GEORGE HITCHCOCK University of Nebraska-Lincoln Libraries PHOTOGRAPHIC STUDY OF THE ALBRIGHT ART GALLERY BY CARL STRUSS. The Buffalo Fine Arts Academy Albright Art Gallery Catalogue of an Exhibition of Paintings of Flower Fields in Holland by the late George Hitchcock DECEMBER 5 - JANUARY 4 132-1914-12 The Buffalo Fine Arts Academy OFFICERS FOR 1914 President Vice~President Secretary Treasurer Assistant Treasurer WILLIAM A. DOUGLAS EDWARD B. GREEN WILLIAM G. JUSTICE DUDLEY M. IRWIN GEORGE P. SA WYER DIRECTORS (To serve until January, 1915.) J. J. ALBRIGHT CHAUNCEY J. HAMLIN GEORGE CARY EDMUND HA YES WILLIS 0. CHAPIN ROBERT W. POMEROY A. C. GOODYEAR CHARLES B. SEARS CARLETON SPRAGUE (To serve until January, 1916.) GEORGE K. BIRGE EDWARD B. GREEN WALTER P. COOKE WILLIAM B. HOYT WILLIAM A. DOUGLAS HUGH KENNEDY JOSEPH G. DUDLEY JOHN D. LARKIN. Jr. CARL TON M. SMITH (To serve until January, 1917.) CHARLES CLITTON WILLIAM G. JUSTICE JAMES CAREY EV ANS SEYMOUR H. KNOX GEORGE HIBBARD WILLIAM A. ROGERS DUDLEY M. IRWIN GEORGE P. SA WYER HENRY W. SPRAGUE Ex-Officio The Honorable LOUIS P. FUHRMANN. as Mayor The Honorable JOHN F. COCHRANE, a, Comptroller ART DIRECTOR CORNELIA B. SAGE THE ALBRIGHT ART CALLERY IS OPEN EVERY DAY FROM TEN O'CLOCK A. M . TO FIVE O'CLOCK P. M. EXCEPTING ON SUNDAYS AND MONDAYS, WHEN IT IS OPEN FROM ONE TO FIVE P. M . FREE DAYS : TUESDAYS. THURSDAYS, SATURDAYS AND SUNDAYS ; OTHER DAYS. ADMISSION IS TWENTY-FIVE CENTS. MOST OF THESE PAINTINGS ARE FOR SALE FOR PRICES APPLY AT THE DESK IN GALLERY Xlll SCENE IN HOLLAND, SHOWING HOUSEBOAT "TULIP"' IN WHICH GEORGE HITCHCOCK PAINTED MANY OF HIS PICTURES. GEORGE HITCHCOCK By CHRISTIAN BRINTON Author of "Modern Artiats," etc. It should scarcely be necessary to recall the outward facts of George Hitchcock's career. The general public is presumably aware that he was born in 1850, at Providence, Rhode Island, and died in Holland, I 9 I 3. That he was famous as a college athlete at Brown University and Harvard, and subsequently practised law with desultory distinction are details which count for little in comparison with a life-long devotion to his profession in a single, quaint corner of the globe. In the annals of American art the name Hitchcock is inseparably associated with Holland. It was to the land of polders and dykes, of canals and tulip fields that the young man migrated as a mere aspiring amateur, and it was there that he remained to win world-wide recogmtton. He actually could not paint outside of Holland. Dutch life and scene were ever the most congenial source of his inspiration and activity. Merely to characterize Mr. Hitchcock as a painter of sunlight, as has not infrequently been the case, is hardly adequate. In point of fact he was one of the pioneers of the modern outdoor movement. As far back as 1 880 he began to confront nature with frank, unprejudiced eye and to scatter forth into the world canvases that vibrated with freshness and clarity of vision. Although his debut synchronized with the advent of Impressionism, George Hitchcock owed little to the met- 7 iculous analysis of chromatic values which constitutes the particular achievement of Monet and his followers. It was rather through his admiration for Mesdag and the leading Dutch masters of water-colour that the American arrived at that fluent translucency of effect which remains his chief contribution to contemporary painting. One of the earliest to turn his back upon the sterility of academic training and the murky tonality of gallery and museum, he went blithely into the open and became an eloquent exponent of sunshine, colour and atmosphere. Though virtually self-taught, George Hitchcock soon tasted the fruits of success. " La Culture des T ulipes," which was signaled for special praise at the Salon of 1887, proved but the prologue to a series of kindred sub1ects all celebrating the radiant vesture of Holland in springtime. He painted mainly at noon, when the sun was highest and brightest, and his work spontaneously became a song of praise to outward beauty. Landscape was usually combined on fairly even terms with the figure, and while in no specific sense an interpreter of character, he seldom failed to give costume and the picturesque accessories of native dress due prominence in each pictorial scheme. It was in the vicinity of Egmond, and later at V eere, in South Holland, that most of his work was done. He used to enjoy brief trips to London, Paris, or the States, yet the coming of spring always found him back in Holland among his beloved tulip beds or sketching along the dunes with the wind drifting in from the sea. Following his initial triumph Mr. Hitchcock exhibited regularly in the principal Continental capitals as well as in his own country. He was Hors concours in Paris by 1887, and was subsequently awarded medals in Paris,h':)U 8 Berlin, Dresden, Munich, Vienna and elsewhere. Few native-born artists have enjoyed an ampler measure of popularity or achieved greater distinction. He was a member of the Munich Secession, and the only American member of the Vienna Academy, besides being an Officer of the Order of Franz Josef. Viewed in retrospect, the aesthetic legacy of George Hitchcock presents an appealing fusion of taste and sensibility. Local, yet cosmopolitan, its dominant note is one of refined lyricism. The rambling, spacious house al Egmond which was his home during so many fruitful years was called, after the Dutch fashion, Schuilenburgn Shelter and Protection "-and there is in all he left behind a feeling of joyous serenity. His work will live because he succeeded in the difficult task of creating beauty out of the simplest natural elements - sunshine, flowers, healthy forms, and happy faces. 9 Titles 1 IN GALLERY XVll, NORTH OF THE SCULPTURE COURT.) 1. Portrait of George Hitchcock, by James J. Shannon. Lent by Telfair .Jlcademy of .Jlrts and Sciences, Savannah, Georgia. 2. Early Spring in Holland. Lent by Telfair Academy of Arts and Sciences, Savannah, Georgia. 3. Preparing Tulips for the Market. Lent by Mr. and Mrs.John J. Albright, Buffalo, N. Y. 4. Asters. 5. Twilight. 6. Double White Tulips. 7. Sun-flecked. 8. November. 9. Purple Hyacinths. 1 0. Flower Field near Leiden. 1 1 . Pink Hyacinths. 1 2. Spring Sunlight. I 3. Pink Tulips. 14. Apple Blossoms. 1 5. Hollyhocks. 1 6. Dutch Flower Market. 1 7. Children at Play, Marken. 18. The White Mill. 19. Alms-Houses, Leiden. 20. Full Moon. 21. Noordwyke. 22. White Mill, Egmond-aan-Zee. 23. The Artist's House, Holland. 24. The Patchwork O!Jilt. 10 25. Spring Moonlight. 26. Red Roofs. 27. Wet Road. 28. Windmill in the Dunes. 29. April Weather. 30. In the Orchard. 3 1. Marken Peasant Girl. 32. Sunday in Zeeland. 33. Island of Marken. ( Unfinished Painting) 34. Tea Time, Marken. 3 5. Milking Time. 36. The Poppy Field. 37. Hay Makers, Zeeland. 38. Milkmaids, Early Morning. 39. Flower Seller. 40. In Windmill Land. 4 1 . Vespers. 4 2. The Turf Stove, Zeeland. 43. In the Dunes. 44. Dunes near Laren. 4 5. Scrub Oaks. 46. The Burgomaster's Daughter. 4 7. Tulips, " George Hitchcock." 48. Eastertide. 11 Photographic Copies of Paintings THROUGH the courtesy and cooperation of the Detroit Publishing Company, many of the paintings of the Permanent Collection have been copied, and excellent reproductions of them are on sale at the Albright Art Gallery. A number of these prints have been framed and are hung in the business office, where they may be seen. Souvenir Post-Cards SOUVENIER POST-CARDS of the Albright Art Gallery, and of many of the paintings in the Permanent Collection, are on sale at the Entrance. A New and Important Membership The membership rec~ntly instituted by The Buffalo Fine Arts Academy, called "The Friends of the Albright Art Gallery," should command the support of those Buff alonians who are interested not only in matters of art but in the advancement of the city towards its aesthetic and cultural ideal. Inasmuch as the income from these five-dollar memberships is to be used for the purchase of works of art for the Gallery's permanent collection, civic pride ought to be a compelling factor in the desired increase in this membership. Several thou- , sand personal invitations have been sent out, but it is obviously impossible to secure in' this way all the necessary co-op~ration. In spite of all the exam~les of the work of contemporary artists here and abroad to be found in our gallery, the pictures of many painters are missing, pictures which ought to grace our own walls but are finding homes in ·other museums more fortunate than ours in having ample funds for making purchases, or else are being eagerly bought by discriminating collectors. It has been decided to endeavor to interest the general pub~c in this branch of the Gallery's activity, and there ought to be little trouble in establishing a membership of from one to two thousand. Besides the sense of co-operation in the work, there are, however, material benefits to be secured, and all "Friends" will have the same privileges as formerly were granted Associate members, for the new membership takes the place of the old Associate membership. Invitation blanks and circulars will be sent on application, or may be had at the office of the Gallery.