VVFA Modern | Artists | Theodore Earl Butler (American, 1876 - 1937)
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Théodore Earl Butler lived almost his entire adult life, and ultimately died, in Giverny, the art colony located northwest of Paris that was home to the father of Impressionism, Claude Monet. Butler’s marriages to two of Monet’s stepdaughters (first to Suzanne Hoschedé in 1892, and after her death he married her sister, Marthe in 1900) brought him closer to Monet than any of the other American expatriates. The current work is an image of Suzanne, and bears a plaque reading, “Femme de L’Artiste, Suzanne Hoschede Butler, wife of Theodore Butler, and eldest stepdaughter of Claude Monet.” Butler’s personal ties with the Monets gave him a deep understanding of the elder painter, and inspired and influenced by his work, Butler’s paintings reveal his own personal adaptation of Impressionism.
Though Monet’s and Butler’s lives were inextricably intertwined, their ideas about art, and thus, much of their work, was decidedly far apart. Monet was the undisputed leader of the international school of Impressionism, and Butler shared in the master’s devotion to it, but he carried it a step further in his own production and was thus a pioneer in the American movement. In contrast to Monet, Butler preferred to stay away from exotic painting campaigns and was instead steeped in the genteel tradition, depicting genre scenes of “the good life.”
Exhibitions:
Paris Salon, 1888 National Academy of Design,1889 Art Institute of Chicago,1890 Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, 1890, 1904, 1906-08,1911-13, 1917 Salon d'Automne,1906 Salon des Independants Turin International Exposition, 1911 Armory Show, 1913 Panama-Pacific Exhibiton,1915
Collections:
Metropolitan Museum of Art Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts Phoenix Art Museum Columbus Art Museum
Though Monet’s and Butler’s lives were inextricably intertwined, their ideas about art, and thus, much of their work, was decidedly far apart. Monet was the undisputed leader of the international school of Impressionism, and Butler shared in the master’s devotion to it, but he carried it a step further in his own production and was thus a pioneer in the American movement. In contrast to Monet, Butler preferred to stay away from exotic painting campaigns and was instead steeped in the genteel tradition, depicting genre scenes of “the good life.”
Exhibitions:
Paris Salon, 1888 National Academy of Design,1889 Art Institute of Chicago,1890 Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, 1890, 1904, 1906-08,1911-13, 1917 Salon d'Automne,1906 Salon des Independants Turin International Exposition, 1911 Armory Show, 1913 Panama-Pacific Exhibiton,1915
Collections:
Metropolitan Museum of Art Carnegie Museum of Art, Pittsburgh Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts Phoenix Art Museum Columbus Art Museum
