June 1, 2022
As I thought about the June issue of the Medfield Historical Society e-newsletter, dads immediately popped into my mind. Sure, it’s also the season for grads, weddings and the beginning of summer, but dads are so important—they mold their children into adults and each one does this in his own special way.
We know that all Medfield fathers are special, but I couldn’t recall a story of a particular Medfield father who would have significance for our publication. But then, out of nowhere, it came to me. While recently researching the American artist George Inness, I came across a biography of his life written by his son, George Inness, Jr., entitled Life, Art, and Letters of George Inness. I had purchased the book, not yet read it, but picked it up and embarked upon my newest adventure. I could not put the book down until I had completed it several hours later.
There were many wonderful personal stories about George as seen through the eyes of his son. Here are just a few of these recollections.
George Inness was born May 1, 1825, in Newburgh, New York, and died August 3, 1894, at the Bridge of Allen in Scotland in the arms of his beloved wife, Elizabeth Hart. As his end came he was engaging in his favorite pastime, admiring and studying the beauty of nature, and observing an astonishing sunset.
A landscape artist, Innes is believed to be one of America’s leading impressionist painters. His work was influenced by the Hudson River School and the Barbizon School for technique, and by Swedish scientist and theologian Emanuel Swedenborg for expression. He developed his own tonal method and his paintings had a distinctive American style.
George Jr.’s first recollection of his father is of him transforming a white pine washtub to green. George Jr. had watched many painters paint many things, including washtubs, but had never seen anyone paint them in quite the way that his father did. George Sr. would load his brush with paint, apply a broad streak of paint, step back and evaluate and then envision his next stroke. He would repeat this process until the tub presented itself as a gloriously green piece of art. In George Inness Jr.’s own words, in reference to this event, “In my eyes he was a hero, a wizard, for there stood the tub.”
George Jr.’s early memories are few until the family moved to Medfield. He refers to this period as being “the most important in my father’s life…” where “…times became better.” He writes of Medfield with great affection.
From 1859 to 1864 Inness rented the property at 406 Main Street, which contained a house and barn. His studio was housed in this barn, which George Jr. describes as being outfitted only with the bare essentials: a chair, an easel and tubes of paint. There was nothing to adorn the studio. It is in this Medfield barn that George Sr. created some of his most significant paintings. Some were of sunsets, elms and emotion-evoking storms. He completed his “Medfield Meadows” sketch here and later gave it to his son and daughter-in-law as a wedding gift. It is believed to be one of his finest works. His son says of these times, “Those were wonderful years for me. I used to sit there in his studio for hours at a time watching him paint, pictures now, not washtubs, while I, with a white canvas before me, a large brush, and a pail of water, imitated his movements. When he painted he put all the force of his nature into it.”
He remembers his dad recognizing him as “a big boy,” as his mother would say, taking him into his studio to learn how to clean brushes. In later years, he witnessed his father training other students at brush cleaning. Remembering back to how he felt, George Jr. says, “I was a proud boy that day, but later sometimes felt that education has its drawbacks.” Haven’t we all felt this, at one time or another, from parental direction? How little things change.
George Jr. recalls taking long walks though Medfield’s countryside when he about nine years old to study nature with his father. They would pack bags full of art supplies, fling them on their backs and stuff lunch into their pockets. George would carefully check to see that his father packed everything they needed as his father was very absent-minded and would have him return home to fetch whatever was missing. This made them the perfect team.
Another recollection is the story about Inness’ painting, “The Sign of Promise,” which was later over-painted to produce “Peace and Plenty,” now hanging in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City.
One day, George Jr. was tending his garden of beans when he heard his name thundering across the yard from the barn in such a horrible way that it frightened him. He ran to his grandmother at the house and hid in her apron, sobbing. He told her there must be something awful in the barn.
Inness, with paint all over his face and clothing, arrives at the kitchen door bellowing for young George. The grandmother, assuming he is upset with the boy, pleads George’s case, saying he is much too traumatized to be punished. Innes assures her that the lad will not be punished; that he just wants to show the boy the result of his actions. Leading his son to the studio by the hand he shows him “The Sign of Promise” lying ruined, face down on the floor. Inness spoke to his son about the cowardly act of running away and explained that all this could have been prevented had young George put away the chair. Instead the artist had kicked the chair out of the way, which resulted in his falling. The palette hit the floor first, his face landed on the palette and the canvas landed on top of him. As he crawled out from underneath, he could see that most of the “Sign of Promise” had been obliterated and was now transferred to his clothes. The subsequent repainting of the “Sign of Promise” became “Peace and Plenty.”
Not all was lost that day, as young George learned a valuable lesson and “Peace and Plenty” was later used as partial payment for their house in New Jersey.
George Inness Jr. completely understood his father as an artist and accepted his eccentricities. He learned to love him for this quality and was so inspired by his father that he, too, chose art as his profession.