Ernest Lawson (1873-1939)
Ernest Lawson, a Canadian-American painter and a member of The Eight, was born on March 22, 1873 in Hailfax, Nova Scotia. In 1888 he moved to Kansas City, Missouri, where his father practiced medicine. He enrolled in the Kansas City Art League School, however, without sufficient funds for art studies he accompanied his father to Mexico City, where he worked as a draughtsman for an engineering company.
In 1890, Lawson enrolled in classes at the Art Students League in New York, where he studied under J. Alden Weir, and John H. Twachtman, who was an important figure in his formative years. In1893, Ernest Lawson studied at the Académie Julian with Benjamin Constant and Jean-Paul Laurens. Upon his return to the United States, Lawson began formulating his own individualistic aesthetic. He took inspiration from Robert Henri and the other independent artists with who he began to associate with.
In 1898, Ernest Lawson moved to Washington Heights in Manhattan, where he painted landscapes, paying special attention to the Hudson River. During this time Lawson was active somewhat in Canada, where he exhibited at the Canadian Art Club in Toronto, of which he was a member. His first painting was purchased by the National Gallery of Canada.
In 1908, Ernest Lawson participated in the exhibition of “The Eight” at Macbeth Gallery. Unlike his fellow members of The Eight who were in rebellion against the beauty of Impressionist landscape painting, Lawson represented it. In 1912, he cofounded the National Association of Painters and Sculptors, who in 1913 planned the Armory Show that remains famous in art history for being a large-scale introduction of modernist art to the American public. Lawson was elected a Full Member of the National Academy of Design 1917. In 1926, Lawson returned to Kansas City to teach at the Art Institute. He also taught at the Broadmoor Academy from 1927 to 1928, and briefly in Hartford, Connecticut.
Ernest Lawson’s later life was troubled with personal, financial and health problems. He died on December 18, 1939 near Miami, Florida. His cause of death was drowning, which some thought to be suicide.
Ackerman's Fine Art is actively purchasing works by Ernest Lawson.