ERNEST LAWSON

American Impressionist Ernest Lawson was born in Halifax, Nova Scotia, the son of a physician. Most of Lawson’s childhood was spent in the care of an aunt and uncle in Ontario, Canada while his father practiced medicine in Kansas City, Missouri. Lawson joined his parents in Kansas City in 1888, and became apprentice to F. Jennings Warrington who gave lessons in decorative tablecloth painting. Lawson studied briefly with Ella Holman, a teacher at the Kansas City Art Institute, who would later become his wife. In 1890 Lawson moved to Mexico City with his father and took a job as a draftsman for Pearson and Son, an English engineering firm, and took night classes at the San Carlos Art School. By 1891 he had saved enough money to move to New York City to study at the Art Students League under John Twachtman. In 1892 Lawson enrolled in the art school at Cos Cobb, Connecticut founded by Twachtman and J. Alden Weir. Here he acquired his impressionistic approach to landscape that would remain his main artistic interest throughout his career. The artist made his first trip to Europe in 1893 and studied at the Académie Julian in Paris, sharing a studio with the novelist Somerset Maugham. He painted in Martigues, in the south of France, and Moret-sur-Loing outside of Paris during the summer. In France Lawson met Alfred Sisley who, along with Twachtman, exerted a major influence on the development of the painter’s style. Back in the United States, Lawson married his former teacher and almost immediately returned to France. In 1897 Lawson accepted a teaching position in Columbus, Georgia, but by 1898 the Lawsons were living in New York City. During this period, Lawson painted the still largely rural areas surrounding Manhattan. In 1906 he moved to Greenwich Village and met William Glackens, John Sloan, George Luks, and Everett Shinn. Together with Arthur B. Davies, Robert Henri, and Maurice Prendergast, these artists formed the group called “The Eight.” One of the shared interests of the eight was their desire to represent the lives of the middle and lower classes. During this time Lawson lived and painted in Spain, Nova Scotia, and Florida, as well as around New England. In 1926 he accepted a teaching position at the Kansas City Art Institute, but left to teach at the Broadmoor Art Academy in Colorado Springs in 1927. In 1936 he relocated permanently to Coral Gables, Florida. He died in Miami in 1939. Lawson was a member of the Century Association; the National Academy of Design; the National Arts Club; and the National Institute of Arts and Letters. He exhibited his work widely, including at “The Eight” show in 1908, and the famous Armory Show of 1913, and won many medals and prizes. His work is represented in the collections of major museums and galleries throughout the United States.