LOCKWOOD DE FOREST, NA (1850-1932) Luminist; California Plein Air Painter; Noted Orientalist by Courtney Fischer *Sullivan Goss seeks to acquire works by this Artist

Lockwood de Forest, one of America's fine atmospheric painters, took the lessons of the Hudson River school and applied them in his own manner, creating a looser landscape "sketch." As well as being a painter, de Forest was an interior & building designer and furnishings importer, who had working partnerships with Louis Comfort Tiffany, among others. He was recognized by his peers, as evidenced by his election to the prestigious National Academy of Design.

Table of Contents

• I. BIOGRAPHY
• II. AN ANALYSIS OF THE ARTIST'S WORK
• III. DE FOREST'S DESIGN WORK
• IV. CHRONOLOGY
• V. COLLECTIONS
• VI. AWARDS
• VII. EXHIBITIONS
• VIII. CATALOGUE
• IX. BIBLIOGRAPHY
• X. WORKS FOR SALE BY THIS ARTIST

I. BIOGRAPHY

Lockwood de Forest II was born in New York in 1850, the son of Henry G. and Julia Weeks de Forest. He began to paint and draw at an early age. At the age of nineteen de Forest had already begun formal training as an artist in Rome at the Corridi school, and had adopted his relative Frederick Church, the famous Hudson River School painter, as his mentor. Although he demonstrated multiple skills in his career, he painted passionately throughout his life.

De Forest was during his lifetime best known as a designer. He was a strong proponent of Indian-inspired design, for which there was a fashion in the late nineteenth century. His travels fueled his interest in eastern art and architecture, and he used his knowledge to further develop his design business. He traveled extensively, from Italy and Greece to the Holy Land and south into the Persian Empire and India; eventually he traveled throughout the United States, Mexico and even to China, Japan and Korea. He recorded his travels not only with design work, but with carefully rendered landscapes, which became increasingly atmospheric over the course of his career.

Captivated by the light and landscape of the South Coast, de Forest began wintering in Santa Barbara around the turn of the century, and moved to Santa Barbara permanently in 1919, where he lived until his death in 1932.

II. AN ANALYSIS OF THE ARTIST'S WORK

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III. DE FOREST'S DESIGN WORK

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IV. CHRONOLOGY

1850 Born New York, NY

1864 First trip abroad

1868 Family winters in Rome

1870s Studies briefly with James Hart

1970s Sketching trips to the Adirondacks, Rhode Island, MA

1872–1883 Studio in New York's Tenth Street Studio Building

1875 First academy exhibition entry, a Grecian landscape

1875 Travels with family to London, Egypt, Palestine

1877 National Academy of Design submission Pyramid of Saqqara

1877 Travels to Greece and Egypt

1879 Partners with Louis Tiffany, Samuel Colman, & Candace Wheeler in Associated Artists

1880–1882 Honeymoons with Meta Kemble in India

1880 Sets up furniture & decorations factory in Ahmadebad to create his designs

1882 Associated Artists disolved

1885 Publishes Indian Domestic Architecture

1886 Builds home to his design on East 10th St., NY

1892 Visits India, including Ahmadebad factory again to supervise

1893 Medal for commissioned room Marshall Field at World Expo

1898 Election to the National Academy of Design

1898 Visits Europe

1900 Starts wintering in Santa Barbara, CA

1908 Sells his decorating stock in New York

1912 Publishes Illustrations of Design

1913 Last trip to India

1915 Builds home in Santa Barbara, CA

1919 Begins to reside yearround in Santa Barbara, CA

1932 Died April 3, at the age of 82, in Santa Barbara, CA

V. COLLECTIONS

Alaska State Museum, Juneau, AK

Century Association, New York, NY

Cleveland Museum, Cleveland, OH

Herron Art Institute, Indianapolis, IN

Heckscher Museum of Art, Huntington, NY

Indianapolis Museum of Art, Indianapolis, IN

Mark Twain Memorial, Hartford, CT

Merchant Ivory Foundation, Claverack, NY

National Academey of Design, New York, NY

New York Historical Society, New York, NY

Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Santa Barbara, CA

Sullivan Goss - Private Collection

VI. AWARDS (selected list)

1886 Medal for Indian Carvings Colonial Exposition, London

1893 Medal Columbian Exposition, Chicago

1904 Bronze medal, St. Louis Exposition

VII. EXHIBITIONS

1886 Colonial Expo (medal), London

1893 World's Columbian Expo (award), Chicago, IL

1904 Century Club, New York, NY

1904 Louisiana Purchase Expo (award) , St. Louis, MO

1905 Century Club, New York, NY

1907 Century Club, New York, NY

1909 Del Monte Art Gallery, Monterey, CA

1910 Del Monte Art Gallery, Monterey, CA

1922 Stendahl Gallery, Los Angeles

1935 Faulkner Memorial Art Gallery, Santa Barbara, CA

1976 Heckscher Museum, Huntington, NY

1988 Alaska Museum of Art, Alaskan Oil Sketchers Juneau, AK

1998 Sullivan Goss, The Painted Sketch Santa Barbara, CA

2000 Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Nocturnes, Santa Barbara, CA

2000 Sullivan Goss, An Introduction Santa Barbara, CA

2001 Richard York Gallery, Plein-Air Oil Sketches New York, NY

2003 Sullivan Goss, In Quietude Santa Barbara, CA

VIII. CATALOGUE RAISONNE

In the event that you have works by Lockwood de Forest that you would like included in the catalogue raisonne or which you would like reviewed for authentication, please contact Sullivan Goss - An American Gallery for submission requirements.

X. Bibliography

1. 1. Ackerman, Gerald M. American Orientalists. Paris: ACR Edition, 1994.
2. 2. Alaska State Museum. Lockwood de Forest : Alaska Oil Sketches.
3. 3. de Forest, Lockwood. Illustrations of Design, Based on Notes of Line as Used by the Craftsmen of India. Boston: Ginn & Co., 1912.
4. 4. Goldyne, Joseph. Lockwood de Forest: Plein-air Oil Sketches. New York: Richard York Gallery, 2001.
5. 5. Hughes, Eden Milton. Artists in California 1786-1940. Third edition. Sacramento, Calif.: 2002.

De Forest is also listed in:

American Art Annual (1919-1932, obituary)

Artists of the American West (Doris Dawdy)

Artists of the American West (Samuels)

Mantle Fielding's

Southern California Artists (Nancy Moure)

Who's Who in America (1918)

Who's Who in California (1929)