Frank Duveneck - Red Sail in the Harbour at Venice [1884], originally uploaded by Gandalf's Gallery.
Frank Duveneck (October 9, 1848 – January 3, 1919) was an American figure and portrait painter. His work, at first ignored, when shown in Boston and elsewhere about 1875, attracted great attention, and many pupils flocked to him in Germany and Italy, where he made long visits. Henry James called him "the unsuspected genius" and at the age of 27 he was a celebrated artist.
In 1878 Duveneck opened a school in Munich, and in the village of Polling in Bavaria. His students, known as the "Duveneck Boys", included Twachtman, Otto Bacher, Julius Rolshoven, and Herman Wessel. In 1886 he married one of his students who was much admired by Henry James, Boston-born Elizabeth Boott. They lived in Bellosguardo for two years where she produced a son. She died later in Paris of pneumonia. Duveneck was devastated.
After returning from Italy to America, he gave some attention to sculpture, and modelled a fine monument to his wife, now in the English cemetery in Florence. Despite this activity, Elizabeth's death marked a slowing in his productivity, a wealthy man, he chose to lead a life of relative obscurity. He lived in Covington until his death in 1919 and taught at the Art Academy of Cincinnati.
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