A studio and a story

I was asked in the comments about the photo I posted of the tenth street studios, so I will tell you a little more about them. Designed by Richard Morris Hunt, the brother of William Morris Hunt. It was built in 1857 and stood in Greenwich village at 51 west tenth street between 5th and 6th. It had a central domed gallery and the studios radiated out from that. The facade of the Fenway studios in Boston resembled It enough that it must have influenced that design. Some of the artists who worked here over the years included ,

• Frederic Church
• Albert Bierstadt
• Sanford Gifford
• Jervis McEntee
• William Hart
• Winslow Homer
• William Meritt Chase

The wonderful paintings of Chases lavish studios draped with oriental rugs and filled with antiques were painted in his studio in this building. A studio here was a sign of success in the art world of the late 19th century.The artists in the studios held lavish events in order to market their art, in which wealthy patrons were invited to the studios. The building was torn down in 1956 and replaced with an 11 story apartment building.

I will return to the history of the American tradition in landscape painting, but I thought I would tell you a little story this evening first. You may recall my post The Commonwealth Avenue years from about ten days ago. I recalled a story from that era that I thought I might add. This story is going to appeal to Frank Ordaz, a jazz fancier over there at On Being Frank

I have made some musical references in this blog and I have mentioned my love for fine guitar mastery. I have met a few really great guitarists over the years, and will be the first to admit I have always idolized them a bit. I have been to A LOT of concerts and seen many bands play. I became a painter, and that is fine, but If I could have played guitar it would have been nice. I unfortunately had zero talent. Is there negative talent?

I told the story of a burgler kicking down my door and finding NOTHING worth stealing in my apartment. Several other apartments in the building had been broken into before. I suppose because so many of the residents of the building were musicians, there were a lot of musical instruments to steal. The apartment across the hall from me was broken into in the same fashion as mine, with the door smashed to pieces. I didn't know the tenant terribly well but I had sat and talked with him a few times and I had enjoyed listening to him and his friends play their guitars while I painted. The fellows name was Mike Stern, and he played in Blood, Sweat and Tears at that point, about 1976, but a few years later went on to play in the Miles Davis band .

I secured the door to the apartment and found a phone number for his parents who I think I remember lived in Washington DC ( it has been a long time). I believe Mike was on a European tour with BST. When he did return, he thanked me for securing the apartment and I

remember hanging out with him a little, although he was virtually never around.

Some months later Mike found out, (I suppose I must have told him) that my rent was unpaid. He immediately handed me 300 dollars to pay it. That was more money in those days than now, but he was very well paid as a musician. A month or so later, I recovered financially, as I had discovered the fine art of taxi cab driving in the nighttime, and knocked on his door to return the money, he wouldn't take it.

I moved out, or he did, shortly after that, and I never saw him again, although I did speak to him once on the phone.I suspect he wouldn't remember my name now and may have even forgotten the event, but I still remember his generosity to me almost 35 years later. Here is a clip of Mike Stern below.

The point of all of this is, that the LAST thing I am is a self made man, if indeed my success (best defined as survival in this art) counts as making it. Repeatedly mentors and teachers, acquaintances, crazy persistence and just stupid luck have allowed me to continue to paint and grow better at it. I am thankful to so many people that I couldn't begin to name them all. Although I suppose it might be good to begin with my patient wife. .

I will return tomorrow with another of the posts detailing the American Landscape tradition. Those of you who come to the blog for how- to information, understand that this is essential for you to know. You need to know what good painting looks like, if you intend to make good paintings yourself. You wouldn't try to be a guitarist without studying Wes Montgomery would you?