Henry Roderick Newman (1843 - 1917)

Born 4 Mar 1843 in Easton, Washington County, New York

Ancestors

Died 1 Dec 1917 at age 74 in Florence, Firenze, Toscana, Italy

Problems/Questions Profile manager: Richard Gregor [send private message]

Biography

Henry was born in 1843. He was the son of Roderick Newman and Mary Wright. He was an American landscape and still-life painter, influenced by the pre-Raphaelite style.

In 1853, his family moved to New York City. Around 1860 he began studying to become a doctor, like his father but, in his spare time, taught himself to paint.

When his father died, in 1861, he gave up medicine and, at the age of eighteen, declared his intention to become a painter. His mother, naturally displeased, gave him one year to prove that he could support himself that way. In response, he spent six months painting landscapes in Stockbridge, Massachusetts, after which he sent three paintings to the National Academy of Design. From 1864, he was a member of the American, Pre-Raphaelite-inspired, "Association for the Advancement of the Cause of Truth in Art."

In 1868, he was attracted to Florida for health reasons and became one of the first well-known American painters to work there, near St. Augustine. In spring 1870 he went to France, where he briefly studied with Jean-Léon Gérôme, but was dissatisfied with his methods. Shortly after the outbreak of the Franco-Prussian War, he moved to Italy, where he lived for the rest of his life.

There, he focused on architectural scenes and floral studies. In 1877, English critic John Ruskin saw his work and suggested subjects for him to paint, some of which he commissioned. Newman was married in 1883 to Englishwoman Mary Watson Willis.

Beginning in 1887 he began spending winters in Egypt, remaining there several months every year. He returned to Egypt nearly every winter for the rest of his life. Most of the works he created on those visits are watercolors of ancient structures, especially of the Temple of Philae, rather than the usual Orientalist scenes. In 1896-1897 he visited Japan, where he did a group of architectural and landscape views.

He passed away in 1917, in Florence, Italy, and is buried there.

Sources

• 1850 Federal Census lists Roderick B Newman, age 36, and wife Mary B, living in Easton, Washington County, New York. Children listed are Delia E, age 16, Solomon W, age 12, Roderick H, age 7, and Francis M, age 2
• 1860 Federal Census lists Roderic B Newman, age 46, and wife Mary B, age 49, living in New York, Ward 8 District 4, New York. Children listed are Solomon W, age 23, and Henry R, age 17
• Find a Grave, database and images [1] : accessed 28 April 2021), memorial page for Henry Roderick Newman (5 Mar 1843–1 Dec 1917), Find A Grave: Memorial #160528583, citing Cimitero Evangelico degli Allori, Florence, Città Metropolitana di Firenze, Toscana, Italy ; Maintained by Elisa Rolle (contributor 48982101) .
• Wikipedia page [2]