Painter Ernest Lawson’s work “Red Rooftops” is shown. Photo provided.

By Darla McCammon
and DeeAnna Muraski
Guest Columnists

WARSAW — The year 1908 brought an odd group of artists together. They named themselves “The Eight” and were a coalition of artists who felt thwarted by the National Academy of Design. Among these eight was a soft-spoken, Canadian-American, known by his friends and acquaintances as an excellent, though humble, artist named Ernest Lawson.

The main complaint among these eight was that they felt the National Academy of Design only approved or allowed a very narrow taste in the art submitted to achieve its approval. The eight also disliked the restrictive policies connected with having work accepted in its exhibitions.

Lawson was born in 1873 in Halifax, Nova Scotia, and arrived in America in 1888 to settle in Kansas City. In 1891, he went to live in New York and soon enrolled in classes at the Art Students League with John Henry Twachtman, whom he admired. Twachtman introduced him to impressionism. He later continued to study with Twachtman in Connecticut and also became a student of J. Alden Weir. Lawson visited France in 1893 and studied at the Académie Julian with Benjamin Constant and Jean-Paul Laurens. He practiced plein-air painting in southern France, and he met the English impressionist Alfred Sisley. In 1894, Lawson was invited to exhibit two paintings in the coveted Salon. Lawson shared a Paris studio that year with W. Somerset Maugham, who is believed to have used Lawson as the inspiration for the character “Frederick Lawson” in his 1915 novel “Of Human Bondage.” The movie adaptation starred Bette Davis, who was nominated for an Oscar in this role.

Lawson admired the work and style of Twachtman, Sisley and Weir, and his work reflected his inspiration of that same flair. His work evoked impressionistic moments yet falls between impressionism and realism. See his painting (photo provided) titled “Red Rooftops.”

Lawson was included with “The Eight” protesters in the 1908 independent exhibition of this group to protest the jury system of the National Academy. But he, being a gentleman to all, gained acceptance with both sides of this disagreement and showed his work with exhibitions included by both parties throughout his life.

Events

Do not forget to purchase your tickets for the upcoming Author Dinner hosted by the nonprofit Operation Read USA. Several paintings have been donated for the silent auction. Operation Read is a literacy organization that uses the local newspaper to instruct its students on reading. Celebrity Wendi Lou Lee is flying in from California to speak about her role on the “Little House on the Prairie” television series, her two published books and how she has gotten through life by experiencing grace. The event is from 6-8 p.m. Thursday,  Oct. 12, in the Shrine Building at the Kosciusko County Fairgrounds, Warsaw. Operation Read helps children and families in poverty with tutoring, free books and more. Register by Monday, Oct. 9, online or mail general admission payment ($64.99) to: P.O. Box 796, Warsaw IN 46581.

Darla McCammon is an artist, columnist and author, and DeeAnna Muraski is executive director of Operation Read USA Inc. For information, call (574) 527-4044 or send an email to [email protected].