John LaFarge
Encyclopedia
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
painter, muralist, stained glass
Stained glass
The term stained glass can refer to coloured glass as a material or to works produced from it. Throughout its thousand-year history, the term has been applied almost exclusively to the windows of churches and other significant buildings...
window maker, decorator, and writer.
Biography
LaFarge was born in New York CityNew York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
to wealthy French parents and was raised bilingually. His interest in art began during his training at Mount St. Mary's University and St. John's College (now Fordham University
Fordham University
Fordham University is a private, nonprofit, coeducational research university in the United States, with three campuses in and around New York City. It was founded by the Roman Catholic Diocese of New York in 1841 as St...
). He initially intended to study law. This changed after his first visit to Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, 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 1856, where he studied with Thomas Couture
Thomas Couture
Thomas Couture was an influential French history painter and teacher. Couture taught such later luminaries of the art world as Édouard Manet, Henri Fantin-Latour, John La Farge, Pierre Puvis de Chavannes, Karel Javůrek, and J-N Sylvestre.-Life:He was born at Senlis, Oise, France...
and became acquainted with famous literary people of the city. LaFarge subsequently studied with painter William Morris Hunt
William Morris Hunt
William Morris Hunt , American painter, was born at Brattleboro, Vermont to Jane Maria Hunt and Hon. Jonathan Hunt, who raised one of the preeminent families in American art...
in Newport. Even LaFarge's earliest drawings and landscapes, done in Newport, Rhode Island
Newport, Rhode Island
Newport is a city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island, United States, about south of Providence. Known as a New England summer resort and for the famous Newport Mansions, it is the home of Salve Regina University and Naval Station Newport which houses the United States Naval War...
, show marked originality, especially in the handling of color values, and also the influence of Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese art, in the study of which he was a pioneer.
Between 1859 and 1870, he illustrated Tennyson's Enoch Arden
Enoch Arden
"Enoch Arden" is a narrative poem published in 1864 by Alfred, Lord Tennyson, during his tenure as England's Poet Laureate. The story on which it was based was provided to Tennyson by Thomas Woolner....
and Robert Browning
Robert Browning
Robert Browning was an English poet and playwright whose mastery of dramatic verse, especially dramatic monologues, made him one of the foremost Victorian poets.-Early years:...
's Men and Women
Men and Women (poetry collection)
Men and Women is a collection of fifty-one poems in two volumes by Robert Browning, first published in 1855. While now generally considered to contain some of the best of Browning's poetry, at the time it was not received well and sold poorly....
. Breadth of observation and structural conception, and a vivid imagination and sense of color are shown by his mural decorations. His first work in mural painting was done in Trinity Church, Boston
Trinity Church, Boston
Trinity Church in the City of Boston, located in the Back Bay of Boston, Massachusetts, is a parish of the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts. The congregation, currently standing at approximately 3,000 households, was founded in 1733. The current rector is The Reverend Anne Bonnyman...
, in 1873. Then followed his decorations in the Church of the Ascension
Church of the Ascension (New York)
The Church of the Ascension is an Episcopal church in the Diocese of New York, located at 36-38 Fifth Avenue and Tenth Street in the Greenwich Village neighborhood of Manhattan New York City. From an austere beginning as a bastion of the evangelical movement it has become internationally known for...
(the large altarpiece) and St. Paul's Chapel (Columbia University)
St. Paul's Chapel (Columbia University)
St. Paul's Chapel is the chapel of Columbia University in New York City. Designed and built from 1904 to 1907 by I. N. Phelps Stokes of the architectural firm Howells & Stokes in an elaborate mixture of Italian Renaissance, Byzantine, and Gothic styles, its interior features Guastavino tile...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. For the Minnesota State Capitol
Minnesota State Capitol
The Minnesota State Capitol is located in Minnesota's capital city, Saint Paul, and houses the Minnesota Senate, Minnesota House of Representatives, the Office of the Attorney General and the Office of the Governor...
at St. Paul he executed, at age 71, four great lunettes representing the history of law, and for the Supreme Court building at Baltimore, a similar series with Justice as the theme.
LaFarge also painted extensively recording his extensive travels in the Orient and South Pacific. He visited Japan in 1886, and the South Seas in 1890 and 1891, in particular spending time and absorbing the culture of Tahiti
Tahiti
Tahiti is the largest island in the Windward group of French Polynesia, located in the archipelago of the Society Islands in the southern Pacific Ocean. It is the economic, cultural and political centre of French Polynesia. The island was formed from volcanic activity and is high and mountainous...
. Henry Adams
Henry Adams
Henry Brooks Adams was an American journalist, historian, academic and novelist. He is best known for his autobiographical book, The Education of Henry Adams. He was a member of the Adams political family.- Early life :He was born in Boston, Massachusetts, the son of Charles Francis Adams Sr...
accompanied him on these trips as a travel companion.
His labors in almost every type of art won for him from the French
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...
Government the Cross of the Legion of Honor
Légion d'honneur
The Legion of Honour, or in full the National Order of the Legion of Honour is a French order established by Napoleon Bonaparte, First Consul of the Consulat which succeeded to the First Republic, on 19 May 1802...
and membership in the principal artistic societies of America, as well as the presidency of the National Society of Mural Painters
National Society of Mural Painters
The National Society of Mural Painters is an American artists' organization founded in 1895, originally known as The Mural Painters. The charter of the society is to advance the techniques and standards for the design and execution of mural art for the enrichment of architecture in the United...
from 1899 through 1904. Enjoying an extraordinary knowledge of languages (ancient and modern), literature, and art, by his cultured personality and reflective conversation he influenced many other people. Though naturally a questioner, he venerated the traditions of religious art, and preserved always his Catholic
Catholic
The word catholic comes from the Greek phrase , meaning "on the whole," "according to the whole" or "in general", and is a combination of the Greek words meaning "about" and meaning "whole"...
faith and reverence.
During 1904, he was one of the first seven artists chosen for membership in the American Academy of Arts and Letters. On his death in 1910, John LaFarge was interred in the Green-Wood Cemetery
Green-Wood Cemetery
Green-Wood Cemetery was founded in 1838 as a rural cemetery in Brooklyn, Kings County , New York. It was granted National Historic Landmark status in 2006 by the U.S. Department of the Interior.-History:...
in Brooklyn, New York. During his life, he maintained a studio at 51 West 10th Street, in Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village
Greenwich Village, , , , .in New York often simply called "the Village", is a largely residential neighborhood on the west side of Lower Manhattan in New York City. A large majority of the district is home to upper middle class families...
, which is now part of the site of Eugene Lang College.
Stained glass
La Farge experimented with color problems, especially in the medium of stained glass. He succeeded not only in rivaling the gorgeousness of medieval windows, but in adding new resources by his invention of opalescent glass and his original methods of superimposing and welding his material.Among his many stained glass masterpieces are:
- four windows at the Trinity Church, BostonTrinity Church, BostonTrinity Church in the City of Boston, located in the Back Bay of Boston, Massachusetts, is a parish of the Episcopal Diocese of Massachusetts. The congregation, currently standing at approximately 3,000 households, was founded in 1733. The current rector is The Reverend Anne Bonnyman...
(1877–78) - windows at Biltmore EstateBiltmore EstateBiltmore House is a Châteauesque-styled mansion near Asheville, North Carolina, built by George Washington Vanderbilt II between 1889 and 1895. It is the largest privately-owned home in the United States, at and featuring 250 rooms...
in Asheville, NC (1881) - windows at Church of St. Joseph of ArimatheaChurch of St. Joseph of ArimatheaChurch of St. Joseph of Arimathea, originally known as Worthington Memorial Chapel, is a historic Episcopal church at 2172 Saw Mill River Road in Greenburgh, Westchester County, New York. It was designed by noted architect Richard M. Upjohn and built in 1883 in an eclectic Victorian Gothic...
in Greenburgh, New YorkGreenburgh, New YorkGreenburgh is a town in the western part of Westchester County, New York, United States. The population was 88,400 at the 2010 census. Paul J. Feiner has been the Town Supervisor since 1991.-History:...
(1883) - windows at the St. Paul's ChapelSt. Paul's Chapel (Columbia University)St. Paul's Chapel is the chapel of Columbia University in New York City. Designed and built from 1904 to 1907 by I. N. Phelps Stokes of the architectural firm Howells & Stokes in an elaborate mixture of Italian Renaissance, Byzantine, and Gothic styles, its interior features Guastavino tile...
, Columbia UniversityColumbia UniversityColumbia University in the City of New York is a private, Ivy League university in Manhattan, New York City. Columbia is the oldest institution of higher learning in the state of New York, the fifth oldest in the United States, and one of the country's nine Colonial Colleges founded before the...
, NYC (1888–99) - rose window at the First Unitarian Church of PhiladelphiaFirst Unitarian Church of PhiladelphiaThe First Unitarian Church of Philadelphia is a Unitarian Universalist congregation located at 2125 Chestnut Street in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania...
(1891) - windows at Trinity Episcopal ChurchTrinity Episcopal ChurchTrinity Episcopal Church, and variations, may refer to:in the United States;* Trinity Episcopal Church , listed on the NRHP in Alabama* Trinity Episcopal Church , listed on the NRHP in Arkansas...
in Buffalo, NY (1886–89) - memorial window at All Saints Episcopal ChurchAll Saints Episcopal Church (Briarcliff Manor, New York)All Saints Episcopal Church is a historic Episcopal church at 96 and 201 Scarborough Rd. in Briarcliff Manor, Westchester County, New York. It was designed by noted architect Richard Upjohn and built between 1848 and 1854...
, Briarcliff Manor, New YorkBriarcliff Manor, New YorkBriarcliff Manor is a village in Westchester County in the state of New York. It is shared between the towns of Mount Pleasant and Ossining, and lies entirely within the ZIP code of 10510...
(1889) - window of Edwin Booth as Hamlet at The Church of the Transfiguration in New York City (1898)
- windows in Mount Vernon Church, BostonMount Vernon Church, BostonMount Vernon Church in Boston, Massachusetts, was a Congregational church located on Beacon Hill and later in Back Bay .-Beacon Hill, 1844-1891:...
, 1890s
Marriage and children
He married on October 15, 1860 at Newport, Rhode Island, Margaret Mason Perry, who was born on February 26, 1839 in Newport, Rhode Island, and died on May 2, 1925.Her father was Christopher Grant Perry, the son of Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry
Oliver Hazard Perry
United States Navy Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry was born in South Kingstown, Rhode Island , the son of USN Captain Christopher Raymond Perry and Sarah Wallace Alexander, a direct descendant of William Wallace...
and Elizabeth Champlin Mason. He was a descendant of Gov. Thomas Prence
Thomas Prence
Thomas Prence was a co-founder of Eastham, Massachusetts, a political leader in both the Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay colonies, and governor of Plymouth .-Early life:...
(1599 - March 29, 1673) a co-founder of Eastham, Massachusetts
Eastham, Massachusetts
Eastham is a town in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States, Barnstable County being coextensive with Cape Cod. The population was 5,453 at the 2000 census....
, a political leader in both the Plymouth and Massachusetts Bay colonies, and governor of Plymouth (1634, 1638, and 1657–1673); and Elder William Brewster (pilgrim)
William Brewster (Pilgrim)
Elder William Brewster was a Mayflower passenger and a Pilgrim colonist leader and preacher.-Origins:Brewster was probably born at Doncaster, Yorkshire, England, circa 1566/1567, although no birth records have been found, and died at Plymouth, Massachusetts on April 10, 1644 around 9- or 10pm...
, (c. 1567 - April 10, 1644), the Pilgrim leader and spiritual elder of the Plymouth Colony
Plymouth Colony
Plymouth Colony was an English colonial venture in North America from 1620 to 1691. The first settlement of the Plymouth Colony was at New Plymouth, a location previously surveyed and named by Captain John Smith. The settlement, which served as the capital of the colony, is today the modern town...
and a passenger on the Mayflower
Mayflower
The Mayflower was the ship that transported the English Separatists, better known as the Pilgrims, from a site near the Mayflower Steps in Plymouth, England, to Plymouth, Massachusetts, , in 1620...
.
Her mother was Frances Sergeant, who was the daughter of Chief Justice Thomas Sergeant and Sarah Bache, the daughter of Sarah Franklin Bache
Sarah Franklin Bache
Sarah Franklin “Sally” Bache was the daughter of Benjamin Franklin and Deborah Read.Known as "Sally" throughout her life, she was an ardent American patriot during the Revolutionary War through relief work and as her father's political hostess...
and Richard Bache
Richard Bache
Richard Bache , born in Yorkshire, England, was the son-in-law of Benjamin Franklin. After arriving in Philadelphia from Yorkshire, England, in 1761, Bache prospered as a marine insurance underwriter and importer. In 1767, misfortune struck; debts contracted by him were repudiated by his London...
. She was a great-granddaughter of Benjamin Franklin
Benjamin Franklin
Dr. Benjamin Franklin was one of the Founding Fathers of the United States. A noted polymath, Franklin was a leading author, printer, political theorist, politician, postmaster, scientist, musician, inventor, satirist, civic activist, statesman, and diplomat...
, one of the Founding Fathers
Founding Fathers of the United States
The Founding Fathers of the United States of America were political leaders and statesmen who participated in the American Revolution by signing the United States Declaration of Independence, taking part in the American Revolutionary War, establishing the United States Constitution, or by some...
of the United States of America
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Deborah Read
Deborah Read
Deborah Read Franklin was the spouse of Benjamin Franklin, one of the Founding Fathers of the United States, and a prominent inventor, printer, thinker, and revolutionary.-Life Before Second Marriage:...
.
His eldest son, Christopher Grant LaFarge, was a partner in the New York-based architectural firm of Heins & LaFarge
Heins & LaFarge
The New York-based architectural firm of Heins & LaFarge, composed of Philadelphia-born architect George Lewis Heins and Christopher Grant LaFarge - the eldest son of the artist John LaFarge, famous especially for his stained glass panels - were responsible most notably for the original...
, responsible for projects in Beaux-Arts style, notably the original Byzantine Cathedral of St. John the Divine, the Yale undergraduate society St. Anthony Hall
St. Anthony Hall
St. Anthony Hall, also known as Saint Anthony Hall and The Order of St. Anthony, is a national college literary society also known as the Fraternity of Delta Psi at colleges in the United States of America. St...
(extant 1893-1913) pictured at, and the original Astor Court buildings of the Bronx Zoo
Bronx Zoo
The Bronx Zoo is located in the Bronx borough of New York City, within Bronx Park. It is the largest metropolitan zoo in the United States, comprising of park lands and naturalistic habitats, through which the Bronx River flows....
.
His son Oliver Hazard Perry LaFarge I became an architect and real estate developer. Part of his career in real estate was in a Seattle partnership with Marshall Latham Bond
Marshall Latham Bond
Marshall Latham Bond was one of two brothers who were Jack London's landlords and among his employers during the autumn of 1897 and the spring of 1898 during the Klondike Gold Rush. They were the owners of the dog that Jack London fictionalized as Buck....
, Bond & LaFarge. During the year 1897 to 1898 Seattle real estate which had been extremely prosperous was in a "slump". The partners left and participated in the Klondike Gold Rush. Among the camp fire mates at Dawson City during the Fall of 1897 was Jack London who rented a tent site from Marshall Bond. In Seattle the Perry Building designed after LaFarge returned is still standing. Later on in life O.H.P. LaFarge designed buildings for General Motors.
Another of his sons, John LaFarge, S.J.
John LaFarge, Jr.
John LaFarge, Jr. was an American Jesuit priest and a strong supporter of anti-racist policies.Born in Newport, Rhode Island, he was the son of John LaFarge, an American painter, muralist, stained glass window maker, decorator, and writer.He wrote several books and articles before World War II...
, became a Jesuit priest and a strong supporter of anti-racist policies.
Veneration
LaFarge is honored together with Ralph Adams CramRalph Adams Cram
Ralph Adams Cram FAIA, , was a prolific and influential American architect of collegiate and ecclesiastical buildings, often in the Gothic style. Cram & Ferguson and Cram, Goodhue & Ferguson are partnerships in which he worked.-Early life:Cram was born on December 16, 1863 at Hampton Falls, New...
and Richard Upjohn
Richard Upjohn
Richard Upjohn was an English-born architect who emigrated to the United States and became most famous for his Gothic Revival churches. He was partially responsible for launching the movement to such popularity in the United States. Upjohn also did extensive work in and helped to popularize the...
with a feast day on the liturgical calendar of the Episcopal Church (USA)
Calendar of saints (Episcopal Church in the United States of America)
The veneration of saints in the Episcopal Church is a continuation of an ancient tradition from the early Church which honors important people of the Christian faith. The usage of the term "saint" is similar to Roman Catholic and Orthodox traditions. Those in the Anglo-Catholic tradition may...
on December 16.
Selection of LaFarge's writings
- The American Art of Glass (a pamphlet)
- Considerations on Painting (New York, 1895)
- An Artist's Letters from Japan (New York, 1897)
- The Great Masters (New York)
- Hokusai: a talk about Japanese painting (New York, 1897)
- The Higher Life in Art (New York, 1908)
- One Hundred Great Masterpieces
- The Christian Story in Art
- Letters from the South Seas (unpublished)
- Correspondence (unpublished)