Richard Clague (1816 - 1878) France. Watercolor. Measure 14 1/2"in H x 13 1/4"in W and 18"in H x 16"in W with frame. Credited with introducing the tradition of European landscape painting, especially that of the Barbizon School, to the Louisiana landscape during the late 19th century, Richard Clague was both a teacher and mentor to a group of New Orleans artists that included William Buck Marshall Smith and Charles Giroux. By 1849, Clague was in Paris, studying at the Ecole des Beaux Arts with Francois Picot. He exhibited at the Paris Salon in 1848, 1849 and 1853. In France, he was strongly influenced by the rural subjects and plein-air method of the Barbizon artists. In 1856-57, he was the draftsman on an expedition sponsored by Napoleon III to Algeria to discover the source of the Nile River, and shortly after this, he settled in New Orleans. He opened a studio with Paul Poincy. In 1861, he was briefly enlisted in the Confederate Army but resigned his commission. He lost most of is money during the Civil War, and afterwards lived frugally, earning a living by painting including portraiture and teaching painting.

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