Gari Melchers:

Life and Works PresentationSarah Newlun

Averett University

Gari Melchers, 1860 – 1932An American Portraitist and Impressionist

Examples of Media used: – Pencil sketches–Oil on canvas– Charcoal on paper–Watercolor/Gouache on

paper– Impasto– Tempera on paper– Pastels

Gari Melchers Life Timeline1860, August 11: Born in Detroit, Michigan.

1871: First Portrait. A paper sketch of his father Julius Melchers. On display at Belmont Museum.

1877: Enrolled in The Royal Academy of Art in Dusseldorf, Germany. Studied under Eduard von Gebhardt and Peter Janssen.

1881: Left Dusseldort to study in Paris at The Academie Julian and Ecole des Beaux Arts.

1884: Completion of formal education and moved to Holland.

1889: Won Grand Prize at the Paris Exposition Universelle.

1902, May: Met Corrine Mackall.

1903, April 14: Married Corrine on the Isle of Jersey.

Gari Melchers Life Timeline - continued1903: Gari and Corrine bought their first house in Egmond, Holland.

1909: Relocated to Weimar, Germany; accepted teaching position at Weimar Academy.

1915: Relocated to United States because of growing hostilities towards Americans during World War I . Opened a studio in New York City.

1916: Purchased Belmont property in Falmouth, Virginia. He and Corrine longed for the rural landscape reminding them of Holland and renovated the historic property built in 1709.

1920: Built Studio on property of Belmont.

1932, November 30: Died at home, Belmont Farm.

1955: Corine Melchers died, and left the entire estate and paintings to the Commonwealth of Virginia. This was later turned over to the University of Mary Washington, where Belmont Museum is still in operation today.

First Portrait

1871Pencil on paper

Portrait of father, Julius Melchers at the age of 11.

Julius Melchers was a famous sculpture and taught Gari art techniques as a young boy.

Costumed model

1879

Pen and Ink wash on paper

While studying art, Melchers’ father did not allow him to take commissions for his work.

He wanted him to “work for the entire seven year period of his apprenticeship without pay, so that he might indulge his curiosity and devotion to art in a purely idealistic manner, without thought of financial gain.” (Dreiss, 1984, p. 3)

Early sketch book while Gari Melchers studied in Dusseldorf, Germany

“Waar en Klaar!” True and Clear read the signpost over his first studio. Gari Melchers makes a name for himself (1880’s):

• After formal education was over in 1884, Melchers decided to remain abroad to absorb the cultural influences of Europe. He considered moving to Italy, but he and a close friend and colleague, George Hitchcock chose Holland.

• Gari enjoyed representational artwork in drawing the working class life in his early years in Holland.

• The artwork in Holland had narrative qualities to the everyday life he captured, exemplifying naturalism.

• Several paintings were accepted to Paris Salon exhibitions. Through these, Gari Melchers started to receive international recognition as a realist artist.

• By 1889, Melchers won the Grand Prize at the Paris Exposition Universelle.

The Letter, 1882 Oil on Canvas

• Gari Melcher’s first exhibit at Paris Salon, the most prestigious bi-annual art exhibit at the time (1740-1890).

• The world began to recognize Melchers as an up and coming artist.

• Completed at the age of 22.

• 37 ¼” x 26 3/8”

The Sermon, 1886 Oil on Canvas

• Won honorable mention in the Paris Salon of 1886

• Won First-Class Gold Medal at Amsterdam in 1886

• Won First-Class Gold Medal at Munich in 1888

• 62 5/8” x 86 ½”

In Holland, 1887 Oil on Canvas

• Exhibitions:– Accepted to Paris Salon of 1887

– Reichard and Company, New York 1890

– American Academy of Arts and Letters, 1932-1933

– Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington DC, 1933

– Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh PA 1934

– Virginia Museum of Fine Arts, Richmond VA 1938

• 109” x 77 ¾”

The Communion, 1889 Oil on Canvas

• Won Grand Prize for American Painting in the Paris Universal Exhibition of 1889

• 85” x 134”

The Nativity

1891, Oil on canvas

Melchers gained wealth as a Portraitist and painting murals, (1890’s – 1900’s)

• By the 1890’s Gari Melchers was a well-known artist.

• He continued to live in Holland, spending some time in Paris and travelling to and from the United States.

• Melchers was commissioned to paint several murals in Chicago, Detroit, and Library of Congress.

• Melchers gained his wealth through a variety of portraits, most famous of who were Theodore Roosevelt, William Vanderbilt, and Andrew Mellon

Portrait of Theodore Roosevelt, 1908

Andrew Mellon

1930, Oil on canvas

Gari Melchers served on the Smithsonian Commission to establish the National Gallery of Art.

Andrew Mellon was the founding benefactor.

The Fencer

1895, Oil on canvas

The Arts of Peace

1893, Mural at the University of Michigan

22” x 36”

The Spirit of the Northwest

1921, mural in the Detroit Public Library

Mural of War

1896, Mural at the Library of Congress, Washington DC

2nd Floor, Northwest Gallery

Mural of Peace

1896, Mural at the Library of Congress, Washington DC

2nd Floor, Northwest Gallery

Gari Melchers married Corrine Mackall in 1903

• By the time of his marriage Melchers was living comfortably as an accomplished and respected artist of his time.

• His artwork after marriage continued assignments which brought him wealth, but he was afforded to paint the themes which truly inspired him.

• Although he and Corrine never bore children together, one of his favorite themes is mother and child.

• His other favorite theme goes back to his “True and Clear” depiction of rural and day to day living of the countryside.

Mother and Child

1906, Oil on canvas

25” x 21 3/8”

Mother and Child

1905, Watercolor, Charcoal and Pastel on paper

The Communicant

1900, Oil on canvas

The Open Door

1905, Oil on canvas

Native in Virginia

1925, Oil on canvas

38 3/4” x 25”

St. George’s Church

1920, Oil on canvas

Local downtown church to Belmont farm in Falmouth.

The Unpretentious Garden

1903-1909, Oil on canvas

33 5/8” x 40 1/2”

The Hunters

1925, Oil on canvas

In Old Virginia

1918, Impasto on canvas

Memberships or Appointed Commissions

1901: Elected to Royal Academy, Berlin

1904: Officer, Legion of Honor, France

Associate Member, National Academy of Design, New York

1906: Academician, National Academy of Design, New York

1907: Officer, Royal Prussian Order of the Red Eagle

1908: Member, Institute of France

1911: Officer, Grand Ducal Order of the White Falcon, Saxony

Member, International Society of Painters, Sculptors, and Gravers, London

Member, Societe Nationale des Beaux-Arts, Paris

Member, Royal Society of Austrian Painters

Member, Munich Secession

Member, Century Association, New York

Memberships or Appointed Commissions – Continued

1913: Honorary doctor of laws, University of Michigan

1916: Member, American Academy of Arts and Letters, New York

Member, the Coffee House

1920: Elected President, New Society of Artists; reelected each year until 1926

1923: Appointed to Smithsonian Commission to establish National Gallery of Art

1930: Appointed to Virginia Arts Commission

1931: Elected president, Century Association

Elected to Board of Trustees, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.

Summary

• Gari Melchers was an artist of varying talents. He did not limit himself to one type of media; although he did show preference to oil on canvas.

• Throughout his life, Melchers varied his artforms; starting with pencil sketches to realistically represent the human form, some charcoal, some watercolor and pastel, but mostly oil painting.

• Some of his paintings and portraits are so detailed and refined in the lines, and vibrant in color, the paintings come to life. Although some were dark in nature, Melchers used light to illuminate his paintings. He not only illuminated the subject itself, but found ways to capture true light throughout the entire painting. In this, he epitomized his phrase “True and Clear.”

• Other paintings were masterful in their impressionistic styles. He used bright and bold colors to tell the story of the painting rather than detailed lines.

• The obvious combination of paint, lines, light, and size, makes one feel drawn into the Melchers’ artwork. What can’t be measured, but certainly felt is the depth of his love, dedication, and appreciation of art and his subjects. He found beauty in life and expressed this in art to share with the world and across time.

Sarah Newlun’s Impressionistic landscape painting.

ReferencesArt Renewal Center (ARC). (2001-2010). Gari Melchers. Retrieved

from: http://www.artrenewal.org/pages/artist.php?artistid=2023

Dreiss, J. (1984). In Ed. R. Reid. Gari Melchers: his works in the Belmont Collection. Charlottesville, VA: University Press of Virginia.

National Gallery of Art (NGA). (2014). The Collection: Gari Melchers. Retrieved from: http://www.nga.gov/content/ngaweb/Collection/artist-info.1711.html?artobj_artistId=1711&pageNumber=1

University of Mary Washington (UMW). (2014). Gari Melchers Home and Studio. Retrieved from: http://garimelchers.umw.edu/