James Renwick Brevoort

I. Biography

A prominent member of the Hudson River School’s second generation of artists, James Renwick Brevoort created rich, atmospheric landscapes that evoked nature’s quiet mystery. Brevoort was born in Yonkers, New York, and began drawing at a young age on his father’s farm in Williamsbridge and Fordham. In 1850, he attended New York University’s School of Design to study architecture, under the instruction of his cousin James Renwick (1832–1918), the designer of St. Patrick’s Cathedral in New York and the Smithsonian Institution Building in Washington, D.C. After graduating from NYU at the age of 22, Brevoort went on to study painting at the National Academy of Design, where he exhibited almost annually for over forty years. Brevoort was elected as an associate in 1861 and as a full Academician two years later.

Brevoort was a part of a new generation of the Hudson River School; thus, his scenes tended towards less dramatic vistas, preferring more personal, subjective locations. He spent many of his summers looking for the best landscape subjects, traveling to Salisbury, Connecticut, Leeds in the Catskills, and Long Island. Brevoort was also a skilled draftsman and watercolorist, interested in the shimmering quality of watercolor and the technical accuracy of drawing. In 1872, he was named the National Academy’s Professor of Scientific Perspective.

The year 1873 marked a major turning point in Brevoort’s career: after the passing of his first wife, he married Marie Louise Bascom, herself an artist and a first medal awardee of the National Academy. Together, the couple moved to Europe and settled in an American expatriate colony in Florence, where they stayed for seven years. During their time abroad, Brevoort traveled across Italy, England, and the Netherlands, mastering his sketching skills. Brevoort returned to New York in 1880, although he would visit Europe occasionally thereafter. Brevoort settled in Yonkers in 1890, where he continued painting and exhibiting his work. He helped found the Yonkers Art Association, where he exhibited for its first three years, until his death in 1918. Brevoort’s work is now in The Corcoran Gallery of Art, the Hudson River Museum, and the Dallas Museum of Art.

II. Chronology

• 1832 Born in Yonkers, New York
• 1854 Received architecture certificate from the New York University School of Design
• 1863 Elected as a full member of the National Academy of Design
• 1872 Named Professor of Scientific Perspective at the National Academy of Design
• 1873 Moved to Europe with his wife, Marie Louise Bascom
• 1880 Returned to New York City
• 1890 Settled in a house in Yonkers, New York
• 1916 Founded Yonkers Art Association
• 1918 Died in Yonkers, New York

III. Collections

• Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
• Hudson River Museum, Yonkers, New York
• Dallas Museum of Art, Texas

IV. Exhibitions

• 1856–72, 1878–79, 1881–1900 National Academy of Design¹
• 1858 Boston Athenaeum
• 1861–69, 1871–74, 1879–81 Brooklyn Art Association²
• 1861, 1863, 1866, 1876 Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts
• 1874 Boston Art Club
• 1916–18 Yonkers Art Association

V. Memberships

• National Academy of Design; Associate 1861; Academician 1863
• Century Association
• Royal Academy, Urbino, Italy
• Yonkers Art Association; Founder

VI. Notes

1. Bartlett Cowdrey, National Academy of Design Exhibition Record, 1826-1860, vol. 1, J.J. Little & Ives Company for the New York Historical Society, 1941, p. 50; Maria Naylor, Exhibition of the National Academy, 1861–1900, Kennedy Galleries, Inc., 1973 pp. 89–92.
2. Clark S. Marlor, A History of the Brooklyn Art Association with an Index of Exhibitions, James F. Carr, 1970, pp. 130–131.

VII. Suggested Resources

• Falk, Peter. Who Was Who in American Art. Vol 1, Sound View Press, 1999, p. 435.
• McColley, Sutherland. The works of James Renwick Brevoort, 1832–1918, American Landscape Painter. The Hudson River Museum, 1972.