DOI Heft:
No. 249 (January 1914)
DOI Artikel:Schmidt, Anna Seaton: An american marine painter: Frederick J. Waugh
DOI Seite / Zitierlink: https://doi.org/10.11588/diglit.21208#0300
An American Marine Painter: F. J. IVangh
“THE BUCCANEERS” BY FREDERICK J. WAUGH
ful work as illustrator for the London “ Graphic.”
Yet, though the details are marvellously painted,
they are wisely subordinated to the pirates them-
selves—while the majestic waves lose nothing of
their power by the juxtaposition of so many figures.
The entire composition is handled in a daringly
successful manner and reveals the singular versatility
of this artist, who insists that the sea attracts him
no more strongly than landscape or the human
form. “I adore nature, and wherever I find beauty
I wish to reproduce it.” Happily, he possesses the
vision of a poet and can pierce beneath the con-
ventionalities to the beauty that underlies all life.
The old fish-wharves of Gloucester have been
painted by every American artist, but rarely with
the simplicity and dignity which lend such signifi-
cance to Mr. Waugh’s interpretation of these time-
worn subjects. Absolutely true to life, they are in
no sense photographic reproductions. If his pic-
tures sometimes lack atmosphere this criticism can-
not be made of his Gloucester pictures, which seem
bathed in that mysterious ether that softens and
makes lovely the homeliest outdoor subject. In spite
of the interest attaching to the picturesque boats
and wharves, we feel that it is the water itself which
278
is his chief attraction: the incoming sea whose
singing is ever in his ears, whose ebb and flow
make the joy and sorrow of the men and women
living in the old fishing town of Cape Ann. Under
whatever aspect he paints the sea his genius has
power to communicate to us something of its brood-
ing mystery, of making us share with him the glory
and the wronder of the great waters.
Charles Curran says, in writing of Waugh’s
marines : “ One of the most obvious facts in con-
nection with his technique is that there is a definite,
well-understood purpose in every touch. He has
grasped the entire effect . . . and with bold strokes
swept it in with a freedom only equalled by the sea
itself. . . . This rare skill is the result of a dexterity
born of long experience.” This fact Mr. Waugh him-
self reiterated in a talk which he gave to students.
“ I spend part of each year studying the sea. I
both paint it and watch it carefully, and the latter
method of studying I am sure is invaluable. In
that way I fix certain forms clearly in my memory
and learn the why and how of the grand old ocean.
Acquire the habit of constant observation . . . get
at the heart of things. ... If you really love
Nature she will love you and teach you.”
“THE BUCCANEERS” BY FREDERICK J. WAUGH
ful work as illustrator for the London “ Graphic.”
Yet, though the details are marvellously painted,
they are wisely subordinated to the pirates them-
selves—while the majestic waves lose nothing of
their power by the juxtaposition of so many figures.
The entire composition is handled in a daringly
successful manner and reveals the singular versatility
of this artist, who insists that the sea attracts him
no more strongly than landscape or the human
form. “I adore nature, and wherever I find beauty
I wish to reproduce it.” Happily, he possesses the
vision of a poet and can pierce beneath the con-
ventionalities to the beauty that underlies all life.
The old fish-wharves of Gloucester have been
painted by every American artist, but rarely with
the simplicity and dignity which lend such signifi-
cance to Mr. Waugh’s interpretation of these time-
worn subjects. Absolutely true to life, they are in
no sense photographic reproductions. If his pic-
tures sometimes lack atmosphere this criticism can-
not be made of his Gloucester pictures, which seem
bathed in that mysterious ether that softens and
makes lovely the homeliest outdoor subject. In spite
of the interest attaching to the picturesque boats
and wharves, we feel that it is the water itself which
278
is his chief attraction: the incoming sea whose
singing is ever in his ears, whose ebb and flow
make the joy and sorrow of the men and women
living in the old fishing town of Cape Ann. Under
whatever aspect he paints the sea his genius has
power to communicate to us something of its brood-
ing mystery, of making us share with him the glory
and the wronder of the great waters.
Charles Curran says, in writing of Waugh’s
marines : “ One of the most obvious facts in con-
nection with his technique is that there is a definite,
well-understood purpose in every touch. He has
grasped the entire effect . . . and with bold strokes
swept it in with a freedom only equalled by the sea
itself. . . . This rare skill is the result of a dexterity
born of long experience.” This fact Mr. Waugh him-
self reiterated in a talk which he gave to students.
“ I spend part of each year studying the sea. I
both paint it and watch it carefully, and the latter
method of studying I am sure is invaluable. In
that way I fix certain forms clearly in my memory
and learn the why and how of the grand old ocean.
Acquire the habit of constant observation . . . get
at the heart of things. ... If you really love
Nature she will love you and teach you.”