Part 512: Victor Higgins and the Taos Society of Artists
In 1914, Carter H. Harrison funded a second artistic trip for Victor Higgins and Walter Ufer; a year-long trip to Taos in exchange for eight paintings! Higgins and Ufer were two alums from the Chicago Institute of Art who had previously studied in Europe together. The meat-packing tycoon Oscar Mayer, also contributed financially on Ufer’s behalf for this trip. Higgins stayed in Taos, as the Taos Society of Artists was formed in 1915. Higgins became president of the Society and remained a member until the society’s dissolution in 1927.
Although Higgins spent much of his time in the southwest, he continued to return to Chicago for Sosman & Landis. A picture published in “Scene Painting and Bulletin Art” during 1916, depicted Higgins painting a drop curtain at the Sosman & Landis studio in Chicago.
While living in Taos, Higgins focused on painting the Pueblo people and landscapes, writing “This strong primitive appeal calls out the side of art that is not derivative; it urges the painter to get his subjects, his coloring, his tone from the real life about him, not from the wisdom of the studios.” Art historians note that around this time Higgins abandoned many of the traditional approaches to fine art that he had learned in Europe, specifically incorporating the vibrant colors of the landscape and painted his subjects as realistically as possible. This same infusion of color, however, also occurred in the world of scenic art as the shadow colors increase in vibrancy. Some drops painted this time begin to be dominated by ultramarine blue. By the 1920s, this would become more prevalent, but I wonder if Higgins may have been the leading force in the movement at the scenic studio.
As Higgins periodically returned to Chicago, he exhibited his southwestern artworks at the Palette and Chisel Club and the Art Institute of Chicago, dominating the juried exhibitions. He also exhibited works in Indianapolis and New York, with the occasional show in Europe.
By 1921, Higgins convinced four wealthy collectors to fund two years of travel to paint. These would become two of the most productive and experimental years in his career, allowing him to expand on his paint atmospherics with brilliant colors. Looking at Higgins’ economy of brush stroke, one could parallel these techniques with his scenic art for the stage. Historical backdrops produced by the Sosman & Landis studio reflected the hand of their creator. Because the same compositions were being replicated over and over again, it is possible to trace the work of individual artists. The brush work for foliage, marble work, and draperies, are like a signature.
In 1926, Higgins said, “The transcription of a natural scene to paint on canvas is analogous to handwriting. It is to be presumed that an artist knows the mechanics of his art; knows how to handle his tools, just as an author is assumed to have mastered the mechanical task of writing. In both cases, the art of the thing is beyond that. The artist does not merely depict the scene; he digests it; he expresses an emotional reaction. He does not try to compete for accuracy with a colored photograph. The whole modern movement is back to three-dimensional form. Impressionism was a scientific investigation of light. Esthetically we have discovered that while impressionism moved art out-of-doors and gave us cognizance of new factors, the really vital thing is form, rather than light” (Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 16 Jan. 1926, page 38).
The “Honolulu Star-Bulletin” reported that in Hawaii, Higgins commented, “diffused light, which is more than direct light, modifies forms, [and] is somewhat similar here to that in desert country, to which it takes a newcoming painter perhaps two to three tears to become accustomed” (16 Jan. 1926, page 38). It was the diffused light and the distant mountains that appealed to Higgins, Thomas G. Moses and many other scenic artists, as they developed landscapes for the stage.
Higgins was further quoted, “I consider that the mountain country – in New Mexico, in Hawaii, anywhere – is a reservoir of strength. Whether they know it or not, the mountain people are building up a spiritual force that will be valuable to the country. In every crisis, the man or the idea has appeared, and for these crises the mountains are building the reserve of power.” The article explained that this idea was expanded upon in Higgins’ painting “The Valley of Waiting Souls,” – “a scene in which the height and distance of mountains interpret a certain ‘waiting’ attitude in these geological formations, and the idea is carried further by groups of human figures: ‘The mountains wait, and the people wait with them.’”
In 1929 Higgins was invited to participate at the Museum of Modern Art’s second exhibit. That same year, Moses mentions Higgins stopping by to visit him in California on February 14th. Higgins and his wife were in town to settle the estate of their nephew, Theodore Roberts, a famous movie star. In regard to Higgins’ personal life, he was briefly married to Sara Parsons, the daughter of Sheldon Parsons. The union resulted in one child – Joan Higgins. Later, he married Marion Kooglen McNay of San Antonio (1937-1940). McNay was the wealthy daughter of an oil baron with multiple marriages behind her. An artist in her own right, McNay had been trained at the Art Institute of Chicago and also worked as an art instructor. Little is said of these his relationships.
As many artists, Higgins suffered financially in his final years and began painting small scenes on boards that he called “Little Gems.” He would drive his car to a picturesque area, open his trunk and paint scenes for passersby. It is noted that he worked in a shirt and tie or full three-piece suit. I was not surprised by this description when looking at images of scenic artists who worked at studio paint frames in business attire. After all, they were the top professionals at the studio and dressed the part. It was the paint boys who wore overalls. Smoking a cigar with a paint box on his lap, Higgins sold these small artworks for approximately $250.00.
Higgins continued to paint until his death on Aug. 23, 1949. His painter’s box, easel, palette and stool, now hang in a replica of Higgins’ studio inside the Eiteljorg Museum. Here is the link for the museum: https://www.eiteljorg.org/
To be continued…
