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Fernand Lungren
(1859-1932)
Fernand Lungren was born in Hagerstown, Maryland on November 13, 1859. Lungren grew up in Toledo, Ohio and showed artistic promise at the young age of seven. At nineteen, he met artist Kenyon Cox who encouraged him to pursue an art career. After studying briefly in Cincinnati, he moved to Philadelphia where he enrolled at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts under Thomas Eakins. He began his career in New York City as an illustrator for Scribner’s Magazine and later contributed illustrations for several other magazines such as Harper’s and Century. His subject matter in New York was mainly street scenes.
He continued his art training in Paris at Academie Julian, and from there moved to Cincinnati which was an active art center. Local artists J.H. Sharp and Henry Farny had already adopted western and Indian subjects for their art work, and through their example, Lungren decided to do likewise. Opportunity came when the Santa Fe Railway hired him to sketch scenes along its route. In 1892 he went west and spent eight months in Santa Fe visiting the Indian pueblos and the next year spent several months with the Hopis in Arizona. He eventually was made a member of several Indian tribes and priesthoods. His most famous illustration "Thirst," which depicted a dying man and a dead horse, was published in 1896 in Harper’s Weekly and caused quite a sensation across the U.S.
The subjects of his work from 1892 until his death, 40 years later, were almost exclusively Indian ceremonies and folklore, Southwestern desert and Sierra landscapes. In 1903 he moved to Los Angeles and in 1907 settled permanently in Santa Barbara. Lungren helped found the Santa Barbara School of Art and was active with that school until his death on November 9, 1932. His will left many of his paintings and Indian artifacts to Santa Barbara State College.
Member: California Art Club; Community Arts Association of Santa Barbara.
Exhibited: American Art Galleries, NY, 1899; Steckel Gallery, Los Angeles, 1905; Panama-Pacific International Exposition, San Francisco, 1915; National Academy of Design, NY, 1915; San Francisco Art Association, 1916; Art Institute of Chicago, Il, 1916; University of California, Santa Barbara, 2000.
Illustration publications: Scribner's Monthly, various issues, 1879-1881; Century Magazine, various, 1884-1903; St. Nicholas Magazine, various, 1879-1904; Harper’s Magazine, June 1897, August 1898, October 1901; The Outlook, May-August 1904; McClure’s Magazine, September-December 1905.
Works Held: Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, DC; Orange County Museum of Art, Newport Beach; Santa Barbara Museum of Natural History; Toldeo Museum of Art, Ohio; University of California, Santa Barbara.
Sources:
Hughes, Edan M. Artists In California 1786-1940. 3rd ed. Vol. 1. Sacramento: Crocker, Art Museum, 2002. N. pag. 2 vols. Print.
Berger, John S. "Fernand Lungren: A Biography", Print.
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