WILLIAM P. BABCOCK (1826-1899), American

William Babcock, born in Boston, studied painting with Thomas Couture in Paris beginning in 1847 and was the first American artist to befriend the Barbizon painter Jean François Millet. The Barbizon school was part of a larger European trend towards increased naturalism in art. For the Barbizon painters, the ideal subject was the everyday. The ‘school’ takes its name from its location in the village of Barbizon, on the edge of the vast Fontainebleau Forest near Paris. Babcock introduced other American artists, specifically William Morris Hunt, George Inness and Robert Loftin Newman, to Millet, who, at the time, was reviled by the French Academic art world.

Babcock spent most of his life in France, residing in Barbizon for many decades in a small cottage “surrounded by roses”. He acquired a large collection of paintings by the French artists of the Barbizon school, including several painted by Millet on commission. While in Barbizon, Babcock was introduced to the wood engraver Timothy Cole, also represented in the Thaler Cohen Collection, who described him after their initial visit as “an interesting old gentlemen” and noted that Babcock was considered one of the best authorities on art matters in Europe. After Millet’s death in 1875, tourists began visiting Barbizon in increasing numbers. Disturbed by the perceived irreverence of the tourists, Babcock eventually moved closer to Paris, to a village called Bois D’Arcy. Babcock moved into half of an old villa, and, concerned about living alone late in life, invited Timothy Cole and his sons to spend the summers in the other half of the villa. Babcock and Cole had become good friends, Cole made many trips to Paris in search of old prints, which was a hobby of Babcock’s.

During his lifetime, Babcock was well known for his landscapes and portraits. In 1863 he was considered to be one of the greatest painters in the United States. He exhibited at the Boston Atheneum on many occasions between 1853 and 1870, and he also exhibited at the National Academy of Design in 1863. He began exhibiting at the Paris Salon in 1868.

-REG

from: http://mattatuckcollections.org