Wednesday, May 5, 2010

People You Should Know

John La Farge, mostly because of his stained glass windows, but a great read:

"Reminiscences of the South Seas"
By John La Farge

Publisher: Garden City, N.Y. Doubleday, Page & Amp 1912

He and a friend (Henry Adams) traveled about the South Seas before Gauguin even got there. Visited Robert Louis Stevenson in Samoa and wrote a great book filled with cool watercolors. A married Catholic, he didn't really take advantage of what he saw, so at times he came across as a little old lady. I had access to a copy at the USC Library, as far as I know its not in reprint, so a library or Abe Books are the choices.
 Not a flattering pic. It was said that he talked like Henry James wrote (and was James' painting teacher when Henry wanted to be a painter) Friends with Winslow Homer and taught women to paint, but was a sexist. He told one woman painter that he didn't understand why women didn't stick to painting flowers.
But he was capable of creating this:

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