Charles Henry Gifford

American, 1839 - 1904

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Gifford—the Luminist painter scholar John I.H. Baur called “if not the equal of Fitz Hugh Lane, at least a sensitive exponent of the same aesthetic values”—is far less well-known than Lane, or others working in the style, in large part because he maintained close ties to the New Bedford [Massachusetts] area throughout his life, rather than relocating to a major urban center. Aside from service in the Civil War; an 1879 trip to England, Scotland and Ireland; a handful of sketching trips; and two winters spent in New York, Gifford remained in the New Bedford area. As historian William Gerdts has observed, Gifford’s “finest efforts…record his home port”.
Born in Fairhaven, Massachusetts, Gifford sketched extensively as a child, and as a young man drew inspiration from the works of New Bedford painters including Albert Bierstadt and William Bradford. After Civil War service and an apparently unfulfilling shoemaking apprenticeship, Gifford began to sell his paintings and soon was able to focus exclusively on his artistic career. By 1868, Gifford enjoyed a sufficient level of success to open his own studio above Mr. Ellis’s store in New Bedford, which over time became a favored meeting place for local artists, patrons and other interested townsfolk. Elizabeth Bierstadt, the famed artist’s sister-in-law, took a particular interest in Gifford’s work, and starting in 1867 served informally as his dealer for much of his career. With his precise draftsmanship and glowing Luminist style, Gifford is an artist that “plainly deserves wider recognition than he has yet received”.
Gifford’s works are represented in a number of prestigious public and private collections, including the Hood Museum of Art, Dartmouth College, Hanover, NH; the Addison Gallery of American Art, Phillips Academy, Andover, MA; Yale University Art Gallery, New Haven, CT; the New Bedford Whaling Museum, New Bedford, MA; and the Peabody-Essex Museum, Salem, MA; among many others.

Charles Henry Gifford (1839-1904) was born in the seaport town of Fairhaven near New Bedford during the heyday of the whaling industry. The son of a ship's carpenter, he was first apprenticed to that trade, then learned shoemaking, but abandoned both to fight in the Civil War. He was a prisoner of war in a Confederate prison where he developed chronic health problems that plagued him for the rest of his life. After the war he returned to Fairhaven and devoted himself to painting. He was essentially self-taught but was exposed to the rich artistic milieu of New Bedford. Albert Van Beest, William Bradford, Albert Bierstadt, R. Swain Gifford, and Albert Pinkham Ryder were among the artists who lived, worked, or exhibited in the city. Many years later Gifford wrote: "What set me to painting was...seeing an exhibition of Bierstadt's paintings...I was so enthused that I came home, got some cloth and paint and went right to work." Gifford was a typical Luminist painter, concerned with both subtle and dramatic effects of light, stillness, precise realism, and softly glowing surfaces. He is perhaps best known for the small canvases measuring about nine by fourteen inches that he called "my little gems." He painted along the New England coast, including Nantucket, Cuttyhunk, and the Elizabeth Islands, and inland to the White Mountains, Niagara Falls and Lake George. Toward the end of his career he worked more frequently in watercolor, where his renditions of both naturalistic detail and subtle atmospheric effects often reached their apex.

Biography courtesy of Roger King Gallery of Fine Art, www.antiquesandfineart.com/rking

Charles H. Gifford was born in New Bedford, Massachusetts July 13, 1839 died on January 20, 1904. He was a late second-generation Hudson River School painter. His canvases show a distinct preference for quiet scenes in which a luminous atmosphere veils roughness, light shines with clarity and stillness is achieved by means of even brushstrokes. The luminist quality of his paintings was an effect that became a movement in art history in the late 1850's. This affect was obtained by painting a light or reflective undercoat that is visible through a thin or transparent outer layer. He likened himself to John F. Kensett (1816-1872) who led the second generation to the forefront of American Painting (1850 through the 60's).

An important artistic development in the 1850's was the invention of chemical pigments, which replaced the earlier mineral-based paints. These new and brilliant colors gave Gifford more flexibility and range, especially in the effects of light. Keeping with the philosophy of the Hudson River doctrine, being true to nature, was always at the vanguard of his pictures.

Although the facts are somewhat sketchy, he was active in San Francisco in 1860. It looks like he moved back to New Bedford around 1877 and painted throughout the Northeast for the remainder of his life. His fine landscape views were published by several lithographic firms in the 1860's, including his own, Gray & Gifford, in 1868, 1869 and 1872.

Public Collections:
Peabody Museum, Salem

Listed:
Who Was Who in American Art
Artists of the American West
Index of Artist

Biography courtesy of Roughton Galleries, www.antiquesandfineart.com/roughton

Known for his marine paintings and landscapes, Charles Henry Gifford was part of the Luminist movement that had a profound impact on nineteenth-century American art. Born in Fairhaven, Massachusetts, Gifford devised his painting technique in response to the art of Albert Bierstadt, William Bradford, and Robert Swain Gifford, all of whom worked in the popular whaling town. After serving in the Civil War, he returned to New Bedford to establish his studio, painting luminous views along the New England shoreline, Lake George, and the White Mountains. He exhibited at the Palette Club in New York City, the Utica Art Association, the Buffalo Fine Art Academy, and in galleries throughout Boston and New Bedford. His work is now in the Addison Gallery of American Art, the Peabody Essex Museum, the Yale University Art Gallery, and the New Bedford Whaling Museum.

Biography courtesy of Questroyal Fine Art LLC, www.antiquesandfineart.com/questroyal