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. Sullivan Goss is pleased to present the Estate of the Artist.
MOON SETTING OVER PACIFIC AND BEACH
February 10, 1906
Oil on artist's board
9.5" x 14.25"
Private Collection
Lockwood de Forest's nocturnes are particularly coveted by collectors for their accurate handling of moonlight. In these works, the artist's broad, confident brushstrokes are as suggestive as they are descriptive. That poetry of that which is left unsaid has to be seen in person to be fully grasped.
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.
During his lifetime de Forest was 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. SGTV Video
"LOCKWOOD DE FOREST (1850-1932)"
Written, Narrated, and Produced by Jeremy Tessmer
For our 2010 exhibition, Sullivan Goss presented two larger studio paintings as well as a selection of the artist's plein air sketches of Santa Barbara, New York, Mexico and the Middle East.
To watch this video click on the image to the left.
Mexico Series: Sunrise over Red Landscape
February 12, 1907
Oil on artist's board
9.75" x 14.25"
Available for acquisition
III. AN ANALYSIS OF THE ARTIST'S WORK
Under Construction
Middle Eastern Hilltop City
c. 1880s
Oil on artist's board
9.6" x 14"
Available for acquisition
IV. DE FOREST'S DESIGN WORK
Under Construction
V. 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
Lagoon at Santa Barbara
1902
Oil on canvas
21.75" x 30"
Private Collection
VI. 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 Academy of Design, New York, NY
New York Historical Society, New York, NY
Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Santa Barbara, CA
Sullivan Goss - Private Collection
VII. AWARDS (selected list)
1886 Medal for Indian Carvings Colonial Exposition, London
1893 Medal Columbian Exposition, Chicago
1904 Bronze medal, St. Louis Exposition
VIII. 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
1976Lockwood de Forest: Painter, Importer, Decorator, Heckscher Museum, Huntington, NY
1988Lockwood de Forest: Alaskan Oil Sketches, Alaska Museum of Art, Juneau, AK
1998The Painted Sketch, Sullivan Goss - An American Gallery, Santa Barbara, CA
2000Nocturnes, Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Santa Barbara, CA
2000An Introduction, Sullivan Goss - An American Gallery, Santa Barbara, CA
2001Plein-Air Oil Sketches, Richard York Gallery, New York, NY
2003In Quietude, Sullivan Goss - An American Gallery, Santa Barbara, CA
2005Lockwood de Forest, Sullivan Goss - An American Gallery, Santa Barbara, CA
2007Lockwood de Forest: At First Blush, Sullivan Goss - An American Gallery, Santa Barbara, CA
2008Lockwood de Forest, Santa Barbara Trust for Historic Preservation, Santa Barbara, CA
2008Lockwood de Forest: Poet of Place, Greenville County Museum of Art, Greenville, SC
View from Aletgalipo to the Mediterranean
1878 [?]
Oil on board
6.25" x 8.875"
Available for acquisition
IX. 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. Ackerman, Gerald M. American Orientalists. Paris: ACR Edition, 1994.
2. Alaska State Museum. Lockwood de Forest : Alaska Oil Sketches.
3. de Forest, Lockwood. Illustrations of Design, Based on Notes of Line as Used by the Craftsmen of India. Boston: Ginn & Co., 1912.
4. Goldyne, Joseph. Lockwood de Forest: Plein-air Oil Sketches. New York: Richard York Gallery, 2001.
5. Hughes, Eden Milton. Artists in California 1786-1940. Third edition. Sacramento, Calif.: 2002.
