by Joan K. Yanni
COLIN CAMPBELL COOPER
(1856-1937) was acclaimed as a painter of buildings—skyscrapers in Manhattan,
palaces in India, villas in Rome—and churches in Rochester. Whatever his
subject, he brought to it a special light, glowing color and beauty of detail.
Cooper was born in
Philadelphia, the only son of well-to-do parents. His father was a surgeon
and his mother an amateur painter in watercolors. His parents encouraged
his interest in the arts and gave him the financial and moral support that
permitted him to study and travel as he pleased throughout his life.
In 1879 at the age of 23
he enrolled at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, where Thomas Eakins was
his instructor. Philadelphia at this time was the center of the country's
artistic activity; the Pennsylvania Academy, founded in 1905, was the first
full-scale art museum and art school in the United States. Art students
flocked here to learn the scientific approach to art as taught by Eakins:
drawing from nude models and from live animals (sometimes from dissections) and
painting accurate rather than merely flattering portraits.
In 1886 Cooper went to
Europe for further training and inspiration. Joining fellow artists
Henri, Schofield and others, he sketched and painted in Holland and
Belgium. He then went on to Paris and the Académie Julien, where
instructors Gustave Goulanger and Jules Lefebvre further emphasized solid
draftsmanship and composition. While in Paris, Cooper saw the works of
Claude Monet and was captivated by his loose brush strokes and vivid
colors. However, unlike other American Impressionists, Cooper chose to
paint architectural treasures and city scenes rather than the
countryside. He adopted Monet's technique of painting a textured facade
at various times of day, choosing Beauvais cathedral as Monet had chosen
Rouen. Though the effects of sunlight and atmosphere permeate these
pictures, Cooper never lost the formal solidity of the buildings. His
technical training made a permanent mark on his style, and he was able to
successfully combine attention to detail with his Impressionistic brushwork and
palette.
Although he spent many
years abroad, Cooper took time between his travels to paint and work at
home. In 1897 he married the painter Emma Lampert, and they spent many
productive years traveling and painting together.
In 1913 Cooper made his
first trip to India, where he was able to capture the baked earth, blue skies,
and exotic palaces on canvas. But it was in New York City that he found the
theme which earned him most acclaim: the skyscraper. He painted cityscapes
according to a mathematical formula which he explained in a magazine article
titled "Skyscrapers and How to Build Them in Paint." Though his
compositions were painted according to formula, his fluid brushstrokes convey
spontaneity and excitement.
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| Main Street Bridge, Rochester |
Because Cooper's wife
was from Rochester and her family lived here, he painted many scenes of the
city. The popular Main Street Bridge (26.20)
is one of them. He once stated: "Mrs. Cooper says that the
Main Street Bridge picture...has attracted much attention because people are
surprised that such a foreign looking place can be found in
America." The painting shows buildings lining the bridge. The
structures are gone now, but railings by Albert Paley add beauty and interest
to the walkway.
In 1915 Cooper exhibited
his works in San Francisco, and found California so attractive that, after
Emma's death in 1920, he moved to Santa Barbara, where he spent his last years
painting and teaching.
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| Weaving Homespun, Canada |
Emma Lampert, Cooper’s
wife and a painter in her own right, painted Weaving Homespun,
Canada (77.16), the work now in the Docent Room. She was born in
nearby Nunda in 1860, studied at Cooper Union as well as in Paris and Holland,
and exhibited in the Paris Salon. Her work was in the MAG 1913 Inaugural
Exhibition and in later exhibits created by the Gallery.
Source: Curatorial
files; Goolsby, Tina: "Colin Campbell Cooper: An American
Impressionist with a Global Perspective," Art & Antiques, Jan. - Feb., 1963.
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