Eanger Irving Couse (September 3, 1866 - April 26, 1936) was an American artist and a founding member and first president of the Taos Society of Artists.
He is noted for paintings of Native Americans, New Mexico, and the American Southwest.
His house and studio in Taos have been preserved as the Eanger Irving Couse House and Studio - Joseph Henry Sharp Studios, which is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and the New Mexico Register of Cultural Properties.
Early life and education
Couse (pronounced to rhyme with "house") was born to a farming family in Saginaw, Michigan.
As a boy, he started drawing members of the Chippewa tribe who lived nearby.
He attended local schools as a child and continued to work at art.
Couse left Michigan for professional art studies at the Art Institute of Chicago and the National Academy of Design, New York.
He went to Paris, where he studied at the École des Beaux-Arts and Académie Julian under William-Adolphe Bouguereau.
He lived in France for 10 years, painting mostly landscapes of the Normandy coast.
Between 1893-1896, he lived at the Etaples art colony, where he painted its streets and fisher folk, including Coastal Scene, Etaples.
Artistic career in the United States
After his return to the United States, Couse first lived in New York.
He spent time in Taos, New Mexico during the summers.
At the turn of the 19th century, the Southwest, and New Mexico in particular, attracted numerous artists and writers because it remained untouched by national expansion efforts dictated by the American policy of Manifest Destiny.
The artists and writers of this era wanted to capture the last vestiges of the Old West before it disappeared altogether.
During his time in New Mexico, Couse studied and painted the lives and culture of the Taos Indians, a Pueblo tribe.
He began to show his paintings of Native American life and earned his first solo show in 1891.
In 1911 Couse was elected to the National Academy of Design.
He also became active in the Taos art colony.
In 1915, Couse was one of the six founding members of the Taos Society of Artists, and was elected first president.
Another founding member was the artist Joseph Henry Sharp, who adapted a chapel near Couse's house as a studio.
Later Sharp built a combined house and studio on the land.
The adjacent properties are recognized jointly as the Couse/Sharp Historic Site, and are preserved and operated by the Couse Foundation.
The painting was purchased for the United States national art collection by the well-known art collector William T. Evans and is now displayed in the collections of the Smithsonian American Art Museum.
Elk-foot, whose anglicized name was Jerry Mirabal, began posing for Couse in 1907 and was one of the painters favorite subjects because of his "physical beauty and ideal features".
Legacy and honors
His works won recognition and numerous awards from such institutions as the following:
- the Paris Salon;
- the Art Institute of Chicago;
- the National Academy of Design - Altman prize, 1916;
- the Salmagundi Club - Isidor prize, 1917.
He was awarded the Lippincott prize from the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, 1921.
He received awards from:
- the American Exposition, Buffalo;
- the Boston Art Club,
- the Corcoran Gallery,
- the Panama Pacific International Exposition in San Francisco - silver medal, 1915.
His works are held in many museums in the United States and around the world.
Two buildings he used as studios are part of the Eanger Irving Couse House and Studio -Joseph Henry Sharp Studios listed on the National Register of Historic Places and the New Mexico Register of Cultural Properties.
This is one of 30 sites recognized as an "Historic Artist's Home and Studio Associate Site" by the National Trust for Historic Preservation.
In 2001 the Couse Foundation was formed to restore and preserve the properties. It operates the historic site of the two artists and offers scheduled tours.| © Wikipedia
Eanger Irving Couse | Elk-Foot of the Taos Tribe, 1909
Eanger Irving Couse (3 settembre 1866 - 26 aprile 1936) è stato un artista Americano - membro fondatore e primo presidente della Taos Society of Artists.
È famoso per i dipinti dei nativi americani del New Mexico e del sud-ovest americano.
La sua casa e lo studio a Taos fanno parte del Registro Nazionale dei Luoghi Storici e del Registro delle Proprietà Culturali del Nuovo Messico.
Couse è nato da una famiglia di agricoltori a Saginaw, nel Michigan. Da ragazzo, iniziò a disegnare i membri della tribù Chippewa che viveva nelle vicinanze.
Ha frequentato le scuole locali da bambino e ha continuato a lavorare nell'arte.
Couse lasciò Michigan per gli studi professionali di arte presso l'Art Institute di Chicago e della National Academy of Design, New York.
Andò a Parigi, dove studiò all'École des Beaux-Arts ed all'Académie Julian con William-Adolphe Bouguereau.
Ha vissuto in Francia per 10 anni, dipingendo principalmente paesaggi della costa della Normandia.
Tra il 1893-1896, visse nella colonia d'arte degli Etaples, dove dipinse le sue strade e le popolazioni di pescatori, tra cui Coastal Scene, Etaples.
Eredità ed onori
Le sue opere hanno ottenuto numerosi riconoscimenti da parte di istituzioni come:
- il Salone di Parigi;
- l'Art Institute di Chicago;
- la National Academy of Design -premio Altman, 1916;
- il Salmagundi Club -premio Isidor, 1917.
Fu insignito del premio Lippincott dell'Accademia delle Belle Arti della Pennsylvania, 1921.
Ha ricevuto premi dalla American Exposition, Buffalo; il Boston Art Club, la Corcoran Gallery e la Panama Pacific International Exposition a San Francisco -medaglia d'argento, 1915.
Le sue opere si trovano in molti musei negli Stati Uniti e in tutto il mondo.
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