Hugh Henry Breckenridge 1870-1937
Framed dimensions: 31 1/2 x 30 inches
Hugh Henry Breckenridge was a colorist, a seminal figure in Philadelphia’s Modernist circles, and an influential and beloved teacher. Like many artists of his generation, he experimented continuously with the vanguard styles of painting that were being developed in Europe, from Impressionism and Post-Impressionism, through Fauvism and Cubism, and finally to Abstraction and Non-Representational painting. Although he was certainly influenced by these movements, he developed his own distinct voice. He also passed his passion for art on to countless students as an instructor at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, where he taught for over forty years.
Born in Leesburg, Virginia in 1870, Breckenridge drew incessantly as a child, and through the encouragement of his teacher Paul Laughlin, he decided to pursue a career as an artist. When he turned fifteen, his parents reluctantly allowed him to open a studio in Leesburg so that he could earn the tuition necessary to attend the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. In 1887, he enrolled in the Academy, an institution with which he would be affiliated for the majority of his life. The following year, he opened a studio with fellow student William J. Edmondson. Breckenridge won the Academy’s Charles Toppan’s First Prize in 1890 for a portrait of Edmondson (current location unknown) and in 1891, he was awarded the Cresson Traveling Scholarship, which allowed him to pursue his dream of continuing his studies abroad.
Breckenridge went to Paris in 1892 and enrolled in the Académie Julian as a student under William Bouguereau, William G. Ferrier, and Lucien Doucet. He frequented the Louvre and other museums and traveled through Europe with Walter Schofield, one of the Pennsylvania Impressionists. The academic training Breckenridge received proved beneficial for the portrait work he often did to earn a living, but he was more interested in nonacademic approaches to art. Like many artists at the end of the nineteenth century, he responded enthusiastically to the new and exciting changes in art that were rapidly taking place in Europe and America. He was particularly interested in the exploration of color and color theories. During his time in Paris, he became captivated with Impressionism and his paintings soon began to reflect that interest. Upon his return to the States in 1893, he experimented with Impressionist techniques of painting color and light in landscapes, figurative paintings, and portraits.
Back in Philadelphia, Breckenridge began his lifelong teaching career. He first taught classes at the Springside School for Girls in Chestnut Hill, Pennsylvania. In addition, he was offered the post of Secretary of the Faculty at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in 1894 and taught there until his death in 1937. In 1900, he and Thomas Anshutz opened the Darby Summer School of Painting outside of Philadelphia, which they relocated to Fort Washington, Pennsylvania, in 1902. Although Anshutz died in 1913, Breckenridge maintained the Darby School until 1918. From 1920 until 1937, he ran the Breckenridge School of Art in Gloucester, Massachusetts, during the summer months. He also served as Director of the Department of Fine Arts at the Maryland Institute of Art beginning in 1919 while continuing his work at the Academy.
During his second trip abroad during the summer of 1909 (again with Schofield), Breckenridge was exposed to the latest experiments in painting led by the Post-Impressionists, including Henri Matisse, Vincent Van Gogh, and the Fauves. He was especially fascinated with these painters’ expressive use of color. These experiences made him an early convert to Modernism, which he pursued in his paintings upon his return to America. He kept abreast of the Modernist movement through visits to Alfred Stieglitz’s 291 Gallery in New York, and he subscribed to Stieglitz’s highly influential journal of avant-garde art, Camera Work. In 1913, he shared a studio with Arthur B. Carles in the Fuller Building in New York. The two painters became very close, often painting the same subjects and in the same manner, inspired by Paul Cézanne’s structural brush work and Matisse’s vivid colors. This resulted in what Breckenridge called his “‘tapestry paintings,’ which combined broad, checkerboard brushwork with a vigorous Neo-Impressionist technique.”
In the 1920s, Breckenridge began producing abstract paintings, but he also continued to paint recognizable subjects. Boats at Dock combines both styles of painting and highlights his keen interest in vivid color. Here the elements of line, form, color, and space take precedence. The boats and harbor are still recognizable, yet the irregular shapes and vibrant, prismatic colors create a bold and modern composition. Building up layers of paint, Breckenridge formed a highly patterned and textured surface, juxtaposing warm and cool tones to create a dynamic, lively composition that seems to glow as it reflects the light.
Provenance
The artist;The artist's estate;
The daughter of Hugh Henry Breckenridge;
The granddaughter of Hugh Henry Breckenridge, until 2024