Curator’s Corner: Elliot Daingerfield
Feeling a little rough these days? Taking time to reflect and connect with the arts can help when you're feeling low. For Curator's Corner today, we thought we'd take some time to reflect on the life of one of our museums' favorites... Elliott Daingerfield (1859-1932). He was a successful artist, but his life was not without hardship.
Daingerfield was born in what is now West Virginia. He grew up in Fayetteville, NC and moved to New York City in his early twenties to study painting. Blowing Rock, NC is where he would spend his summers for most of his life. Daingerfield painted landscapes, religious scenes, still lifes, and portraits. He nurtured a successful career as an artist by exhibiting and selling his work, as well as teaching and traveling to paint on commission.
Image Credit: Elliott Daingerfield. Still Life (Rhododendron and Brass Pot), c. 1900. Oil on canvas. BRAHM Alexander Collection, 2012.04.01.
Still Life (Rhododendron and Brass Pot) is one of many Daingerfield paintings in our permanent collection. Daingerfield picked the rhododendron for reference in this painting from here in the High Country. In fact, our museum is located literally in the backyard of his first home and studio, Edgewood Cottage. He loved spending his summers here to paint the mountainous landscape, which he felt held a sort of breath and spirit in and of itself.
Have you visited the Blue Ridge Mountains lately? How do they make you feel?
Image Credit: Elliott Daingerfield. "The Dancers," n.d. Oil on canvas board. Private collection. Exhibited in "Elliott Daingerfield: Collected" at BRAHM.
Life has its ups and downs; there are times of sorrow, times of happiness, and everything in between. By 1895, Daingerfield married his second wife, Anna Grainger, with whom he had two daughters, Marjorie and Gwendolyn. One work of his called "The Dancers" shows a couple dancing together with a child playing nearby in the background. The upbeat and connective energy is palpable with the warm colors, the synchrony of the dancers' steps, and quick directional brushstrokes that Daingerfield applied to the canvas.
Even without knowing much about the artist, you may be able to harness feelings of happiness and joy by looking at a painting like this one.
Image Credit: Elliott Daingerfield. "North Carolina Landscape," n.d. Oil on canvas board. Private collection. Exhibited in "Elliott Daingerfield: Collected" at BRAHM.
Daingerfield began coming to Blowing Rock in the late 1800s because he fell ill from diphtheria. It was popularized back then that the mountains provided healing benefits for those with lung-related ailments. He would often paint outside "en plein air." Luckily, Daingerfield recovered from his illness, and through his experience, he gained a love for these mountains that never left him. He ended up building three homes in Blowing Rock--Edgewood Cottage (1890), Windwood (1900), and Westglow (1917)--that he would stay in during the summer for the rest of his life.
Just as things were looking up after his recovery, life took a rough turn. Daingerfield's father passed away in 1889. Shortly afterwards, he and his first wife, Roberta, were expecting their first child. However, in 1891, Roberta and their child both died in childbirth. A few years later, his close friend and greatest mentor, George Inness, died in 1894. Daingerfield was grief stricken, and as a way to cope, he dove deep into his work. In many of his paintings created around this time, Daingerfield's color palette became darker and more subdued.
Image Credit: Elliott Daingerfield. "Capri," n.d. Oil on canvas. Private collection. Exhibited in "Elliott Daingerfield: Collected" at BRAHM.
During a trip to the Mediterranean, Daingerfield came across this scene in Capri. Two figures are shown together on the left side of the painting with beautiful scenery in the background. The feeling of the work is romantic and serene. As fate would have it, Daingerfield's grandson was able to experience this very same scene late in his life. After grieving the loss of his first wife, Daingerfield's grandson eventually began seeing someone new. While they were dating, the new couple traveled to this location in Capri to take a look at the past through Daingerfield's eyes. His grandson says it was as beautiful as his grandfather had painted it.
Have you had any moments in your life where art has allowed you to step back, slow down, and reflect?