Lawrence Carmichael Earle
BORN: November 11, 1845 New York City
DIED: November 20, 1921, Grand Rapids, MI[1]
MARRIED: 1883 Helen Harmon (deceased 1909)[2]
TRAINING
c.1860 Grand Rapids with Marinus Hartung
1867/1868 (winter) New York[3]
c.1868 Chicago Academy of Design, Walter Shirlaw[4]
1874,[5] c.1878-c.1881 Royal Academy, Munich with Ludwig Barth and Franz Wagner; Florence; Rome
ART RELATED EMPLOYMENT
1882 Art Committee, Inter-State Industrial Exposition, Chicago[6]
1886 Consultant, panorama Battle of Gettysburg[7]
1887 Palestine Exhibition Company, cyclorama[8]
c.1889 “The Dutch Boy Painter” illustration, National Lead Company
1893 Murals Pottery and Glassmaking, World’s Columbian Exposition[9]
1909 Murals entitled The History of Chicago, Banking Room, Central Trust Company of Chicago (destroyed)[10]
1910-on Portrait painter, Grand Rapids[11]
TEACHING
1878 Chicago Academy of Design, drawing and painting[12]
1879[13]-1882 Drawing and Painting;[14] 1883-1884 Watercolor, Chicago Academy of Fine Arts which later became the School of the Art Institute of Chicago in December 1882
RESIDENCES
1858 Grand Rapids, MI[15]
c.1868-1871[16] Chicago
1881[17]-1887 Chicago
1887-1889 Evanston[18]
1889[19]-1894 New York City[20]
1895[21]-1904, 1907-1908[22]Montclair, NJ[23]
1905-1906 New York City[24]
1909 Detroit[25]
1909-1921 Grand Rapids, MI[26]
TRAVEL
1879 Sketching trip, Wisconsin[27]
1881 East Hampton, NY[28]
1880-1881 Winter, Europe[29]
1883 Lake Geneva, WI[30]
1911, 1913 Kentucky[31]
MEMBERSHIPS/OFFICES
American Watercolor Society; Art Guild of Chicago (board);[32] Artists’ Fund Society; Chicago Art Club;[33] Chicago Literary Club (1878); Grand Rapids Art Association; New York Watercolor Club; Peninsular Club, Grand Rapids; Western Artists’ Association 1885
HONORS
Academician, Chicago Academy of Design
1886 Honorary Member, Art Institute of Chicago[34]
1887 Associate National Academician
SELECTED JURIES SERVED
Art Institute of Chicago, American Watercolors 1898
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
American Art Union c.1883
American Watercolor Society annual 1880[35]
Art Institute of Chicago, American Annual 1888, 1889, 1891, 1895, 1897, 1899, 1901, 1909, 1915
Art Institute of Chicago, American Watercolors 1889, 1891, 1894[36]-1896
Art Institute of Chicago, Portraits Loaned to the Antiquarians 1895[37]
Boston Art Club Annual 1887, 1889,[38] 1890, 1892, 1895-1897, 1899, 1900
Brooklyn Art Association 1875, 1891
Chicago Academy of Design exhibitions and annuals 1870 (Nov.), 1871 (Feb. & Apr.), 1874 (Dec.), 1875 (Jun.), 1876 (Jul.), 1878 (Dec.)
Chicago Academy of Design Sales and Misc. 1871, 1875, 1879
Chicago Art Club Annual 1883
Detroit, Art Loan Exhibition 1883
Elgin, IL Art Association Annual 1879, 1880
Grand Rapids Art Museum, Artists of Grand Rapids 1840-1980, 1981
Illinois Art Association, Black and White Annual 1883
Inter-state Industrial Exposition, Chicago1875, [39]1877[40]-1885, 1888, 1890
Keppel Gallery, Chicago, American Watercolors[41]
Louderback and Company, Chicago, Chicago Artists 1885[42]
Milwaukee Exposition 1884[43]
National Academy of Design Annual 1888, 1890-1892, 1894-1902, 1904-1908, 1916
New York Etching Club 1883
New York Watercolor Club annual 1882,[44]1890[45]
O’Brien’s Art Gallery, Chicago 1875[46]
Opera House Art Gallery 1871[47]
Pan-American Exposition, Buffalo 1901
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts Annual 1888, 1895, 1898
W. Scott Thurber Galleries, Chicago, American Watercolors 1891[48]
Western Artists’ Association Annual 1886[49]
ONE, TWO OR THREE MAN EXHIBITIONS
1867 Nelson & Eaton Bookstore, Grand Rapids[50]
1889 W. Scott Thurber Galleries, Chicago[51]
1909 Detroit Museumof Art
1910, 1913, 1929 Grand Rapids Art Association
PERMANENT COLLECTIONS
Art Institute of Chicago; Dallas Museum of Art; Hunter Museum of American Art; Montclair Art Museum; National Academy of Design
INTERESTING NOTES
In 1908, Larry Earle recalled his first encounter with Hartung around 1858: “Like the vanishing rails of the road of perspective, memory looks back upon the converging lines of time, and dimly -- very dimly -- I see the name Hartung: My first instructor in Art.... A good bit ago -- isn't it?” “And a little chap of twelve could have been seen climbing up a long sandy hill to the home of the great (?) and only artist of Grand Rapids, Michigan -- Hartung.... A little old Hollander the boy found. Kindly, genial and happy to find even a small boy with thoughts turned with interest toward his profession. How did the man ever come to leave his dear and picturesque home -- The very Paradisefor an artist -- and settle in far away Michigan? And in the Fifties -- when the state was one vast Wilderness, and the thought of every man was to build himself a home -- a shelter, simply -- and beg the earth by constant toil from day to day to give him but return enough to feed his brood.... To live by painting pictures, then and there! How could the man have thought of such a thing? ‘Would he take me for a pupil?" "Oh yes, but ‘dis’ art is serious business, my boy, and you must learn to draw ‘goot’ -- first of all -- and den draw some more, and always draw, draw, draw, for ‘dat de’ foundations of everything.’ And while he talked, and drank his tea, the boy’s eyes wandered around the little room he called his ‘Studio’ -- and marveled at the skill of this dear man in all he saw. Little minter scenes in Hollandmostly; Quaint figures on ice; on skates or pushing sleds here and there, a scene along the coast. All masterpieces to the boy of twelve: And were they not?”[52]
Earle was a founding member of the Kent Base Ball Club in Grand Rapids and the club’s secretary.[53]
[1]“Lawrence C. Earle, Distinguished Artist, Dies At Friend’s Door,” Grand Rapids Herald, 11/21/1921.
[2]They were married in Chicago, Cook County.
[3]“Personal,” Grand Rapids Daily Eagle, 4/6/1867, p.1.
[4]Artists In Michigan 1900-1976. A Biographical Dictionary, (Detroit: Wayne State University Press, 1989).
[5]“Academy Of Design: Preparations for the Sixth Annual Reception and Exhibition,” Chicago Evening Journal, 12/19/1874, p.6.
[6]“Gallery and Studio Notes,” Chicago Tribune, 3/19/1882, p.10.
[7]He was hired to make suggestions as to its features while on display in Omaha. “Art At The Exposition,” Chicago Tribune, 7/30/1886, p.8.
[8]Information courtesy of Gene Meier from original source documents. The company was set up to create a cyclorama concerning Jerusalem and Israel, Earle was a founding investor and director.
[9]He painted the two tympana in the northeast corner pavilion of the Manufactures and Liberal Arts Building. “The Fine Arts,” Chicago Tribune, 4/9/1893, p.44.
[10]The sixteen paintings were taken from studies the artist made from photographic archives from the Chicago Historical Society for subject matter. Post cards of the works state the building was at 152 Monroe Street. For extensive details on the works as well as illustrations see Evelyn Marie Stuart, “Epochs in the History of a Great City Told in Art,” Fine Arts Journal, Vol. 21, September 1909, pp. 123-135. Further photographic evidence of the works can be found in the Ryerson Library at the Art Institute of Chicago [Chicago National Bank].
[11]See for example “Latest Portrait is Earle’s Best Work,” Grand Rapids Herald (Press), May 1912; “Paints Portrait of Y. M. C. A. Helper,” Grand Rapids Herald, 7/13/1920.
[12]“The City,” Chicago Tribune, 5/19/1878, p.8.
[13]Minutes of the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts, minute book, Ryerson Library, 10/7/1879, p.27. “Academy Of Fine Arts,” Chicago Tribune, 11/23/1879, p.8. “Art Notes: The Winter Term at the Two Academies,” Chicago Tribune, 1/11/1880, p.6.
[14]“Art In Chicago: Studio And Gallery,” Chicago Tribune, 9/25/1881, p.5. “Art In Chicago,” Chicago Tribune, 10/2/1881, p.6. It was noted he briefly quit teaching due to time restrictions in “Gallery and Studio Notes,” Chicago Tribune, 1/1/1882, p.5. As the Academy was readying new quarters he took over the old quarters to teach watercolor painting. “Studio and Gallery Notes,” Chicago Tribune, 4/16/1882, p.20.
[15]John E. Earle was one of the the first grocery dealers in Grand Rapids.
[16]Op. cit., obit., Grand Rapids Herald, 11/21/1921.
[17]“Earle, Lawrence C. artist 15, 170 State, House 598 N. Lasalle,” (Chicago: The Lakeside Chicago, Illinois General & Business Directory, 1881).
[18]“A Few New Paintings: Art Notes,” Chicago Tribune, 6/11/1887, p.13.
[19]“Art Matters In Chicago,” Chicago Tribune, 10/27/1889, p.27. “Oil And Water Color,” Chicago Sunday Herald, 4/21/1889, p.32, states he would take up residence by September in New York. The Boston Art Club: Exhibition Record 1873-1909, (Madison, CT: Sound View Press, 1991), p.156 and Art Institute of Chicago, The Annual Exhibition Record, (Madison, CT: Sound View Press, 1990), p.295. The entry in Maria Naylor, editor, The National Academy of Design Exhibition Record 1861-1900, (New York: Kennedy Galleries, 1973), p.256lists New York as his address beginning in 1890.
[20]Op. cit., The Boston Art Club…, 1991, p.156 and Op. cit., Art Institute of Chicago, The Annual…, 1990, p.295.
[21]Op. cit., Naylor The National Academy of Design Exhibition Record 1861-1900, 1973, p.257.
[22]Peter Hastings Falk, editor, The Annual Exhibition Record of the National Academy of Design 1901-1950, (Madison, CT: Soundview Press, 1990), p.184.
[23]Op. cit., The Boston Art Club…, 1991, p.156.
[24]Op. cit., Falk, The Annual Exhibition Record of the National Academy of Design, 1990, p.184.
[25]Op. cit., Art Institute of Chicago, The Annual…, 1990, p.295.
[26]He returned to Grand Rapids after the death of his wife, Op. cit., obit., Grand Rapids Herald, 11/21/1921. The house that he shared with his sisters, Kate and Emma, upon his return to Grand Rapids was located at 148 South Union (now 226 Union Ave SE). It was built by their mother, the widow Mary (Dorset) Earle in 1890. He lived there until his death.
[27]He took Academy students with him. “Art Notes,” Chicago Tribune, 7/13/1879, p.8.
[28]Slide 13, Katharine T. Cameron, “East Hampton: the 19th Century Artists’ Paradise,” Transcript of Lecture, The East Hampton Library, 12/6/1998.
[29]It was noted he was living in Florencein “Gallery And Studio,” Chicago Tribune, 12/12/1880, p.3. “Art In Chicago: The Studios and Galleries,” Chicago Tribune, 4/3/1881, p.20.
[30]“Gallery and Studio Notes,” Chicago Tribune, 8/12/1883, p.16.
[31]He arranged those trips to the Stearns estate with his friend Robert L. Stearns, the son of the prominent lumber baron of Ludington, MI. “‘I wish I were a novelist, or had had a stenographer with me,’ said Mr. Earle. ‘Those people are an interesting lot, and offer great types to study. They provide a great field for the writer. I wished I might have taken down some of their quaint conversations and discussions.’ These are the folk that John Fox, Jr., has portrayed so vividly in his ‘Little Shepherd of Kingdom Come’ and other writings, which run in a vein of sympathy and humor that indicate the novelist has succeeded in getting into the life of the Kentuckians.” Grand Rapids Herald, 11/5/1911, Editorial section, p.3. Several of his works are illustrated with the article. See also “Earle’s Pictures Are Mountain Portraits,” Grand Rapids Press, 3/5/19/1913.
[32]“Local Studio and Gallery Notes,” Chicago Tribune, 11/12/1882, p.10.
[33]“Art In Chicago: The Chicago Art Club,” Chicago Tribune, 9/25/1881, p.5.
[34]“The Art Institute,” Chicago Tribune, 6/10/1886, p.2.
[35]“Art In New York,” Chicago Tribune, 2/14/1880, p.10.
[36]His work was reviewed in “About The Studios,” Sunday Inter Ocean, Vol. XXIII, No. 15, 4/8/1894, Part 3, p.31.
[37]“New Year’s Art Show,” Sunday Inter Ocean, 12/30/1894, p.27.
[38]“Growing Art Interest: Mr. Earle’s Success,” Chicago Tribune, 3/24/1889, p.32.
[39]A review of his work is found in “Exposition Pictures,” Chicago Tribune, 9/15/1875, p.5.
[40]A review of his work is found in “The Exposition,” Chicago Tribune, 9/9/1877, p.2.
[41]“His Art Is Perfect,” Sunday Inter Ocean, 12/2/1894, p.31.
[42]“Art: Some Fine Work by ChicagoPainters…,”Chicago Tribune, 11/15/1885, p.11.
[43]“Art Notes,” Chicago Tribune, 4/5/1884, p.9.
[44]“Art In Chicago,” Chicago Tribune, 1/15/1882, p.10.
[45]He showed either here or at the American Watercolor Society, both in New York. “Notes On Current Art,” Chicago Tribune, 2/16/1890, p.28.
[46]“A Home Gallery,” Chicago Tribune, 12/19/1875, p.3.
[47]G. M. Gomez, “Chicago,” The Art Review, Vol. 1, No. 4, March 1871, p.11.
[48]“In The World Of Art,” Chicago Evening Post, 10/17/1891, p.5.
[49]This was the second annual and we presume he also showed at the first annual; no exhibition catalogue has been located.
[50]“Gossip,” Grand Rapids Daily Eagle, 4/25/1867, p.1.
[51]This exhibition was followed by a sale as he proceeded to leave Chicago for New York. “Art Matters In Chicago,” Chicago Tribune, 10/27/1889, p.27.
[52]J. Gray Sweeney, Artists of Grand Rapids1840-1980, (Grand Rapids: The Grand Rapids Art Museum), 1981.
[53]Grand Rapids Daily Eagle, 4/6/1867.