Paintings exhibited at the Fair page 1

Adolph Friedrich Erdmann von Menzel, (December 8, 1815 Breslau - February 9, 1905 Berlin) was a German artist noted for drawings, etchings, and paintings.

From 1839 to 1842 he produced 400 drawings, largely introducing to Germany the technique of wood engraving.

In Germany he received many honors, and was the first painter to be given the Order of the Black Eagle in 1898 which included a title `von Menzel.'

The Iron Rolling Mill' circa 1875 was shown in the 1904's Palace of the Fine Arts, as well as the Paris Exposition of 1878.

James Abbott McNeill Whistler(1834-1903), was an American-born painter and graphic artist, active mainly in England. By the age of nine, he moved to Russia, studying drawing at the Imperial Academy of Science.

Whistler enrolled in the United States Military Academy at West Point in 1851, and four years later, settled in Paris first, where he studied at the Ecole Impériale et Spéciale de Dessin, before entering the Académie Gleyre. Whistler was influenced by the Pre-Raphaelites as well as Jan Steen, Rembrandt and Ruysdael.

Whistler's art is in many respects the opposite to his often aggressive personality. `Art should be independent of all claptrap-- should stand alone, and appeal to the artistic sense of eye or ear, without confounding this with emotions entirely foreign to it, as devotion, pity, love, patriotism, and the like. All these have no kind of concern with it, and that is why I insist on calling my works "arrangements" and "harmonies".' he said. In 1886 he was elected president of the Society of British

Artists, but despite some successes his revolutionary ideas ran afoul of the conservative members, and he was voted out of office within two years.

During the late 1880s and 1890s Whistler achieved recognition as an artist of international stature. His paintings were acquired

by public collections, he received awards at exhibitions, and

he was elected to such prestigious professional

associations as the Royal Academy of Fine Arts, Munich.

The image to the above left is entitled- `Miss Rossa Corder.' Whistler had many paintings shown in the Palace.

John Singer Sargent (January 12, 1856 – April 14, 1925) was the most successful portrait painter of his era, as well as a gifted landscape painter and watercolorist. He was born in Florence, Italy to American parents.

Sargent's best portraits reveal the individuality and personality of the sitters; his most ardent admirers think he is matched in this only by Velázquez, who was one of Sargent's great influences.

Sargent painted a series of three portraits of Robert Louis Stevenson. The second, Portrait of Robert Louis Stevenson and his Wife (1885). He also completed portraits of two U.S. presidents: Theodore Roosevelt and Woodrow Wilson.

During the greater part of Sargent's career, he created roughly 900 oil paintings and more than 2,000 watercolours, as well as countless sketches and charcoal drawings. From 1907 on Sargent forsook portrait painting and focused on landscapes in his later years; and also sculpted later in life.

The image to the left, exhibited at the 1904 World's Fair was a portrait of `William Merritt Chase.

Henry Prellwitz was born in New York City and had a painting career that ranged from allegorical and narrative and genre works to landscapes much influenced by the poetic qualities of Tonalism. For many years, he taught at the Pratt Institute in New York, and was elected to prestigious organizations including the National Academy of Design and the Society of American Artists.

This painting that was exhibited was entitled- `Lotus and laurel,' The painting was awarded a silver medal at the Exposition.

Jules Breton, was born in Pas-de-Calais, France in May 1827. He was a painter and writer. After the death of his mother he was brought up in the village of Courrières by his father, grandmother and uncle. The last instilled in him respect for tradition and a commitment to the philosophical ideas of the 18th century. Breton’s father, as supervisor of the lands of the Duc de Duras, encouraged him to develop a deep knowledge of and affection for his native region and its heritage, which remained central to his art. Breton was also a Commander of the French Legion of Honour.

Breton died on July 5th, two years after exhibiting his oil painting- `Wounded Seagull,' at the 1904 World's Fair. Vincent Van Gogh particularly liked this piece of artwork.

In 2004, this was the only work of art exhibited at the 1904 World's Fair that is/was currently on display at the St. Louis Art Museum.

Ellen Day Hale was born in Worcester, MA in 1855. Her father was the author, orator and clergyman Edward Everett Hale and she was the grandniece of Harriet Beecher Stowe.The artwork (to the left), was entiled `the Summer Place.'

In 1873, Ellen attended art classes in Boston. Her first major exhibition was at the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia in 1876.

In 1881 and 1882 she traveled to Europe study in France. In 1882 her work was shown at the Royal Academy in London.

Her work was showcased at the Chicago Columbian Exposition in 1893.

This image on the left was exhibited at the 1904 World's Fair.

Sir John Everett Millais' 1879's `Chill October.' was to be a painting depicting a white hunter lying dead in the African veldt, his body contemplated by two indifferent Africans. This fascination with wild and bleak locations is also evident in his many landscape paintings of this period, which usually depict difficult or dangerous terrain. The first of these, Chill October, was painted in Perth, Australia, near his wife's family home.

Millais was born on June 8, 1829; he was an English painter and illustrator and one of the founders of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood.

His prodigious artistic talent won him a place at the Royal Academy schools at the unprecedented age of eleven.

All these early works were painted with great attention to detail, often concentrating on the beauty and complexity of the natural world.

After his marriage to Effie Ruskin, Millais began to paint in a broader style. It has been argued that this change of style resulted from Millais' need to increase his output to support his growing family. Unsympathetic critics such as William Morris accused him of "selling out" to achieve popularity and wealth. His admirers, in contrast, pointed to the artist's connections with Whistler and Albert Moore, and influence on John Singer Sargent.

Millais was also very successful as a book illustrator, notably for the works of Anthony Trollope and the poems of Tennyson. His complex illustrations of the parables of Jesus were published in 1864.

Millias was elected as an associate member of the Royal Academy of Arts in 1853, and was soon elected as a full member of the Academy, in which he was a prominent and active participant. He was granted a baronetcy in 1885, the first artist to be honoured with a hereditary title. After the death of Frederic Leighton in 1896, Millais was elected President of the Royal Academy, but he died later in the same year from throat cancer. He was buried in St Paul's Cathedral.

Frank Dillon, son of a silk mercer, was born in 1823 and entered the Royal Academy Schools, London at the late age of 26. He began to travel in 1848-1849, when he visited Portugal and Madeira with his wife Josephine.

`The Colossal Pair,' Thebes was painted after Dillon's first visit to Egypt and represents his freshest response to that country. The results of the trip were shown at The Royal Academy and British Institution exhibitions of 1856. The Colossal Pair was show at the British Institution of 1857 priced at 100 guineas. This was at the top of Dillon's price range indicating that he regarded it as a major work. And though 50 years old, it was exhibitd ar the 1904 World's Fair.

In 1860, the year his wife died, Dillon moved to 13 Upper Phillimore Gardens, Kensington, London. There he lived until his death in 1909.

Dante Gabriel Rossetti's Beata Beatrix circa 1864-70, was inspired by the Italian poet Dante’s account of his idealised love for Beatrice, and of her premature death. The death of Beatrice is symbolised by a sudden spiritual transfiguration. It was well-received at the 1904 World's Fair.

Rossetti saw this work as a memorial to his wife, Elizabeth Siddall, who had died in 1862.

Dante Gabriel Rossetti (May 12, 1828 – April 9, 1882) was an English poet, illustrator, painter and translator.

Rossetti's first major paintings display some of the realist qualities of the early Pre-Raphaelite movement. However, Rossetti increasingly preferred symbolic and mythological images to realistic ones. This was also true of his later poetry. Although he won support from John Ruskin, criticism of his paintings caused him to withdraw from public exhibitions and turn to watercolours, which could be sold privately. Toward the end of his life, Rossetti sank into a morbid state, darkened by his drug addiction to chloral and increasing mental instability, possibly worsened by his reaction to savage critical attacks on his disinterred (1869) poetry from the manuscript poems he had buried with his wife. He spent his last years as a withdrawn recluse.

On Easter Sunday, 1882, he died at the country house of a friend.

Henri Ault, a French-Canadian artist, created this depiction of Jesus entitled- "The Shadow of the Cross," in 1896. It was quite popular to the viewers at the Exposition, according to old newspaper clippings It was also exibited for years at the Dore Galleries of London and also shown around other European cities.

Henri was born in Breidenback, Hessen-Massau, Germany. Moving to Canada, he created a studio in Cobalt, Ontario. Ault was only moderately successful as an artist.

Robert Henri, was born on June 25, 1865, in Cincinnati, Ohio, U.S.New York, N.Y.)

This U.S. painter studied in Philadelphia and Paris, taught art in Philadelphia, and, after settling in New York City in 1900, became the leader of the young realist artists known as `The Eight.' He exhibited with The Eight in 1908 and later at the Armory Show.

As a portrait painter he demonstrated excellent brushwork, lively colours, and an ability to catch fleeting gestures and expressions. He is best remembered as a teacher, principally at New York's Art Students League, where he became one of the most influential art teachers in the U.S.

His belief in the artist as a social force led to the formation of the Ash Can school.

Though Henri and William Chase began their careers through similar education and a realistic style. Later Henri would embrace a more gritty urban modern look to his art, which Chase (more in the classical vein), contested. Robert Henri died July 12, 1929.

The painting to the left was entitled- ''Young Woman in Black'' (1902) and won a silver medal at the 1904 World's Fair.

H. Jones Thaddeus, was an English Portrait artist, (though a native of Cork, Ireland), who upon seeing a nineteen year old bride of a Columbia professor, said- "The most beautiful of created beings! Madam. I must paint your portrait. It shall make us famous forever! The artwork is entitled- Mrs. Benjamin D. Woodward. Though she had to be persuaded, Mrs. Woodward did allow Thaddeus to exhibit her portrait at the 1904 World's Fair.

Thaddeus was educated in Heartherly's Academy in London, and was well known for painting the portraits of royalty including Pope Leo XIII.

He enjoyed a brief period of success and fame before his womanizing and conduct pushed him away from the limelight.

To Fair President- David Rowland Francis, the promotion of Art and aesthetics was very important, especially the promotion of American artists.

He was quoted as saying:

"St. Louis did more [than Chicago]; it set a standard of American performance in art that, while it was a surprise to foreign connoisseurs, will mark an epoch of progress of the world."

Though we know that artists like James Whistler exhibited a substantial body of work at the Fair, I am only showcasing on this page, particular paintings that that I have proof were definitely shown in the Palace of Fine Art or in other buildings/exhibits during the 1904 World's Fair. I have not found or seen a Fair list of art work shown (only some artists (yet, there IS a book). These pages might give you a minute hint on the particular art displayed. If anyone has information (bio of artist, title of art work and proof that that particular work was exhibited at the Fair), please contact me. Warning, these are graphic intensive pages. The artist and their works were added in the order I discovered proof of artwork's history- in other words in no particular order (LOL). Though I have found out a lot of B & W images of paintings shown, I will only publish color images of paintings.