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Jean Leon Gerome Ferris Art

American, 1863-1930

Jean Leon Gerome Ferris was an American painter best known for his series of 78 scenes from American history, entitled The Pageant of a Nation, the largest series of American historical paintings by a single artist. He was born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, on August 18, 1863, as the son of Stephen James Ferris, a portrait painter who was a devotee of Jean-Léon Gérôme (after whom he was named) and also an admirer of Mariano Fortuny. He grew up around art, having been trained by his father and having two acclaimed painters, Edward Moran and Thomas Moran, as uncles. Ferris enrolled in the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in 1879 and trained further at the Académie Julian beginning in 1883 under William-Adolphe Bouguereau. He also met his namesake Jean-Léon Gérôme, who greatly influenced Ferris's decision to paint scenes from American history. As Ferris wrote in his unpublished autobiography, “Gérôme's axiom was that one would paint best that with which he is most familiar." His early subjects were Orientalist in nature, that movement having been in vogue when he was young. Some of his material was original, some of it took after Fortuny, but he was skilled enough, despite never having had any experience with art. In 1882, he exhibited a painting entitled Feeding the Ibis, which was valued at $600. By 1895, Ferris had gained a reputation as a historical painter and he embarked on his dream of creating a series of paintings that told a historical narrative. In 1898, he sold one of these, General Howe's Levee, 1777, but he later regretted it, realizing that such a series could not be complete if the separate paintings could not be kept together. Ferris, who had married Annette Amelia Ryder in 1894 and with whom he had a daughter named Elizabeth Mary, died in Philadelphia on March 18, 1930.

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Artist: Jean Leon Gerome Ferris
“A Page of Love”
“A Page of Love”

“A Page of Love”

By Jean Leon Gerome Ferris

Located in Southampton, NY

Here is a wonderful original watercolor and gouache depicting a scene from Emile Zola book “A Page of Love” by the American artist, Jean Leon Gerome Ferris....

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1890s Victorian Jean Leon Gerome Ferris Art

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Jean Leon Gerome Ferris art for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Jean Leon Gerome Ferris art available for sale on 1stDibs. You can also browse by medium to find art by Jean Leon Gerome Ferris in archival paper, etching, gouache and more. Not every interior allows for large Jean Leon Gerome Ferris art, so small editions measuring 4 inches across are available. Customers who are interested in this artist might also find the work of Antoine Calbet, Margaret Sweet Johnson, and Anne Muntges. Jean Leon Gerome Ferris art prices can differ depending upon medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $1,050 and tops out at $1,250, while the average work can sell for $1,150.

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