"Bringing the Museum to You"

The Cyber Art Show continues our study of American landscape painters in the Public Domain with the second of two 12-piece Exhibitions of works by Paul Cornoyer (1864-1923). Born in St. Louis, Missouri, in 1864, Paul displayed an interest in art from a young age. While still a teenager, Cornoyer attended the St. Louis School of Art.

 

In 1889 Cornoyer traveled to Paris, where he attended classes at the Academié Julian, where he received instruction from the prominent artists Jules Lefebvre, Louis Blanc and Benjamin Constant. Influenced by the French Impressionists, Paul began to publicly exhibit his paintings, winning a first-prize medal from the American Art Association of Paris in 1892. This is when Paul began cultivating the style and subjects of his works—urban streets and public parks.

 

After returning to St. Louis in 1894, Cornoyer won a gold medal from the St. Louis Association of Painters and Sculptors. Paul was still laboring in relative obscurity when the eminent painter William Merritt Chase purchased one of his pictures after seeing it displayed at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia. In 1898, seeking to build on this notoriety, Cornoyer moved to Manhattan, where he met the notable artists Childe Hassam and John Henry Twachtman. Influenced by Impressionists like Edgar Degas and Gustave Caillebotte, Paul began painting en plein on the streets and in the parks, learning to capture the natural light in all different kinds of weather elements.

 

In the first decade of the 20th century, after becoming a member of the prestigious Salmagundi Club, Cornoyer saw his artistic star rise, cementing his career success. From 1905-1910, Paul won numerous awards, including the Evans Prize, the Inness Prize and the Shaw Purchase Prize. In 1909 he was elected as an associate member of the National Academy of Design in 1909.

 

After moving to Gloucester, Massachusetts in 1917, Cornoyer became a very successful art teacher. The artist continued to paint, teach and display his artwork until his death in 1923. Today, his works can be found in collections throughout the United States, including those of the Brooklyn Museum, the St. Louis Art Museum and the Dallas Art Association.