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George Herbert McCord

(1848-1909) George McCord is a highly regarded artist of the second generation of the Hudson River School. He was born in New York and studied at the Hudson River Institute and at Claverack Academy, New York, with Samuel F.B. Morse and James Fairman. He had a studio on New York's 10th Street, home to many artist studios, and later at his home in Morristown, New Jersey, where he taught art. He traveled widely, painting in the Berkshires, Adirondacks, and Laurentian Mountains, and the upper Mississippi. He was among the first artists to painted in Florida as it was becoming popular. McCord was among a select group of artists including Thomas Moran, George Inness, Jr., and Irving Couse, who were invited by the Santa Fe Railroad to paint scenes of the Grand Canyon; and he was also part of the Arkell Erie Canal Trip. In 1890 he was commissioned by Andrew Carnegie to paint landscapes around Carnegie's Cluny Castle in Scotland. McCord also traveled in England, France, Holland, and Italy, and lived in Venice and Paris. He was an associate of the National Academy and a member of the American Watercolor Society, the New York Watercolor Club, Lotus Club, the Artists Fund Society, Brooklyn Art Club, Lincoln Club, and president of both the Salmagundi Club and the Black and White Club. He exhibited at the Brooklyn and Boston Art Clubs, the Mechanics Institute of Boston, the New Orleans and St. Louis Expositions, and at the Art Institute of Chicago.

Biography courtesy of Roger King Gallery of Fine Art, www.antiquesandfineart.com/rking

George Herbert McCord, a painter known for his watercolors, oils and pastels, as well as his black-and-white drawings, was born in New York City in 1848.

McCord was a pupil of Samuel F.B. Morse and James Fairman in 1866, and had exhibited at the National Academy of Design by 1870. He gained pubic attention in 1875 for two paintings, Sleepy Hollow and Sunny Side - Home of Washington Irving, which were exhibited in New York City as part of a fund-raising drive for a Washington Irving monument. His marine scenes and landscapes were popular in their time for their atmospheric quality and highly developed sense of color. He was sought after for commissions and was invited by Andrew Carnegie to paint the scenery around his castle in Cluny, Scotland.

McCord made frequent trips to sketch in New England, Canada, Florida and the Upper Mississippi. He was one of an elite group of artist invited by the Santa Fe Railroad to paint scenes of the Grand Canyon. He was also invited on the Arkell Erie Canal trip. McCord was named an associate of the National Academy of Design in 1880. He not only exhibited at the Academy but was a regular at the Brooklyn Art Museum, Art Institute of Chicago and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia in 1877, 1888 and in 1903. He was active in other artists' organizations in New York City, and was frequently honored at exhibitions nationwide.

Though he maintained a permanent studio at his Morristown, New Jersey home, McCord spent much time abroad. He lived and painted for three years in Venice, and later in Paris. During these trips, he was joined by his wife and daughters, two of whom became accomplished artists. McCord's only sister, who was also a painter, joined the family in Venice and Italy. He died in New York City in 1909.

Memberships:
American Water Color Society
Artists Fund Society
Brooklyn Art Club
Lotos Club
National Academy of Design
Newspaper Artists' Society
New York Water Color Club
Salmagundi Club

Public Collections:
Albany Institute of History and Art, New York

Biography courtesy of Roughton Galleries, www.antiquesandfineart.com/roughton

George McCord was a central member of the Hudson River School's second generation of artists. Based in New York, McCord traveled extensively throughout the United States and Europe to create his atmospheric landscapes and seascapes. He was part of a select group of painters sponsored by the Sante Fe Railroad to paint scenes of the Grand Canyon and was commissioned to create paintings of the landscape surrounding Andrew Carnegie's castle in Scotland. McCord won medals from the New Orleans Exposition, the Mechanics Institute of Boston, and the St. Louis Exposition and regularly exhibited at the National Academy of Design, the Brooklyn Art Association, and the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. Today, his work can be found at The Brooklyn Museum of Art, the Hudson River Museum, and the Museum of Fine Arts, Houston.

Biography courtesy of Questroyal Fine Art, LLC, www.antiquesandfineart.com/questroyal

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