Elihu Vedder was a prominent American symbolist painter, book illustrator, and poet, born in New York City on February 26, 1836. He is best known for his fifty-five illustrations for Edward FitzGerald's translation of The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam (deluxe edition, published by Houghton Mifflin).
Early Life and Training
Elihu Vedder was born to Dr. Elihu Vedder Sr. and Elizabeth Vedder in New York City. His parents were cousins, and his father, a dentist, decided to try his luck in Cuba, which had a profound impact on Elihu Jr.'s childhood. The remainder of his childhood was spent between his maternal grandfather
Alexander Vedder's house in Schenectady and a boarding school. His mother supported his goals to be an artist while his father reluctantly assented, convinced that his son should try a different occupation.
Vedder trained in New York City with
Tomkins H. Matteson, then in Paris with
François-Édouard Picot. Finally, he completed his studies in Italy, where he was strongly influenced not only by Italian Renaissance work but also by the modern Macchiaioli painters and the living Italian landscape.
Career and Notable Works
Vedder first visited Italy from 1858 until 1860, becoming deeply emotionally attached to fellow painter
Giovanni Costa. Their idyllic trips through the Italian countryside were cut short because Vedder's father cut off his financial allowance.
Some of his most notable works include
The Roc's Egg,
The Fisherman and the Genii, and one of his most famous works,
Lair of the Sea Serpent. In the USA, he sought out and became friends with
Walt Whitman,
Herman Melville, and
William Morris Hunt.
Vedder became a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 1865. At the end of the Civil War, he left America to live in Italy. He married
Caroline Rosekrans on July 13, 1869, in Glen Falls, New York.
- Symbolist Movement: Vedder was a key figure in the symbolist movement, which emphasized emotion and individualism.
- Influences: He was influenced by the work of English and Irish mystics such as William Blake and William Butler Yeats.
- Artistic Style: Vedder's artistic style is characterized by its visionary nature, romantic imagery, and often Oriental influences.
Legacy and Later Life
Vedder visited England many times and was influenced by the Pre-Raphaelites, and was a friend of
Simeon Solomon. He helped establish the
In Arte Libertas group in Italy. Tiffany commissioned him to design glassware, mosaics, and statuettes for the company.
Vedder decorated the hallway of the
Reading Room of the Washington Library of Congress, and his mural paintings can still be seen there. He occasionally returned to the United States but lived only in Italy from 1906 until his death on January 29, 1923.
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