Hugh Henry Breckenridge

Hugh Henry Breckenridge
Self-portrait 1913
Born(1870-10-06)October 6, 1870
Leesburg, Virginia
DiedNovember 4, 1937(1937-11-04) (aged 67)
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
NationalityAmerican
Known forPainting, Educator

Hugh Henry Breckenridge (1870 – 1937), was an American painter and art instructor, who championed the artistic movements from impressionism to modernism. Breckenridge taught for more than forty years at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, becoming the school's Dean of Instruction in 1934. He also taught from 1899 to 1918 at the Darby School of Art, which he co-founded with Thomas Anshutz (1851-1912), and from 1920 to 1937 at his own Breckenridge School of Art in Gloucester, Massachusetts.

Biography

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Breckenridge was born on October 6, 1870, in Leesburg, Virginia. He attended the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts where he met first met William Edmondson.[1] In 1892, he traveled to Paris where he studied under Adolphe William Bouguereau.[2] He travelled through Europe with his colleague Walter E. Schofield.[2]

In 1894 when he returned to Philadelphia he began his career at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts (PAFA), where he would teach for more than forty years.[2][3]

Breckenridge opened his own school in Gloucester, Massachusetts, the Breckenridge School of Art, where he taught summer classes every year from 1920 to 1937.[4]

Breckenridge exhibited widely from 1896 until his death, starting at the Art Club of Philadelphia and, towards the end of his life, in 1934, at the Whitney Museum.[1] His work was included in the 1926 Philadelphia Sesqui-Centennial Exhibition.[1]

Breckenridge was a member of the Philadelphia Art Alliance, Philadelphia Sketch Club, and the Arts Club of Philadelphia.[1]

He died on November 4, 1937, in Philadelphia, while he was still on the faculty of the PAFA.[3][1]

Notable students

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Further reading

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  • Hoeber, Arthur (March 1909). "Hugh H. Breckenridge". International Studio. 37 (145).
  • "Breckenridge, Hugh Henry". New York Times. 5 November 1937. Obituary.
  • Sullivan, Mark W. The Darby School of Art: A Forgotten Chapter in the History of American Impressionist Painting (Havertown, PA: Brookline Books, 2023)

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e MacDonald, Aubrey E. "Hugh Breckenridge (1870-1937)". Sullivan Goss. Archived from the original on 22 August 2018. Retrieved 21 April 2018.
  2. ^ a b c "Hugh Breckenridge (1870 - 1937)". askART. Retrieved 21 April 2018.
  3. ^ a b Tran, Hoang. "Hugh Breckenridge papers: Finding Aid" (PDF). Dorothy and Kenneth Woodcock Archives. The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. Retrieved 22 April 2018.
  4. ^ Dearinger, David B. Paintings & Sculpture at the National Academy of Design: 1826-1925. Vol. 1. p. 64.
  5. ^ Wolanin, Barbara A. (1984). Arthur B. Carles: "Painting with Color". Washington, D.C.: Museum Press Inc. ISBN 0-943836-00-X.
  6. ^ a b "Hugh Henry Breckenridge". Cape Ann Museum.
  7. ^ Craig, Susan V. (2006). "Biographical Dictionary of Kansas Artists (active before 1945)" (PDF). p. 148. Retrieved 3 May 2019.
  8. ^ Brian H. Peterson; William H. Gerdts (27 September 2002). Pennsylvania Impressionism. University of Pennsylvania Press. p. 194. ISBN 0-8122-3700-5.