and Sculpture
The Treasury Section of Painting and Sculpture , commonly known as "the Section," was established in 1934 and administered by the Procurement Division of the United States Department of the Treasury....
during the 1930s and 1940s. Folinsbee stopped painting in 1971. He died one year later in New Hope.
Further reading
Cook, Peter G. John Folinsbee. New York: Kubaba Books, 1994. ISBN 0-9639104-1-8Culver, Michael. "The Art of John Folinsbee." American Art Review 13, no. 4 (August 2001): 106-111.
Peterson, Brian H. (Editor) (2002). Pennsylvania Impressionism. Philadelphia: James A. Michener Art Museum and University of Pennsylvania Press. ISBN 0-8122-3700-5.
Folk, Thomas C. The Pennsylvania Impressionists. Cranbury, NJ: Associated University Presses, 1997.
Hunter, Sam. American Impressionism: The New Hope Circle. Exh. cat. Fort Lauderdale: The Fort Lauderdale Museum of Art and Richard Stuart Gallery, 1985.
Jensen, Kirsten M. "Contour, Bones, and Skin: Cezanne's Influence on John Folinsbee." Fine Art Connoisseur 4, no. 4 (July/August 2007): 51-55.