Verner Moore White
Encyclopedia
Verner Moore White born Thomas Verner Moore White but informally known as Verner White, was an American
landscape and portrait painter
. White painted works for many of the business and political leaders of his time including commissions for three United States Presidents.
, Virginia
to Thomas and Alice White. His father, Thomas Ward White, was a Presbyterian chaplain in the American Civil War
and later served as President of the Reidville Female College and the Greensboro Female College
in South Carolina
.
White was taught by private tutor until when at seventeen he attended Southwestern Presbyterian University
in Clarksville
, Tennessee
to study art. White graduated in 1884 to become a full-time artist in DeLand
, Florida
. The forests and swamps of north Florida and south Georgia
were the subjects of many of White's early works as he developed his interest and skill in landscape painting during this period.
In 1885, White turned his attentions to portraiture when he opened a studio in Mobile
, Alabama
. While in Mobile, White painted portraits of some of the most influential people in The South
including his painting of the last live portrait of Jefferson Davis
, the former President of the Confederacy
.
Jefferson Davis' daughter, Winnie Davis
, had studied in Germany
and France
and recommended that White go to Europe
in order to further study his craft before completing her portrait.
In 1887, White took her advice and moved to Europe to further his artistic studies. White studied in Paris
for four years, and spent three more years traveling and painting in other European cities including in Brussels
, Antwerp, Rotterdam
, Liege
, Rouen
, Biarritz
and Pau. While in Biarritz, White painted The Basque Shepherd, a painting of the dog of Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich
, of Russia
. The $300 sale of that painting to the Grand Duke financed his remaining travels, and for the rest of his career White would have an affinity for the painting of hunting dogs.
. For a couple years, White traveled and painted his way through towns primarily in southeastern Texas and southwestern Louisiana
. During this period, the Houston Post
reported that while in Galveston, he "completed an excellent picture in oil depicting William J. Bryan
on a duck hunt, critics pronounce it a real work of art."
In 1897, White moved to San Antonio where he set up a studio in San Pedro Park and attracted increasing attention and notoriety. The city fathers of San Antonio awarded White the commission for a painting of The Alamo
to be given to President William McKinley and Mrs. McKinley
during their visit to the city in 1901. White garnered significant public recognition with his painting titled The Alamo with Señora Candelaria. The original of the painting was given to President McKinley, and the lithograph of the image was hung in hundreds of public schools throughout Texas. White later painted an original copy of the painting that today hangs in the Alamo Museum.
In 1902, White was awarded the commission by the World's Fair Commission for Texas to paint a series of twelve large oil paintings, that represented the natural resources and industries of Texas, to adorn the Texas exhibit at the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition
(also known as the St. Louis World's Fair). The scenes included artistic representations of oil fields, agricultural fields, pecan groves, granite quarries, and ranch scenes. To date, only one of White's World's Fair Commission paintings is known to survive. It is thought that maybe the others were destroyed by a fire in his St. Louis studio in 1915. The surviving panorama, The Harbor at Galveston was donated to the Houston Public Library
by White's widow, Mertie Boughton White, after his death.
with his newlywed wife, Mertie Boughton White, in 1904 to curate the Texas exhibit in the World's Fair. While White's Texas panoramas represented the majority of the exhibit, works from other well-known Texas artists were also included such as those from Elisabet Ney
, Pompeo Coppini
, and Robert Jenkins Onderdonk's
The Fall of the Alamo. White earned praise at the fair including being awarded a first prize for a still life titled Basket of Peaches in the Love Orchard at Jacksonville
.
After the closing of the fair, the Whites decided to stay in St. Louis and bought a home near the former fairgrounds in the St. Louis suburb of Richmond Heights
. White spent the remainder of his life living and working primarily in St. Louis. He opened a studio in the city, and worked as a staff artist and special correspondent for the St. Louis Globe
newspaper.
In 1907, White was awarded a commission from the Keokuk Commercial Club to create an aerial view painting of the dam
and city of Keokuk
, Iowa
that was given to President Theodore Roosevelt.
White painted for a third United States President in 1909 when he painted a large oil of the fleet of steamboats that President William Howard Taft
and his entourage took on a Mississippi River
tour from St. Louis to New Orleans. The painting was later given to Taft by the St. Louis Chamber of Commerce
, and now resides in The Mariners' Museum
in Newport News
, Virginia.
White painted his second work for William Jennings Bryan
when the Chautauqua Association
commissioned him to paint a large oil titled Bryan Day at Chautauqua which was presented to Bryan at a conference near Elsah
, Illinois
.
During his St. Louis period, White continued to paint marine and hunting scenes, but may have been best known for his depictions of blossoming fruit trees. The apple trees near his home in St. Louis would become one of his favorite motifs, and White would become widely recognized for the theme.
White's paintings were distributed by galleries in St. Louis, Chicago
, New York
, and Boston
, and special catalogues were produced for sales in Texas where he remained popular.
In his later years, White spent much of his time teaching in St. Louis and became very involved with the Chautauqua Association. On August 30, 1923, Verner White died of a heart attack at the Chautauqua Institution
in Chautauqua
, New York
while at a banquet being given in his honor.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
landscape and portrait painter
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
. White painted works for many of the business and political leaders of his time including commissions for three United States Presidents.
Background and early career
White was born in Lunenburg CountyLunenburg County, Virginia
As of the census of 2000, there were 13,146 people, 4,998 households, and 3,383 families residing in the county. The population density was 30 people per square mile . There were 5,736 housing units at an average density of 13 per square mile...
, Virginia
Virginia
The Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
to Thomas and Alice White. His father, Thomas Ward White, was a Presbyterian chaplain in the American Civil War
American Civil War
The American Civil War was a civil war fought in the United States of America. In response to the election of Abraham Lincoln as President of the United States, 11 southern slave states declared their secession from the United States and formed the Confederate States of America ; the other 25...
and later served as President of the Reidville Female College and the Greensboro Female College
Greensboro College
Greensboro College is a four-year, independent, coeducational liberal-arts college, also offering four master's degrees, located in Greensboro, North Carolina, and affiliated with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1838...
in South Carolina
South Carolina
South Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
.
White was taught by private tutor until when at seventeen he attended Southwestern Presbyterian University
Rhodes College
Rhodes College is a private, predominantly undergraduate, liberal arts college located in Memphis, Tennessee, USA. Originally founded by freemasons in 1848, Rhodes became affiliated with the Presbyterian Church in 1855. Rhodes enrolls approximately 1,700 students pursuing bachelor's and master's...
in Clarksville
Clarksville, Tennessee
Clarksville is a city in and the county seat of Montgomery County, Tennessee, United States, and the fifth largest city in the state. The population was 132,929 in 2010 United States Census...
, Tennessee
Tennessee
Tennessee is a U.S. state located in the Southeastern United States. It has a population of 6,346,105, making it the nation's 17th-largest state by population, and covers , making it the 36th-largest by total land area...
to study art. White graduated in 1884 to become a full-time artist in DeLand
DeLand, Florida
DeLand is the county seat of Volusia County, Florida. In 2006, the U.S. Census Bureau estimated the city's population to be 24,375. It is part of the Deltona-Daytona Beach-Ormond Beach, Florida Metropolitan Statistical Area, which had an estimated population of 436,575 in 2006...
, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
. The forests and swamps of north Florida and south Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
were the subjects of many of White's early works as he developed his interest and skill in landscape painting during this period.
In 1885, White turned his attentions to portraiture when he opened a studio in Mobile
Mobile, Alabama
Mobile is the third most populous city in the Southern US state of Alabama and is the county seat of Mobile County. It is located on the Mobile River and the central Gulf Coast of the United States. The population within the city limits was 195,111 during the 2010 census. It is the largest...
, Alabama
Alabama
Alabama is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Tennessee to the north, Georgia to the east, Florida and the Gulf of Mexico to the south, and Mississippi to the west. Alabama ranks 30th in total land area and ranks second in the size of its inland...
. While in Mobile, White painted portraits of some of the most influential people in The South
Southern United States
The Southern United States—commonly referred to as the American South, Dixie, or simply the South—constitutes a large distinctive area in the southeastern and south-central United States...
including his painting of the last live portrait of Jefferson Davis
Jefferson Davis
Jefferson Finis Davis , also known as Jeff Davis, was an American statesman and leader of the Confederacy during the American Civil War, serving as President for its entire history. He was born in Kentucky to Samuel and Jane Davis...
, the former President of the Confederacy
Confederate States of America
The Confederate States of America was a government set up from 1861 to 1865 by 11 Southern slave states of the United States of America that had declared their secession from the U.S...
.
Jefferson Davis' daughter, Winnie Davis
Varina Anne Davis
Varina Anne "Winnie" Davis was an American author. A daughter of President of the Confederate States of America, Jefferson Davis, she became known as "Daughter of the Confederacy", for her appearances with her father on behalf of Confederate veterans' groups.-Childhood:Varina Anne Davis was born...
, had studied in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
and 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...
and recommended that White go to Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
in order to further study his craft before completing her portrait.
In 1887, White took her advice and moved to Europe to further his artistic studies. White studied in 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...
for four years, and spent three more years traveling and painting in other European cities including in Brussels
Brussels
Brussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
, Antwerp, Rotterdam
Rotterdam
Rotterdam is the second-largest city in the Netherlands and one of the largest ports in the world. Starting as a dam on the Rotte river, Rotterdam has grown into a major international commercial centre...
, Liege
Liège
Liège is a major city and municipality of Belgium located in the province of Liège, of which it is the economic capital, in Wallonia, the French-speaking region of Belgium....
, Rouen
Rouen
Rouen , in northern France on the River Seine, is the capital of the Haute-Normandie region and the historic capital city of Normandy. Once one of the largest and most prosperous cities of medieval Europe , it was the seat of the Exchequer of Normandy in the Middle Ages...
, Biarritz
Biarritz
Biarritz is a city which lies on the Bay of Biscay, on the Atlantic coast, in south-western France. It is a luxurious seaside town and is popular with tourists and surfers....
and Pau. While in Biarritz, White painted The Basque Shepherd, a painting of the dog of Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich
Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich of Russia
Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich of Russia was the sixth child and the fourth son of Alexander II of Russia and his first wife Maria Alexandrovna . Destined to a naval career, Alexei Alexandrovich started his military training at the age of 7...
, of Russia
Russia
Russia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
. The $300 sale of that painting to the Grand Duke financed his remaining travels, and for the rest of his career White would have an affinity for the painting of hunting dogs.
White's work in Texas
White returned to the United States in 1895 and spent the next nine years living and working in TexasTexas
Texas is the second largest U.S. state by both area and population, and the largest state by area in the contiguous United States.The name, based on the Caddo word "Tejas" meaning "friends" or "allies", was applied by the Spanish to the Caddo themselves and to the region of their settlement in...
. For a couple years, White traveled and painted his way through towns primarily in southeastern Texas and southwestern Louisiana
Louisiana
Louisiana is a state located in the southern region of the United States of America. Its capital is Baton Rouge and largest city is New Orleans. Louisiana is the only state in the U.S. with political subdivisions termed parishes, which are local governments equivalent to counties...
. During this period, the Houston Post
Houston Post
The Houston Post was a newspaper that had its headquarters in Houston, Texas, United States. In 1995, the newspaper was absorbed into the Houston Chronicle.-History:The newspaper was established on February 19, 1880, by Gail Borden Johnson...
reported that while in Galveston, he "completed an excellent picture in oil depicting William J. Bryan
William Jennings Bryan
William Jennings Bryan was an American politician in the late-19th and early-20th centuries. He was a dominant force in the liberal wing of the Democratic Party, standing three times as its candidate for President of the United States...
on a duck hunt, critics pronounce it a real work of art."
In 1897, White moved to San Antonio where he set up a studio in San Pedro Park and attracted increasing attention and notoriety. The city fathers of San Antonio awarded White the commission for a painting of The Alamo
Alamo Mission in San Antonio
The Alamo, originally known as Mission San Antonio de Valero, is a former Roman Catholic mission and fortress compound, site of the Battle of the Alamo in 1836, and now a museum, in San Antonio, Texas....
to be given to President William McKinley and Mrs. McKinley
Ida Saxton McKinley
Ida Saxton McKinley , wife of William McKinley, was First Lady of the United States from 1897 to 1901.-Early life and marriage:...
during their visit to the city in 1901. White garnered significant public recognition with his painting titled The Alamo with Señora Candelaria. The original of the painting was given to President McKinley, and the lithograph of the image was hung in hundreds of public schools throughout Texas. White later painted an original copy of the painting that today hangs in the Alamo Museum.
In 1902, White was awarded the commission by the World's Fair Commission for Texas to paint a series of twelve large oil paintings, that represented the natural resources and industries of Texas, to adorn the Texas exhibit at the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition
Louisiana Purchase Exposition
The Louisiana Purchase Exposition, informally known as the Saint Louis World's Fair, was an international exposition held in St. Louis, Missouri, United States in 1904.- Background :...
(also known as the St. Louis World's Fair). The scenes included artistic representations of oil fields, agricultural fields, pecan groves, granite quarries, and ranch scenes. To date, only one of White's World's Fair Commission paintings is known to survive. It is thought that maybe the others were destroyed by a fire in his St. Louis studio in 1915. The surviving panorama, The Harbor at Galveston was donated to the Houston Public Library
Houston Public Library
Houston Public Library is the public library system serving Houston, Texas, United States. The library system has its headquarters in the Marston Building in Neartown Houston.-History:It can trace its founding to the Houston Lyceum in 1854...
by White's widow, Mertie Boughton White, after his death.
White's work in St. Louis
White moved to St. Louis, MissouriMissouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
with his newlywed wife, Mertie Boughton White, in 1904 to curate the Texas exhibit in the World's Fair. While White's Texas panoramas represented the majority of the exhibit, works from other well-known Texas artists were also included such as those from Elisabet Ney
Elisabet Ney
Franzisca Bernadina Wilhelmina Elisabeth Ney was a celebrated German-born sculptor who spent the first half of her life and career in Europe, producing sculpted works of famous leaders such as Otto von Bismarck, Giuseppe Garibaldi and King George V of Hanover...
, Pompeo Coppini
Pompeo Coppini
Pompeo Luigi Coppini was an Italian sculptor who emigrated to the United States. Although his works can be found in Italy, Mexico and a number of American states, the majority of his work can be found in Texas...
, and Robert Jenkins Onderdonk's
Robert Jenkins Onderdonk
Robert Jenkins Onderdonk was an American painter and art teacher, born in Catonsville, Maryland. An important artist in the first stage of Texas art, he was a long-time art teacher in San Antonio and Dallas, where he formed art associations and leagues; for his contributions to the culture of art...
The Fall of the Alamo. White earned praise at the fair including being awarded a first prize for a still life titled Basket of Peaches in the Love Orchard at Jacksonville
Jacksonville, Texas
Jacksonville is located in Cherokee County, Texas, United States. The population was 13,868 at the 2000 census. It is the principal city of the Jacksonville Micropolitan Statistical Area, which includes all of Cherokee County and part of the larger Tyler-Jacksonville Combined Statistical...
.
After the closing of the fair, the Whites decided to stay in St. Louis and bought a home near the former fairgrounds in the St. Louis suburb of Richmond Heights
Richmond Heights, Missouri
Richmond Heights, a city in St. Louis County, is an inner-ring suburb of St. Louis, Missouri. The population was 8,603 at the 2010 census. According to Robert L. Ramsay, the name was suggested by Robert E. Lee, who thought the topography of the area resembled Richmond, Virginia...
. White spent the remainder of his life living and working primarily in St. Louis. He opened a studio in the city, and worked as a staff artist and special correspondent for the St. Louis Globe
St. Louis Globe-Democrat
The St. Louis Globe-Democrat was originally a daily print newspaper based in St. Louis, Missouri from 1852 until 1986...
newspaper.
In 1907, White was awarded a commission from the Keokuk Commercial Club to create an aerial view painting of the dam
Lock and Dam No. 19
Lock and Dam No. 19 is a lock and dam located on the Upper Mississippi River near Keokuk, Iowa. In 2004, the facility was listed in the National Register of Historic Places as Lock and Dam No. 19 Historic District, #04000179 covering , 7 buildings, 12 structures, 1 object. The lock is owned and...
and city of Keokuk
Keokuk, Iowa
Keokuk is a city in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Iowa and one of the county seats of Lee County. The other county seat is Fort Madison. The population was 11,427 at the 2000 census. The city is named after the Sauk Chief Keokuk, who is thought to be buried in Rand Park...
, Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
that was given to President Theodore Roosevelt.
White painted for a third United States President in 1909 when he painted a large oil of the fleet of steamboats that President William Howard Taft
William Howard Taft
William Howard Taft was the 27th President of the United States and later the tenth Chief Justice of the United States...
and his entourage took on a Mississippi River
Mississippi River
The Mississippi River is the largest river system in North America. Flowing entirely in the United States, this river rises in western Minnesota and meanders slowly southwards for to the Mississippi River Delta at the Gulf of Mexico. With its many tributaries, the Mississippi's watershed drains...
tour from St. Louis to New Orleans. The painting was later given to Taft by the St. Louis Chamber of Commerce
Regional Chamber and Growth Association
The St. Louis Regional Chamber and Growth Association is the chamber of commerce and primary economic development agency for Metropolitan St. Louis, Missouri....
, and now resides in The Mariners' Museum
Mariners' Museum
The Mariners' Museum is located in Newport News, Virginia. It is one of the largest maritime museums in the world as well as being the largest in North America.- History :The museum was founded in 1932 by Archer Milton Huntington, son of Collis P...
in Newport News
Newport News, Virginia
Newport News is an independent city located in the Hampton Roads metropolitan area of Virginia. It is at the southeastern end of the Virginia Peninsula, on the north shore of the James River extending southeast from Skiffe's Creek along many miles of waterfront to the river's mouth at Newport News...
, Virginia.
White painted his second work for William Jennings Bryan
William Jennings Bryan
William Jennings Bryan was an American politician in the late-19th and early-20th centuries. He was a dominant force in the liberal wing of the Democratic Party, standing three times as its candidate for President of the United States...
when the Chautauqua Association
Chautauqua
Chautauqua was an adult education 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 brought entertainment and culture for the whole community, with...
commissioned him to paint a large oil titled Bryan Day at Chautauqua which was presented to Bryan at a conference near Elsah
Elsah, Illinois
Elsah is a village in Jersey County, Illinois, United States. As of the 2000 U.S. census, the village had a total population of 673. Cyrus Bunting is the the village's current acting mayor.Elsah is a part of the Metro-East region and the St...
, Illinois
Illinois
Illinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
.
During his St. Louis period, White continued to paint marine and hunting scenes, but may have been best known for his depictions of blossoming fruit trees. The apple trees near his home in St. Louis would become one of his favorite motifs, and White would become widely recognized for the theme.
White's paintings were distributed by galleries in St. Louis, Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, New York
New 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...
, and Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, and special catalogues were produced for sales in Texas where he remained popular.
In his later years, White spent much of his time teaching in St. Louis and became very involved with the Chautauqua Association. On August 30, 1923, Verner White died of a heart attack at the Chautauqua Institution
Chautauqua Institution
The Chautauqua Institution is a non-profit adult education center and summer resort located on 750 acres in Chautauqua, New York, 17 miles northwest of Jamestown in the western part of New York State...
in Chautauqua
Chautauqua, New York
Chautauqua is a town in Chautauqua County, New York, U.S. . The population was 4,666 at the 2000 census. The town is named after Chautauqua Lake. The traditional meaning remains 'bag tied in the middle'...
, 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...
while at a banquet being given in his honor.