Elihu Vedder (1836 – 1923) was an American symbolist painter, book illustrator, and poet, born in New York City. Year 1836 ( MDCCCXXXVI) was a Leap year starting on Friday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian Calendar (or a Leap Year 1923 ( MCMXXIII) was a Common year starting on Monday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar. The United States of America —commonly referred to as the Symbolism was a late nineteenth-century Art movement of French and Belgian origin in poetry and other arts The City of New York
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). The Library of Congress is the De facto National library of the United States and the research arm of the United States Congress Edward Marlborough FitzGerald ( 31 March 1809 &ndash 14 June 1883) was an English Writer, best known as the Poet Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam ( Persian: رباعیات عمر خیام The Rubáiyát ( Arabic: رباعیات is a collection of Poems
Elihu Vedder was born February 26, 1836 in New York City, the son of Dr. Elihu Vedder Sr. and Elizabeth Vedder. His parents were cousins. His father, a dentist, decided to try his luck in Cuba and this 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. His brother, Dr. Alexander Madison Vedder, was a Navy surgeon who witnessed the transformation of Japan into a modern culture while he was stationed there.
Vedder trained in New York City with Tompkins H. Matteson, then in Paris with François-Édouard Picot. Paris (ˈpærɨs in English; in French) is the Capital of France and the country's largest city François-Edouard Picot ( Paris, 10 October 1786 - Paris, 15 March 1868) was a French historic painter 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. The Italian Renaissance began the opening phase of the Renaissance, a period of great cultural change and achievement in Europe that spanned the period from the end of the 14th The Macchiaioli (pronounced mah-key-ay-OH-li were a group of Tuscan painters active in the second half of the nineteenth century who breaking with He first visited Italy from 1858 until 1860, becoming deeply emotionally attached to fellow painter Giovanni Costa. Italy (Italia officially the Italian Republic, (Repubblica Italiana is located on the Italian Peninsula in Southern Europe, and on the two largest Giovanni Costa ( October 15, 1826 – January 31, 1903) was an Italian painter of landscape. Their idyllic trips through the Italian countryside were cut short because Vedder's father cut off his financial allowance.
Vedder returned to the USA, penniless, during the American Civil War, and made a small living by undertaking commercial illustrations. Causes of the war See also Origins of the American Civil War, Timeline of events leading to the American Civil War The coexistence of a slave-owning South He was involved in the bohemian 'Pfaff's' coffee house group, and painted some of his most memorable paintings notable for their visionary nature, romantic imagery and often Oriental influences. Paintings of this time 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. Walter Whitman (May 31 1819 &ndash March 26 1892 was an American poet, Essayist journalist, and humanist. Herman Melville (August 1 1819 &ndash September 28 1891 was an American novelist Short story writer Essayist and poet William Morris Hunt ( March 31, 1824 - September 8, 1879) American painter, was born at Brattleboro Vermont Vedder became a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 1865. The American Academy of Arts and Letters is a 250-member organization whose goal is to "foster assist and sustain excellence" in American Literature, Year 1865 ( MDCCCLXV) was a Common year starting on Sunday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common year
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, NY. Elihu Vedder and his wife had four children, only two who would survive. His daughter Anita Herriman Vedder played a vital role in handling the business of her father, who was notorious for his general aloofness towards details. Elihu's son Enoch Rosekrans Vedder was a promising architect who married jewelry designer Angela Reston. Enoch passed away while visiting his parents in Italy on April 2, 1916. Elihu had a home in Rome and - after the financial success of his 1884 Rubaiyat work - on the Isle of Capri, then a haven for male aesthetes. Rome ( Roma ˈroma Roma is the capital city of Italy and Lazio, and is Italy's largest and most populous city with more than 2 Capri ( Italian pronunciation Cápri usual English pronunciation Caprí is an Italian island off the Sorrentine Peninsula, on the south side
Vedder visited England many times, and was influenced by the Pre-Raphaelites, and was a friend of Simeon Solomon. England is a Country which is part of the United Kingdom. Its inhabitants account for more than 83% of the total UK population whilst its mainland The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood (also known as the Pre-Raphaelites) was a group of English painters Poets, and critics founded in 1848 by Simeon Solomon (b October 9, 1840 in London, England &ndash d He was also influenced by the work of English and Irish mystics such as William Blake and William Butler Yeats. William Blake (28 November 1757 – 12 August 1827 was an English poet, painter, and Printmaker. In 1890 Vedder helped establish the In Arte Libertas group in Italy. Year 1890 ( MDCCCXC) was a Common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar of the Gregorian calendar (or a Common
Tiffany commissioned him to design glassware, mosaics and statuettes for the company. Tiffany & Co ( is a US jewelry and silverware company founded by Charles Lewis Tiffany and Teddy Young in New York City Art History Mosaics of the 4th century BC are found in the Macedonian palace-city of Aegae, and they enriched the floors of Hellenistic He decorated the hallway of the Reading Room of the Washington Library of Congress, and his mural paintings can still be seen there. The Library of Congress is the De facto National library of the United States and the research arm of the United States Congress
Vedder occasionally returned to the USA, but lived only in Italy from 1906 until his death on January 29, 1923.
Gallery
 The Pleiades (1885) |
 Corrupt Legislation (1896) |
 Government (1896) |
 Peace and Prosperity (1896) |
Further reading
- Soria, Regina (1970). Elihu Vedder: American Visionary Artist in Rome. Madison, NJ: Fairleigh Dickinson University Press. ISBN 0-8386-6906-9.
- Taylor, Joshua C. (1979). Perceptions and Evocations: The Art of Elihu Vedder. Smithsonian Books. ISBN 0-87474-902-6.
- Vedder, Elihu (1910). The Digressions of V. New York: Houghton Mifflin.
- Vedder, Elihu (1914). Miscellaneous Moods in Verse: One Hundred and One Poems with Illustrations. Boston: Porter E. Sargent.
- Vedder, Elihu (1922). Doubt and Other Things. Boston: Porter E. Sargent.