John F. Kavanagh (1853-1898) The Boatman (1888) Oil on canvas, lined 44 x 80cm (17¼ x 31½) Signed, inscribed 'Paris' and dated 1888 John F. Kavanagh (or Kavanaugh) was born in Canada in 1853, the son of Irish immigrant parents. He moved to the United States and worked as a photographic printer, then as an artist in Cleveland, Ohio. He studied at the National Academy of Design, New York. Back in Cleveland, he established himself as a portrait artist in crayon. (1) In his late twenties, feeling the need to continue his studies and broaden his experience, following the pattern of many of his North American and Irish contemporaries, he set off for Europe. He spent several years studying in academies there, visiting artists colonies, and gaining experience as a painter of nature. From 1882-1884 Kavanagh studied in Munich, with Greek-born artist Nikolas Gysis; he then studied in Paris, at the Academie Julian, 1886-1887, registering in the atelier of Gustave Boulanger and Jules Lefebvre, 11August 1886.(2) He studied in the atelier of Fernand Cormon, 1888-1889. While in Paris Kavanagh lived in a variety of addresses, for example at 7 rue de Tournon in 1887; at 233 rue de Faubourg-Saint-Honoré in 1888; and at 40 avenue de Wagram in 1889. Like many of his contemporaries he was attracted to painting in the open air, for example near Paris, at Fontainebleau and at Scheveningen in the Netherlands. While still a student Kavanagh exhibited seven pictures at the Paris Salon (Société des Artistes Francais), this prestigious French institution recognising the value of his work in portraiture, genre, landscape and drawing. In 1887, for example, he exhibited Une Berger (a shepherdess), and a woman of Scheveningen. In 1888 he showed a picture of a schoolmaster, a portrait and a drawing. He exhibited a portrait and a drawing again in 1889.(3) In that year Kavanagh returned to America. He taught portraiture and became director of the Art Club, Cleveland. Sadly his latter years were difficult ones; he became destitute and sold the contents of his studio, dying in 1898. Curiously, in some standard dictionaries of art, Kavanagh’s name is confused with his Irish namesake and near contemporary Joseph Malachy Kavanagh (1856–1918), (4) or is omitted. So, his significance as an important plein-air artist is often overlooked. More often associated with portraiture, Kavanagh is represented here with two sunny river landscapes, both inscribed ‘Paris 1888’, painted during his student years in France, and both coming from private collections. The Boatman features a man in a punt on a gleaming stretch of river. He is viewed from behind standing in the front and wielding a pole. His figure is carefully defined in sunlight and shadow, reflected in the calm waters. The large horizontal canvas allows Kavanagh to include a panoramic sunlit landscape on the opposite bank. Above the river bank a harvest scene, with haystacks and a large, red-roofed barn, can be seen. Beyond is a settlement with houses and churches. The sunny, colourful landscape represented with lively brushstrokes suggests that Kavanagh may have been familiar with Impressionist paintings. The inscription of ‘Paris’ and ‘1888’ after the artist’s signature is significant, denoting that the landscape was painted during the period when Kavanagh was studying in Paris. Dr. Julian Campbell