John Louis Laurent New Hampshire, Maine, New York (1921 - 2005) Shells, L'Aber Benoit, 1967 oil on board Signed and initialed lower left. Exhibited: Kraushaar Galleries, NY Biography from the Archives of askART: The following is a copy of the artist's obituary, from "The Portsmouth Herald", Portsmouth New Hampshire, April 21, 2005: Famed Ogunquit artist John Laurent dies at 83 By Jim Kanak OGUNQUIT The town lost one of its great links to the Ogunquit and Perkins Cove art colony when renowned artist John Laurent died on April 14. Laurent had spent much of his life in Perkins Cove involved with the art and fishing communities there. "The annals of art in Maine have been depleted by the passing of John Laurent," said Ed Betts, an artist and close contemporary who knew Laurent since 1947. "His art summed up many of the characteristics of the rugged Maine landscape and people. Through both his art and especially his teaching, he has left an indelible mark on 20th century art that will influence future artists, and he has been a great inspiration." But it was Laurent's involvement in the many aspects of the Ogunquit community that endeared him to many people there. "John, in his hey day, was a very outward going guy," said Mike Horn, who joined Laurent in performing with the Ice House Five plus Two, a band that played together in Boston for nearly 40 years years. "He liked to have people around him and enjoyed social times. He was recognized for his professional abilities. He's lived his art in a way and that's what he really wanted to do." Laurent was born in Brooklyn on November 17, 1921. His father was the noted sculptor Robert Laurent and his mother was Mimi Caraes. The senior Laurent was first brought to Ogunquit by Hamilton Easter Field, when Field moved there in 1902. Field eventually opened the Ogunquit School of Painting and Sculpture in Perkins Cove and Robert got involved there as well. Field died in 1922 and named Robert as his sole heir, leaving Robert the Adams House, among other things. Robert taught at the art school in the 1940s and 1950s. Later, John worked with Robert at the school, with John teaching painting and Robert sculpture. John took over the school when Robert died. The school closed in the mid 1950s. John served in World War II and returned to begin his formal education in art. He earned a bachelor in fine arts degree from Syracuse University and a master's degree from Indiana University. He began teaching art at the University of New Hampshire in 1954 and continued on the faculty for most of his career. He became an established artist in his own right. "His artwork was strong and sort of nativist," said artist Dewitt Hardy. "It was characterized by a lot of dark and light. Then he had a period which was absolutely terrific, with interiors of barns, farm equipment, and landscapes. That period, taken with the earlier dark and light phase will give him a solid reputation probably forever." Hardy first met Laurent in 1953. "I first started coming to Ogunquit with my mother," he said. "We rented cottages on the hill above Perkins Cove. I walked down often to be around the [artist's] atmosphere. Mike and Helen Horn had been renting the Ice House, and I met John at the Horn's wedding reception. John was playing in a band there. I was all of 13." Later Hardy returned to the cove and the art school when his then wife Patty received a scholarship from Laurent to attend the art school. "I came up from Cleveland," he said. "Patty was living in the grotto in the cove. I got a job working for the Lookout Hotel and stayed on." Mary-Leigh Smart was a friend of Laurent's who knew him from birth. "I watched him grow up," she said. "I knew him well. I bought one of the first paintings that he sold and has acquired his paintings over the years. I've given two or three to museums. He was a musician and he could tell good stories. He was very sociable, attractive, fun and well read. He had depth." Laurent stayed in the middle of the social scene in Perkins Cove in the 1950s and early 1960s, and hung out with colleagues like the Horns, Ray and Isabel Lewando, his bother Paul, and George Karfiol. Each year, the group ended the season on Labor Day, with an artists' ball hosted by the Horns at the Ice House. According to Helen Horn, the parties were meant to celebrate the end of a happy summer, but there was a certain sadness in saying good bye to friends, and going back to "real lives" until the next summer. The group eventually turned these balls into Christmas parties, complete with a decorated tree. "John and his wife Nancy lived in the cove then," Mike Horn said. "There was a whole kind of 'family' in the cove at the time." Ogunquit resident Martin Crosby was a next door neighbor to Laurent when the two first met 18 years ago. "I always enjoyed him," Crosby said. "I could talk to him about anything. People thought he was a curmudgeon, but I didn't think so. He was a big part of the art colony." Crosby said that he and Laurent traveled around the area during Laurent's later years. "We mostly drove around and had fun," he said. "We'd go from Freeport to Durham. He liked to go to Peter Fuller's racetrack. He and I were friends. We kind of depended on each other's company." Laurent's legacy, though, is his artwork and his connection to the school and colony in Perkins Cove. "He was a pivotal figure," said Isabel Lewando. "He was a strong connection to the art colony in Perkins Cove." "He had good insight into the art world today," said Mike Horn. "The art reflected his being at certain times. The style would change, but you'd always know that it was a Laurent. He was a pre-eminent artist in a group of good artists." 13 1/4"H x 20 1/2"W (sight), 15 1/2"H x 23"W (frame)