Verner Moore White
Verner Moore White (October 5, 1863 - August 30, 1923), born Thomas Verner Moore White but informally known as Verner White, was an American landscape and portrait
Background and early career
White was born in
White was taught by private tutor until when at seventeen he attended Southwestern Presbyterian University in Clarksville, Tennessee to study art.[2] White graduated in 1884 to become a full-time artist in DeLand, Florida. The forests and swamps of north Florida and south Georgia were the subjects of many of White's early works as he developed his interest and skill in landscape painting during this period.[1]
In 1885, White turned his attentions to portraiture when he opened a studio in Mobile, Alabama. While in Mobile, White painted portraits of some of the most influential people in The South including his painting of the last live portrait of Jefferson Davis, the former President of the Confederacy.[2]
Jefferson Davis' daughter, Winnie Davis, had studied in Germany and France and recommended that White go to Europe in order to further study his craft before completing her portrait.[1]
In 1887, White took her advice and moved to Europe to further his artistic studies. White studied in Paris for four years, and spent three more years traveling and painting in other European cities including in Brussels, Antwerp, Rotterdam, Liege, Rouen, Biarritz and Pau.[3] While in Biarritz, White painted The Basque Shepherd, a painting of the dog of Grand Duke Alexei Alexandrovich, of Russia. The $300 sale of that painting to the Grand Duke financed his remaining travels, and for the rest of his career White would have an affinity for the painting of hunting dogs.[3]
Gallery of hunting dog paintings by White
White's work in Texas
White returned to the United States in 1895 and spent the next nine years living and working in
In 1897, White moved to
In 1902, White was awarded the commission by the World's Fair Commission for Texas to paint a series of twelve large oil paintings, that represented the natural resources and industries of Texas, to adorn the Texas exhibit at the 1904 Louisiana Purchase Exposition (also known as the St. Louis World's Fair). The scenes included artistic representations of oil fields, agricultural fields, pecan groves, granite quarries, and ranch scenes.[5] To date, only one of White's World's Fair Commission paintings is known to survive. It is thought that maybe the others were destroyed by a fire in his St. Louis studio in 1915.[6] The surviving panorama, The Harbor at Galveston was donated to the Houston Public Library by White's widow, Mertie Boughton White, after his death.
White's work in St. Louis
White moved to
After the closing of the fair, the Whites decided to stay in St. Louis and bought a home near the former fairgrounds in the St. Louis suburb of Richmond Heights. White spent the remainder of his life living and working primarily in St. Louis. He opened a studio in the city, and worked as a staff artist and special correspondent for the St. Louis Globe newspaper.[1]
In 1907, White was awarded a commission from the Keokuk Commercial Club to create an aerial view painting of the dam and city of Keokuk, Iowa that was given to President Theodore Roosevelt.[4]
White painted for a third United States President in 1909 when he painted a large oil of the fleet of steamboats that President
White painted his second work for William Jennings Bryan when the Chautauqua Association commissioned him to paint a large oil titled Bryan Day at Chautauqua which was presented to Bryan at a conference near Elsah, Illinois.[2]
During his St. Louis period, White continued to paint marine and hunting scenes, but may have been best known for his depictions of blossoming fruit trees. The apple trees near his home in St. Louis would become one of his favorite motifs, and White would become widely recognized for the theme.[2]
White's paintings were distributed by galleries in St. Louis, Chicago, New York City, and Boston, and special catalogues were produced for sales in Texas where he remained popular.[3]
In his later years, White spent much of his time teaching in St. Louis and became very involved with the Chautauqua Association. On August 30, 1923, Verner White died of a heart attack at the Chautauqua Institution in Chautauqua, New York while at a banquet being given in his honor.[7]
Gallery of apple blossom paintings by White
References
- ^ a b c d Forrester-O'Brien, Esse. Art and Artists of Texas. Tardy Publishing Company, 1935, p. 222-223.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Baker, James Graham. Southwestern Historical Quarterly Vol CXIII, April, 2010, p. 423.
- ^ a b c The National Cyclopedia of American Biography Volume XX. James T. White & Company, Publisher, 1929, p. 476.
- ^ a b Galveston Daily News. October 5, 1902, p. 12.
- ^ The New York Times. September 18, 1903, p. 8.
- ^ St. Louis Post Dispatch. July 25th, 1915.
- ^ a b Obituary, "Mr. Verner White," The Chautauquan Weekly, Chautauqua Press, Chautauqua, New York, 1923.