Jonas Lie | Expressionist painter

Jonas Lie (April 29, 1880 - January 18, 1940) was a Norwegian-born American painter.

He is best known for colorful paintings of coastlines of New England and city scenes of New York City.

Jonas Lie was born in Moss, in Østfold county, Norway.

His father Sverre Lie, was a civil Norwegian engineer and his mother Helen Augusta Steele, was an American from Hartford, Connecticut.

His father was a brother of Thomasine Lie who had married their cousin Jonas Lie, the famous Norwegian author, whom the painter was named after.

Their home was a meeting place for famous people such as Henrik Ibsen, Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson, Edvard Grieg and Georg Brandes.

In 1892 his father died and 12-year-old Jonas was sent to stay with his aunt and uncle, Thomasine and Jonas Lie, in Paris.

Having already received drawing instruction from Christian Skredsvig in Norway, he now attended a small private art school.

The following year, he joined his mother and sisters in New York City.

Between 1901 and the memorial exhibition in 1940 his work was shown all over America.

In 1905 Lie exhibited 34 pictures in the Pratt Institute, Brooklyn Museum of Art.

Between 1905 and 1938 Lie had 57 one-man shows, each including from 12 to 45 paintings.

He participated in important annual and biennial exhibitions at the National Academy of Design, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, the Art Institute of Chicago, and the Corcoran Gallery of Art in Washington as well as most of the world fairs.

While living in Panama in 1913, he painted scenes of the construction of Panama Canal which were later donated to U.S. Military Academy at West Point in memory of the West Pointer who, as chief engineer, was most potent in channeling the isthmus, General George W. Goethals.

In 1932, Jonas Lie was awarded the Knight of Order of St. Olav by the King of Norway.

Jonas Lie often depicted the sea, channels and ships with dramatic perspective and powerful use of color.

He became known for colorful impressionistic scenes of harbors coves, painted during the many summers he spent on the coasts of New England and Canada.

Throughout his prolific career he painted brilliantly colored images of the rocky coves and harbors that identify the region’s dramatic shoreline.

Lie painted a landscape mural in honor of his wife, Sonia, in the sanctuary of the First Unitarian Society of Plainfield, New Jersey in 1929.

It is inscribed, "I will lift up mine eyes unto the hills".

Lie was a member of various art organizations including the Salmagundi Club and was active in the National Academy of Design.

Paintings of Jonas Lie are on exhibit at art museums throughout the United States including at Utah Museum of Fine Arts; Cornell Fine Arts Museum; Phoenix Art Museum; San Diego Museum of Art; Corcoran Gallery of Art; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Brooklyn Museum of Art; Metropolitan Museum of Art; High Museum of Art; and Memorial Art Gallery.

Awards

1904 Silver Medal at St. Louis Exposition;

1914 First Hallgarten prize National Academy of Design;

1915 Silver medal at Panama-Pacific Exposition in San Francisco;

1916 Richard Greenough Memorial Prize Newport Art Association RI;

1925 Gold Medal of Honor, Philadelphia Art Week;

1925 First Prize of Oscar H. Haugan Prize, Chicago Norske Klub;

1927 First Prize of Michelson and Rongstad Prize, Chicago Norske Klub;

1927 The Carnegie Prize, National Academy of Design;

1928 Olympic Award, Amsterdam;

1929 Maida Gregg Memorial Prize, National Arts Club;

1935 Jennie Sesnan Medal, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts;

1936 Saltus Medal for Merit, National Academy of Design;

1937 Adolph and Clara Obrig Prize, National Academy of Design

Jonas Lie (1880-1940) è stato un pittore ed insegnante Americano di origine norvegese.

Lie è meglio conosciuto per i suoi dipinti espressionisti della costa del New England e di New York City.

Ha documentato la costruzione del Canale di Panama con trenta tele e ha rappresentato gli Stati Uniti nel concorso artistico delle Olimpiadi estive del 1928.

Tra il 1901 e la mostra commemorativa del 1940 il suo lavoro fu esposto in tutta l'America.

Nel 1905 Lie espose 34 quadri al Pratt Institute, Brooklyn Museum of Art.

Tra il 1905 e il 1938 Lie tenne 57 mostre personali, ciascuna comprendente da 12 a 45 dipinti.

Ha partecipato a importanti mostre annuali e biennali presso la National Academy of Design, la Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, l'Art Institute of Chicago e la Corcoran Gallery of Art di Washington, nonché la maggior parte delle fiere mondiali.

Lie si recò a Panama nel 1913, per dipingere scene della costruzione del Canale di Panama. Le sue trenta tele risultanti gli hanno portato ampi consensi.

Nel 1929, dodici di questi furono donati all'Accademia Militare degli Stati Uniti in memoria del generale George W. Goethals, il laureato di West Point che era stato l'ingegnere capo del canale.

Nel 1932, il re Haakon conferì a Lie Norvegia la più alta onorificenza civile, nominandolo Cavaliere dell'Ordine di Sant'Olav.

Lie era membro di varie organizzazioni artistiche tra cui il Salmagundi Club ed era attivo nella National Academy of Design.

Tra gli studenti di Lie c'era il pittore della New Hope School John Fulton Folinsbee.

Jonas Lie spesso raffigurava il mare, i canali e le navi con una prospettiva drammatica e un potente uso del colore.

Divenne noto per le colorate scene impressioniste di porti e insenature, dipinte durante le numerose estati trascorse sulle coste del New England e del Canada.

Nel corso della sua prolifica carriera ha dipinto immagini dai colori brillanti delle insenature rocciose e dei porti che identificano il drammatico litorale della regione.

Lie dipinse un murale paesaggistico in onore di sua moglie, Sonia, nel santuario della First Unitarian Society di Plainfield, nel New Jersey, nel 1929.

C'è scritto: "Alzerò gli occhi sulle colline".

I dipinti di Jonas Lie sono esposti nei musei d'arte di tutti gli Stati Uniti, incluso lo Utah Museum of Fine Arts; Museo delle Belle Arti Cornell; Museo d'Arte della Fenice; Museo d'arte di San Diego; Corcoran Galleria d'Arte; Museo delle Belle Arti, Boston; Museo d'arte di Brooklyn; Museo Metropolitano d'Arte; Museo Superiore d'Arte; al Detroit Institute of Arts ed alla Memorial Art Gallery.