Global Online Life Drawing Groups Fulfill While #StayAtHome

By Janet Dodrill

Because of Covid-19, it has been safer to stay at home. As an artist, the art life drawing groups that I once attended have not met since early March, 2020. A couple of the groups have moved to Zoom or Facebook Live. I have found dozens of additional art groups online, both out of state and out of the country. I have been fortunate enough to stay busy with these drawing sessions, while meeting people, and fulfilling the sense of community that I seek in addition to improving my drawing skills. The life models have their own remote cameras and setups at their homes or studios, and these sessions have brought people together from all over the world.

I am especially impressed with the talent, professionalism, athleticism, and creativity of the models. Additionally, the organizations have been offering theme-inspired live drawing sessions on Zoom. In the past couple weeks I participated in a Picasso’s Vollard Suite inspired session featuring models Andrew Crayford @andrewcrayford1 and Annie Mae @amlifemodel both of London, a two-day live performance by Juliano Hollivard @julianohollivard of Brazil with constant movement by the model with lighting, music, poetry, video, props and masks, and most recently a session in the style of Matisse, the Odalisques, with model Valentina Rock @valentinarocklondon. Another group simply draws each other’s portraits. Most of them I discovered on Instagram, and there are many more yet to be discovered.

Some of my favorite (online) life drawing groups during the pandemic, on Instagram:

Adrian Dutton Life Drawing, London @adriandutton_life_drawing (Zoom)
https://www.adriandutton.com

The Renaissance Workshop, London @therenaissanceworkshop (Zoom)
https://therenaissanceworkshop.com/product-category/life-drawing

2 B Or Not 2 B Collective @2bornot2bcollective, London (Zoom)
https://linktr.ee/2bornot2bcollective

London Drawing, London @londondrawing (Zoom)
https://londondrawing.com

Life Drawing Barcelona, Spain @lifedrawingbarcelona (Zoom)
https://linktr.ee/lifedrawingbarcelona

Amanda Achen @theartache, California (Zoom)
https://linktr.ee/amandaachen

On Facebook:

Murray Hill Life Drawing, Cleveland, Ohio (Zoom)
https://www.facebook.com/groups/65156305856

The Pretentious Cleveland Portrait Artists, Cleveland, Ohio (Facebook Livestream)
https://www.facebook.com/groups/347696515301192

Website:

Shoal of Art Meetup, London (Zoom)
https://www.meetup.com/London-Shoal-of-Art-Meetup

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Matisse, the Odalisques, theme with model Valentina Rock, by the collaboration of Adrian Dutton Life Drawing and Madhouse Studios, watercolor and ink by Janet Dodrill.

An ink drawing by Janet Dodrill of Juliano Hollivard’s Day Two, The Sacred, performance life drawing session through The Renaissance Workshop.

Hugo Max Schmitz, Newly-Discovered Artwork

By Janet Dodrill

Hugo Max Schmitz, photograph, early 1900s (recently-discovered).

On a recent trip out of town to visit my cousins, some items were discovered in my uncle’s possession. Unseen artwork by Hugo Max Schmitz, my great-grandfather, all of which I had not seen before. In a couple of the works, there are similarities to his previously-known work. He was an artist and a co-founder of Cleveland wall covering firm, Schmitz-Horning Company (1905-1964). The stunning painting comparisons are below.

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Watercolor portrait of young girl by artist Hugo Max Schmitz.

Possible study for watercolor portrait of young girl by artist Hugo Max Schmitz, oil or gouache, early 1900s (recently discovered).

Self-portrait by artist Hugo Max Schmitz, oil, 1898.

Self-portrait study by artist Hugo Max Schmitz, oil, early 1900s (recently discovered).

Archibald Willard Painting Exhibit at The Spirit of ’76 Museum

By Janet Dodrill

Visit The Spirit of ’76 Museum in Wellington, Ohio to see the special exhibit of 22 of Archibald Willard’s paintings, from Dan Zivko’s collection, in honor of town’s bicentennial and 100 years since the artist’s death, through October 2018.

Resources:

The Spirit of ’76 Museum Thespiritof76museum.org

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The Spirit of ’76 Museum in Wellington, Ohio.

Exhibit of 22 of Archibald Willard’s paintings at The Spirit of ’76 Museum through October 2018.

Spirit of ’76 Statue at The Spirit of ’76 Museum.

Archibald M. Willard in his early 40s.

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The Spirit of ’76 Statue

By Janet Dodrill

Statue of Spirit of ’76 by Archibald Willard (Schmitz family archives).

An unusual object has been passed down in the family – a “Spirit of ’76” statue. I had know little about it, even after showing it to three local auction houses, until one day a couple months ago. I believed it had been given to my great-grandfather, Hugo M. Schmitz, by Archibald Willard, the Ohio artist who painted the Spirit of ’76. The two met in the late 1800s and both attended and exhibited at Cleveland’s Art Club, of which Willard was president.

The porcelain statue measures approximately 11″ W x 12″ H and is hand-painted.

Because of my mention of it in my 2/27/2017 blog post, my image of the statue shows up in a Google search for “spirit of 76 statue,” which may be how a woman in Texas came to contact me regarding her similar statue. What are the odds?

The Spirit of ’76 statue owned by the Texas woman, who contacted me in April, 2018.

The woman sent photos and provided a link to the Bedford Historical Society, in Bedford, Ohio (Archibald Willard’s birthplace), who apparently also owns a statue and has a web page about the manufacturer. The page states that the statue was manufactured by the Bailey-Walker China company in 1926 (which became the Walker China company in 1942) of Bedford, Ohio. Her statue was almost identical to ours. And after a trip to the Bedford museum I was able to confirm that theirs was also the same. (I learned at the museum that Willard’s own father was the model for the center drummer figure.)

The Bedford Historical Society, in the historic former town hall building, Bedford, Ohio.

Additional information had been passed down to the Texas woman by her grandmother regarding her statue in a note which she shared with me. It said that Bailey-Walker China produced a limited edition of 100 of these statues, made of fine china, which sold for $40 a piece at the time, and some retailers offered them for $120. Some of the statues went to Europe.

However, now the idea that our statue had been given to my great-grandfather is in question because Archibald Willard died in 1918, eight years before the statue is known to have been produced. Was ours a prototype made years in advance of production? it is signed on the bottom, and the other two aren’t. That would explain things. Or was it given to my grandfather, Warren R. Schmitz, maybe by Mr. Willard’s family? Who acquired it from where, and when? These are questions from the past that are fun to unravel, as I continue to learn about it.

Spirit of ’76 statue manufactured by the Bailey-Walker China company, owned and on display at the Bedford Historical Society, which I visited in April, 2018.

The grandmother’s note also said that when those who possess the statue are known to each other it is hoped to cement a very warm and lasting friendship.

So far we know there are two in Ohio and one in Texas! Are there any more out there?

 

 

 

 

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Cooper Hewitt’s Object of the Day, Schmitz-Horning Co. 1913-1914 Catalogue

By Janet Dodrill

The Outside Comes Inside, Cooper Hewitt’s Object of the Day, the Schmitz-Horning Company Catalogue.

Cooper Hewitt’s recent Object of the Day (December 17, 2017), The Outside Comes Inside, featured Schmitz-Horning Company’s San-Kro-Mura wall decoration catalogue from 1913-1914.

The Object of the Day webpage contains color images of selected catalogue pages and a brief audio recording about it and the company.

The Schmitz-Horning Company, established in 1905 in Cleveland, Ohio, designed and manufactured full-color chromolithograph high quality washable wall coverings, murals, decorative room panoramics, and friezes.

The wall decoration catalogue is available as part of an “adoption” program to gain funding to support the preservation of this book and others at the museum.

Cooper Hewitt, Smithsonian Design Museum currently has over 100 pieces in their collection from the Schmitz-Horning Company – the major collection was a gift from the Wallpaper Council, Inc. of New York, NY.

Schmitz-Horning was co-founded by Hugo M. Schmitz (my great-grandfather) and William Horning, artists and lithographers. It is believed the two became acquainted in the late 1800s in and around the Cleveland Art Club and artist’s community. Mr. Horning sold his interest in the company in 1920. Around 1926, Warren R. Schmitz (my grandfather), became vice president of the firm and assisted in company sales. In 1938 he became president of the company until it closed in 1960.

The Forest wall mural theme, Schmitz-Horning Co., 1914 catalogue

 

Hollyhocks wall mural theme, Schmitz-Horning Co. 1914 catalogue.

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Selected Schmitz-Horning Company Links at Cooper Hewitt:

Cooper Hewitt’s recent Object of the Day (December 17, 2017) The Outside Comes Inside, Schmitz-Horning Co. 1913-1914 Catalogue
cooperhewitt.org/2017/12/17/the-outside-comes-inside

The Schmitz-Horning Co.
collection.cooperhewitt.org/people/18046573

Cooper Hewitt WALLCOVERINGS
cooperhewitt.org/tag/wallcoverings