* t at : * : - NE: . we it Aa LTA Le fay ee } tere vy ( "Tine iecobne cua oh ein Me SELF PORTBRALL THE WORK OF CHARLES LEWIS FOX 1854 - 1927 PRIVATELY PRINTED i 9 4+) FOREWORD “To me the mission of Art is too world wide to confine it- self to beauty alone, for character and harmony each claim. the divine right to its own utterance, and how much broader and deeper and richer the world of Art when they also speak.” Excerpt from a letter written by Charles Lewis Fox HERE occurs from time to time in the art life of a people an artist that, with a singleness of aim and from an integrity of spirit, finds his great- est development in what is veritable solitude, far from the various ephemeral movements that cross the field of art, and thus, Charles Lewis Fox. Born in Portland, Maine, September 20, 1854, the son of Archelaus Lewis Fox and Dorcas Yeaton, he was descended from an old Maine family of seafar- ing men. He died in Portland after a brief illness in his 73rd year on March 20, 1927. His early education was in the public schools of Portland and for a time he con- sidered architecture as his lifework, and with that purpose in mind he entered the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Boston. He finally decided that painting was his real vocation and after a year in Bos- ton he started on his appointed path. France was then the Mecca of all the seekers of the artist’s way and there he went, to work for six years under Bonnat and Cabanel and for a period in the Go- belin Ateliers as an apprentice weaver, there to study the method, and the de- sign and color of those master makers of tapestry. Painting and the artist’s expression meant something more to Charles Lewis Fox than a transcript of nature and a search for beauty. A great and idealistic soul, with an altruistic spirit that strove to make his offering a message with a purpose, whether it be that of the militant crusader for a socialistic scheme of economic life, or the man of vision striving to emphasize the beauty that lies in common things. There was in all he wrought that greater cause to him, that would symbolize in his art mortal sorrow and sacrifice and the dignity of those who toil. This same spirit, this sense of wanting all to share with him, what to him was his greatest joy, led him on his return to Portland to establish a school, with day and night classes, that found in him always a devoted teacher and a loyal friend that served without thought of self. The school was conducted on a purely co- dperative basis—the nominal costs of its maintenance being shared by its stu- dents. An increasing and enthusiastic interest in the social and economic problems of our day led his broad humanitarian spirit into active participation in the work of the Socialist Labor Party and twice was he its candidate for Governor of his State. It was during this period that he painted the three large decorations, “The Working God and the Sower” “The Lady Godiva” and “Adam and Eve.” Then came a period when the palette and brush were deserted, and after fif- teen years apart from his easel in the stress of this militant socialism, he returned to his art, and there found peace in an earnest effort to save for posterity some- thing of the life of a primitive people—the Indians of our Maine woods. Long before there was a Taos school, and men like Ufer, Blumenschein, Hig- gins and Sloan, and the other men of the New Mexico group had discovered the American Indian, did Charles Lewis Fox feel the urge and the need to make some record from the artist’s understanding of the passing of a fast vanishing race. So we have from his heart and hand these expressive character studies of the Indian. He learned to know them, he lived with them, he loved them and they loved him and took him to themselves. He was able to break through their reticence and their distrust of the alien race, and the veneer that a civilization, to which they have never really submitted, had placed upon them. How well is this symbolized in the canvas, “Forever Indian,” with all its power and movement, a race pushed under by a relentless fate, but always even unto utter extinction “Forever Indian.” Something of his delight and understanding of the design in the Indian arts of basketry, weaving and pottery he gives us in his own art. Pattern and de- sign were never far from his mind for he did not forget the lesser factors in his thought for the spirit of his message. With a prevision that is most significant in his second period, there is an almost prophetic expression of what has become the trend of the Art of our day, and this though he lived during this time in a hermit like retreat from the world of his fellow artists and workers. He found time during his yearly visits to his summer home at Bridgton, Maine, to paint a most comprehensive set of studies of the mushroom, native to the state and these studies and his accompanying notes it is hoped will be placed where they will be of service to the student and the public. A live imagination, the soul of a crusader, always the seeker for the greater truth in life and art, his work will live as the expression of the spiritual yearning of a sensitive artist and a gallant gentleman. ALEXANDER BOWER. a ati @ ¥ .s fre ¥ é ‘ “4 : " . , “4 x N “ * ih oi q w i ' vs - . , ey ; aA) ~ A - x ‘ ‘ , e The Street Musician Painted in Holland 1886 ie ae Be co as ore: Ser af — _ ~ = ee 4 Sh S ¢ = . aa ~ . i : ea Sad . . Henrietta Moody Fox Portrait Sketch 1920 : Tel “\ ™ F fey x x Y as $ yy" 7 ‘ “i 2 4s E * * a > 7 y ‘ ra 3 7 - F ae 3 Pa ’ “4 4 . The Little Dutch Girl A Prayer Painted in Holland 1885 Music To youth wonder, to age memories Painted in Portland 1887 a The Gleaner Painted in Holland 1885 Spilled Milk Painted in Holland 1886 - Westward _ Painted in Portland 1892 ~* The Path of the City Working Man Painted in Portland 1892 * sig b ‘ re Sensual Music Painted in Portland 1890 The Little Graveyard Painted in Bridgton, Maine, 1895 Mountain Swallow Painted in Jay, Maine, 1889 NOTE The foregoing pages and including the large decorative paintings, “The Working God and the Sower,” “The Lady Godiva,” and “Adam and Eve,” placed in the last pages to facilitate handling the book, comprise what might be termed his first period. In this phase always was the ethical message preéminent, always the protestant, the crusader, the man of poignant sym- pathy seeking expression for his sense of the inequalities of life. After a long period of quiescence came a revived interest in art, and in this second period, in the pages to follow, it is as though another man began to work out new problems of form, color and light. Pattern, rhythm, solidarity of color, the design and not the fact became more and more the fundamental intent, and finally there is found in the flower studies and the rock paintings on Cape Elizabeth the last phases of his work where pure design and color movement are done for their own intrinsic value. This is a most interesting development, this final approach to the abstract. Fact as purely visual fact in constant definite recession. A. B. Nick An Indian Guide Painted in Oldtown 1920 Study Made about 1920 in Oldtown, Maine The Basket Maker Painted in Oldtown, Maine, 1920 Julia An Indian Child Painted in Oldtown, 1926 Study Indian with Head Dress Painted in Oldtown 1920 Study Made in Oldtown, Maine, about 1926 Swimming Indian Boy Painted in Oldtown, Maine, 1920 Indian Girl Painted in Oldtown, Maine, 1920 Indian Character Study Made in Oldtown about 1926 The Salute Painted in Oldtown, Maine, 1920 ae FS fr 3 a ei Sg is ENTE PRN TI OT The Lost Sun God A Mayan Study Painted in Portland 1920 Forever Indian Painted in Portland 1920 The Snake Mother An Indian Allegory Painted in Portland 1922 Portrait Sketch Made about 1921 “ 2 ‘ OP Dc i 4 uy : . ¥ Si Dale j . b= as in } i . A pansy ‘ ¢ cd ise Flower A Study ird of Parad Made about 1924 B a es I OE ee Oe a a The Cliff, Spurwink Painted on Cape Elizabeth 1923 Hegepetae ae, be oui A Study of Cactus in Portland about 1925 Made Spurwink Shore Painted on Cape Elizabeth 1923 Floral Study Made about 1925 Jutting Rock, Spurwink Painted on Cape Elizabeth 1923 Y bee "1 m Portrait of Henrietta Moody Fox Bird of Paradise Motif and Design Painted 1924 VO6gI purlywog ur poured SY} Spot BAIPOD Ape’T 943 uadd o]doog passoiddo ue jo ouivu 9y} Uy,, earpop Apey g6gi purpyog ul paquleg uorje1ooag] [eINyAy [eouosaT[yY Uy Aq pure wepy 9681 puepsog ur payureg uoTwIOIIq [BINIA, [BOoSaT[y uy IIMOG 94} PUL POD BUTYION OUT, Se eae ae Pe Pl ihe ‘ see yee wo “ ESEARCH INSTITUTE