Background

John Ferguson Weirwas born at West Point, N. Y. , the son of Robert Walter and Louisa (Ferguson) Weir.

Education

He attended private schools and was tutored by various instructors at the United States Military Academy. He was taught painting by his father and at the National Academy of Design in New York City.

Career

Early in the sixties he had a studio of his own in the Tenth Street Studio Building, and was grouped with the "Hudson River School. " His pictures, "The Interior of an Artist's Studio" and "The Gun Foundry, " are said to have led to his election as an Associate of the National Academy of Design in 1864 and as an Academician in 1866. During 1868 and 1869 he was in Europe, returning to become the first director of the School of Fine Arts at Yale University, which had been established in 1866. He was professor of painting and design until 1877, and William Leffingwell Professor from 1877 until his retirement in 1913. His masterpiece is probably "Forging the Shaft, " owned by the Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York City. Following his retirement Weir and his wife lived in Providence, R. I. Weir's paintings include genre, landscapes, portraits, and flower-pieces. His early studies of industry are the best examples of the first group, "Forging the Shaft" still ranking high among the representations of man in opposition to machinery. "Three Trees, " in the Corcoran Gallery in Washington, is a charming landscape, and "East Rock, " in the Yale Gallery of Fine Arts, a fine study of rock formation. Many portraits of colleagues are preserved at Yale and the University Club of New York. Admiral Farragut, Elihu Vedder, the painter, and Paul Sabatier, the French savant, likewise sat for portraits. Perhaps the two most notable are those of Weir's cousin, Dr. Robert F. Weir, at the College of Physicians and Surgeons, New York, and of S. Wells Williams of Yale. "Roses, " owned by Nathaniel Vose, Boston, illustrates his flower studies. Always the able craftsman, Weir achieved in his earlier works what a critic of the seventies called "ideal reality. " Later his palette took on the lighter tonality of the Impressionist, with a cool green the characteristic note. Weir modelled statues of Benjamin Silliman, the elder (1884), and President Woolsey for sites on the Yale campus, the fountain on the New Haven Green, and the Lafayette plaque on the Pinchot Building, Milford, Pa. Aside from his art, Weir's activities centered on the development of the Yale School of Fine Arts, where he sought to meet the needs of those who desired both technical and appreciative approaches to the fine arts. The collection of casts, the Alden collection of Belgian woodcarvings, and the Jarves collection of Italian primitives were acquired at his instance, and a chair of architecture was eventually established. In 1924 the department of architecture was moved into Weir Hall. With a keenly religious nature, Weir sought to clarify spiritual truths in such a manner that they might be discussed as freely as scientific theories; The Way: the Nature and Means of Revelation (1889) and Human Destiny in the Light of Revelation (1903) were written with this intention. His John Trumbull (1901) is still a definitive critique of an early American artist. As a member of the Century Association of New York he delivered an address at the memorial meeting in honor of the artist, Sanford Robinson Gifford; he gave the principal address at the fiftieth anniversary of the Yale School of Fine Arts in 1916; and he lectured and wrote extensively on artistic matters throughout his career. He died in Providence.

Achievements

• He is known for his works such as Hudson Highlands, West Point, Summer Afternoon, An Artist's Studio. He was awarded a bronze medal at the Exposition Universelle in Paris in 1900. A prize scholarship was named in his honor in 1889.

Works

More photos

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  • John Trumbull; A Brief Sketch of His Life, to Which Is Added a Catalogue of His Works

    (Unlike some other reproductions of classic texts (1) We h...)

  • John Trumbull - Scholar's Choice Edition

    ( This work has been selected by scholars as being cultur...)

  • Vase of Roses (John Ferguson Weir) Wood Print Wall Art Wall Decor - 24"x36"

    (Wood signs are a rustic and earthy decoration piece perfe...)

  • Roses (John Ferguson Weir) Wood Print Wall Art Wall Decor - 16"x12"

    (Wood signs are a rustic and earthy decoration piece perfe...)

  • Vase of Roses (John Ferguson Weir) Streched Canvas Wrap Frame Print Wall Décor - Full Border, 20"x30"

    (Protect priceless family photos and special captured mome...)

  • Roses (John Ferguson Weir) Acrylic Print Wall Decor Wall Art - Shadow Mount, 18"x12"

    (Bring innovative ideas to your home decoration with these...)

  • John Ferguson Weir: The Labor of Art (American Arts Series)

    (With over 140 illustrations, seven in color.)

  • book

  • book

Personality

Distinguished in his later years by his white hair, moustache, and goatee, his ruddy complexion, and his military step, Weir left a distinct impression on his contemporaries. His appearance is ably suggested in the etching (reproduced in International Studio, September 1926) by his brother, J. Alden Weir. He was a Scotch mystic, a man of broad culture, and a gracious and charming social being. He and his wife are reported to have lived a romance lasting almost sixty years.

Connections

He married Mary Hannah French, the daughter of the Rev. John W. French, D. D. , the chaplain at West Point, on May 17, 1866. They had two daughters.

Father:

Robert Walter

Mother:

Louisa (Ferguson) Weir

Spouse:

Mary Hannah French

child:

Edith Dean Weir