Early in December of 1892 Moses worked on “A Flag of Truce’” for William Haworth. His paint crew included Harry A. Vincent, A. J Rupert, Frank Peyraud, a number of assistants and some paint boys. Moses wrote, “I did a stone quarry set – a very effective scene. Vincent did a big foliage act.” He was speaking of the artist who would later be nationally recognized for his marine paintings – Harry Aiken Vincent.
Vincent appears in various articles and manuscripts, including one where Edward Fournier recalls Vincent as one of his old “pot boys.” On a side note, “pot boy” was another name given to the young workers who kept the “color pots” on the palette full.
Harry A. Vincent was born in Chicago on February 14, 1864. He began working for Moses as a scenic artist in Chicago, but moved to New York by 1896, where he would continue as a scenic artist for Moses, as well as Gates and Morange. Moses wrote that Vincent “went East where he made a hit.” In 1901 Moses left the Sosman & Landis studio, also heading east. When he was living and working in New York, he went on sketching trips with John H. Young and Harry Vincent. He wrote that they two artists joined him quite often as they all lived near a picturesque spot. Their favorite places at the time were Seton Falls and Glen Island.
In his later years, Moses would reflect on Vincent and others who had attained fame in the fine art world. These friendships that formed in the scenic studio would continue throughout his life. In 1922 Moses wrote “In 1893 Harry A Vincent applied to me for a position. I tried to convince him that he was foolish to break into a business that had a future only in hard work. He succeeded and has become one of the cleverest landscape painters in America…Many of his pictures are being reproduced and selling well. He is now in Italy on a sketching trip.”
Although Vincent was primarily self taught, he gained recognition in the fine art world and later taught art classes at a variety of institutions, including the National Academy of Design in New York, the Chicago Art Institute, the Carnegie Institute and the Academy of Fine Arts in Pittsburg.
On the East Coast, he continued to create many fine art pieces. Soon, he was painting and exhibiting throughout the New England area, gaining a strong reputation for his seascapes. He was noted for his heavy use of pigment and colorful compositions. Vincent was one of the artists who made up the Rockport School. Becoming the first president of the Rockport Art Association in 1921, he also served as a charter member of the North Shore Art Association. One of his favorite subjects was the old Lobster House in Rockport. This subject inspired about fifty paintings, one of which (“Rockport Harbor”) hung in the Butler Art Institute in Youngstown, Ohio. Vincent was also a member of the Allied Artists of America and the NY Watercolor Club.
He received a variety of awards from the Salmagundi Club of New York – the Shaw Prize (1907), Isador Prize (1916) Turnbill prize (1918). In 1919, he was elected an associate of the National Academy of Design. He was also an expert in making ship models. Vincent was married twice, the second time to Mildred Dietz in 1916. His final residence was in Rockport until his passing at the age of 67years old in 1931.
Recently, twenty sketchbooks and a portfolio of loose drawings sold for $12,300 at https://www.skinnerinc.com/auctions/2818T/lots/1167 Several of the sketchbooks in the lots were inscribed “H.A. Vincent,” with two inscribed “P. Cornoyer.” The auction lot included pencil and charcoal sketches of various sizes, as well as three books belonging to Vincent – The Whistler Book, Dante’s Inferno by Gustave Dore, and A History of Architecture. One of Vincent’s sketchbooks was a record with thumbnail sketches of various works and notes regarding their sale at galleries. I wonder if there were any scene designs included within his sketchbooks. Regardless, I am grateful for the digital age and the many examples of his sketching techniques posted online.
For more information about the work of Vincent, there is a catalogue that was released in conjunction with the art exhibit “Harry A. Vincent & His Contemporaries in a Retrospective Exhibition in 2006.” The publication is by Judith A. Curtis. Here is the link rtartassn.org/product/harry-vincent-n-contemporaries-judith-curtis-hardcover/ on Harry A. Vincent
To be continued…
