John Arthur Fraser (1838–1898) stands as a significant, if sometimes contentious, figure in the landscape of 19th-century North American art. A painter of considerable talent and ambition, his career spanned Canada and the United States, leaving behind a body of work primarily focused on landscapes, and a legacy marked by both artistic achievement and professional turbulence. His journey through the burgeoning art scenes of Montreal, Toronto, Boston, and New York reflects the aspirations and challenges faced by artists of his era, navigating the currents of changing tastes, institutional politics, and the quest for patronage.
Early Life and Artistic Foundations
Born in London, England, in 1838, John Arthur Fraser's early artistic inclinations were nurtured in a city at the heart of the Victorian art world. He received his formal training at the prestigious Royal Academy Schools, a crucible for many of Britain's finest artists. This education would have grounded him in the academic traditions of draughtsmanship, composition, and the hierarchy of genres, although landscape painting was gaining increasing respectability. He also reportedly studied at the South Kensington government school of design, which emphasized practical application and design principles.
This period in London was vibrant with artistic debate. The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, with figures like John Everett Millais, Dante Gabriel Rossetti, and William Holman Hunt, was challenging academic conventions with their emphasis on truth to nature, meticulous detail, and vibrant color. While Fraser was not a Pre-Raphaelite, the movement's emphasis on direct observation of nature likely resonated with the developing landscape painter. The towering influence of J.M.W. Turner, with his atmospheric and light-filled canvases, also permeated the artistic atmosphere, offering a different path for landscape representation.
Fraser's decision to emigrate to Canada in 1858 (or shortly thereafter, accounts vary slightly) with his family, settling initially in Stanstead, Eastern Townships, Quebec, marked a pivotal turn. The Canadian landscape, vast and often untamed in European eyes, offered new subjects and challenges, distinct from the cultivated scenery of Britain.
The Canadian Years: Montreal and Toronto
Fraser's professional artistic career in Canada began in earnest when he moved to Montreal around 1860. He found employment with the renowned photographic firm of William Notman. This was a common entry point for many artists at the time; photography was a burgeoning field, and studios like Notman's often employed painters to color photographs, paint miniatures based on photographic portraits, or create painted backdrops. Fraser's role involved such tasks, honing his skills in detailed work and the application of color, albeit in a commercial context. His talent was recognized, and he became a key figure in Notman's studio, eventually heading the art department.
During his time with Notman, Fraser also pursued his own painting, focusing increasingly on landscapes. The Eastern Townships and the Laurentians provided ample inspiration. His style during this period often showed a meticulous attention to detail and a crispness that may have been influenced by his photographic work and the prevailing taste for realism. He began exhibiting his works and gaining recognition within Montreal's nascent art community.
A significant development in Fraser's career was his involvement in the founding of the Society of Canadian Artists (SCA) in Montreal in 1867, the year of Canadian Confederation. He was a charter member and exhibited in its first exhibition. This society was one of the earliest attempts to professionalize and promote Canadian artists. Other notable artists active in Montreal around this time included Otto Reinhold Jacobi, a German-born painter known for his romantic landscapes, and Cornelius Krieghoff, whose genre scenes of French Canadian life and Indigenous peoples were already iconic, though Krieghoff's main period of activity was slightly earlier.
In 1868, Fraser moved to Toronto to open and manage a branch of Notman's studio, which became Notman & Fraser. This move placed him in another growing artistic center. He quickly became a leading figure in the Toronto art scene and was instrumental in the formation of the Ontario Society of Artists (OSA) in 1872, serving as its vice-president. The OSA played a crucial role in fostering Canadian art, holding regular exhibitions and advocating for artists. Contemporaries in the OSA included Lucius O'Brien, who would become a prominent landscape painter and the first president of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts, and Daniel Fowler, an accomplished watercolorist.
Artistic Style, Themes, and Development
John Arthur Fraser's primary subject matter was landscape, rendered in both oil and watercolor. His early works, influenced perhaps by the Pre-Raphaelite ethos of detailed naturalism and his experience in photography, were often characterized by careful drawing and a precise rendering of form. He depicted the forests, lakes, and rivers of Quebec and Ontario, often capturing the specific qualities of Canadian light and atmosphere. Works like "A Shot in the Dawn, Lake Scugog" and "September Afternoon, Eastern Townships" exemplify his ability to convey a strong sense of place.
As his career progressed, particularly after his move to the United States, some critics observed a broadening of his style. While detail remained important, there was often a greater emphasis on atmospheric effects and a more painterly application of color. His watercolors, in particular, were praised for their luminosity and freshness. He was adept at capturing the transient effects of weather and time of day, as seen in works like "Twilight, Mount Orford."
Fraser's choice of subjects often included wilderness scenes, but also views that showed human interaction with the landscape, such as logging operations or settled farmlands. He undertook sketching trips to various regions, including the Maritime provinces and later, the American West, Scotland, and Wales. His painting "Salmon Trap on a Welsh River" indicates his travels and his continued interest in depicting specific, often picturesque, locations. Another noted work, "Jacob’s Ladder," suggests a more allegorical or romantic inclination, though landscape remained his core focus.
He was not an Impressionist in the French sense, like Claude Monet or Camille Pissarro, whose work was revolutionizing European art during Fraser's mature period. However, like many artists of his generation, he was likely aware of the growing interest in capturing fleeting moments and the optical effects of light, which may have subtly influenced his later work towards a more atmospheric approach, perhaps akin to some aspects of the Barbizon School painters like Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot or Charles-François Daubigny, who emphasized mood and a more direct engagement with nature.
The Picturesque Canada Project and Its Controversies
One of the most significant, and contentious, undertakings of Fraser's career was his involvement with the ambitious publication Picturesque Canada (1882-1884). Edited by George Monro Grant, with Lucius O'Brien as art editor, this multi-volume work aimed to present a comprehensive visual and textual survey of the newly confederated nation. It was a project of national importance, intended to foster a sense of Canadian identity and showcase the country's scenic beauty and resources.
Fraser was commissioned to provide numerous illustrations for the project, traveling extensively to gather material. However, his involvement became mired in controversy. He had sharp disagreements with the publishers and with O'Brien regarding artistic control, remuneration, and the quality of the reproductions. Fraser publicly accused the publishers of inadequately representing Canadian talent and of prioritizing American engravers and artists over Canadians. He also felt that his original agreement had been unfairly altered. These disputes were aired in public letters and created considerable acrimony.
The Picturesque Canada affair highlighted Fraser's often combative personality and his willingness to challenge established figures. While the project itself was a landmark in Canadian publishing and visual culture, Fraser's experience with it was fraught, and it likely contributed to his decision to spend more of his later career in the United States. Other artists who contributed significantly to Picturesque Canada included Henry Sandham and Allan Edson, both accomplished painters of the Canadian scene.
The Royal Canadian Academy of Arts (RCA)
John Arthur Fraser was a founding member of the Royal Canadian Academy of Arts (RCA), established in 1880 under the patronage of the Governor General, the Marquis of Lorne, and his wife, Princess Louise. Lucius O'Brien was its first president. The RCA was modeled on the Royal Academy in London and aimed to elevate the status of art and artists in Canada, establish a national gallery, and provide art education.
Fraser was nominated as a charter member by his peers, a testament to his standing in the Canadian art community at the time. He exhibited regularly with the RCA in its early years. However, his relationship with the RCA also soured. In 1887, he was reportedly excluded or resigned under contentious circumstances. The exact reasons are debated, but likely involved personality clashes, disagreements over policy, and perhaps resentment over his increasing focus on the American market, which some may have seen as a lack of commitment to the Canadian institution. This episode further cemented his reputation as a talented but difficult individual. Robert Harris, another prominent RCA member and its future president, known for his painting "The Fathers of Confederation," was a contemporary navigating these institutional dynamics.
Later Career: The United States and International Recognition
By the early 1880s, Fraser began spending more time in the United States, eventually settling in Boston and later New York. He sought broader opportunities for exhibition and sales, as the American art market was larger and more developed than Canada's at the time. He became a member of the American Watercolor Society (AWS) in 1882 and served on its board in 1889. He also joined the New York Water Color Club, serving on its board from 1893 to 1894, and was a member of the Boston Art Club.
His work was exhibited in major American cities, and he gained a degree of recognition. He continued to paint landscapes, including scenes from New England and further afield. His style continued to evolve, and he was respected for his technical skill, particularly in watercolor. American landscape painters who were his contemporaries included members of the Hudson River School's later phase, such as Albert Bierstadt and Frederic Edwin Church, known for their grand depictions of American scenery, though Fraser's work was generally on a more intimate scale. The tonalist works of artists like George Inness and Dwight William Tryon were also gaining prominence, emphasizing mood and atmosphere, which had some parallels with Fraser's later tendencies.
Despite his American successes, Fraser maintained connections with Canada and continued to exhibit there occasionally. He also traveled to Britain, exhibiting in London and Scotland.
Artistic Controversies and Critical Reception
John Arthur Fraser's career was marked by several artistic controversies beyond the Picturesque Canada affair and his RCA troubles. His work sometimes drew criticism for what some perceived as "unnatural" or overly vivid coloration in his watercolors. There were also suggestions that his reliance on photographs, particularly those by the photographer Alexander Henderson (with whom he sometimes collaborated or whose photos he used as source material), led to a certain stiffness or lack of "definition and carefulness of form" in some of his paintings. This debate about the use of photography by painters was common in the 19th century, as artists grappled with the new medium's implications for traditional art forms.
His painting "Mauais Temps" (Bad Weather), exhibited in Paris, was praised by some French critics but deemed "unoriginal" by certain Canadian commentators, highlighting the differing standards and perhaps nationalistic biases of the time. Fraser was known for his direct, sometimes "rough" or "coarse" style, which contrasted with the more polished and controlled approach of artists like Lucius O'Brien. This stylistic difference itself could be a point of contention in an era when academic finish was often highly valued.
Fraser was not one to shy away from confrontation. He was outspoken in his criticism of art dealers, publishers, and institutions he felt were not serving the best interests of artists or Canadian art. While this advocacy could be seen as principled, his manner often alienated potential allies.
The "Alexander Jnr. Fraser" Connection
The initial query mentioned an "Alexander Jnr. Fraser" associated with a painting titled "Figures And Cattle Resting By Loch Awe," possibly linked to the circle or work of the French academic painter Jean-Léon Gérôme. It is important to clarify that this appears to be a distinct individual from John Arthur Fraser. While Gérôme was a towering figure of 19th-century academic art, known for his meticulously detailed historical and Orientalist scenes, his style and thematic concerns were vastly different from John Arthur Fraser's landscape focus. If an Alexander Jnr. Fraser painted such a scene, he would belong to a different artistic lineage, perhaps a Scottish landscape painter working in a more traditional vein. The art world of the 19th century was populated by many artists, and names could recur. The provided information also mentions an Alexander Jnr. Fraser involved in a building company with his father, A.W. Fraser, in the 19th century; this is almost certainly a different person again. The focus of this article remains John Arthur Fraser, the artist whose career aligns with the bulk of the artistic details provided.
Legacy and Influence
John Arthur Fraser died in New York City in 1898. His legacy is complex. He was undoubtedly a talented and versatile artist, proficient in both oil and watercolor, and a significant contributor to the development of landscape painting in Canada. He played a key role in establishing important Canadian art institutions like the SCA and the OSA, and was a founding member of the RCA. His work captured the Canadian landscape with skill and sensitivity, contributing to a growing national consciousness through art.
However, his difficult personality and numerous disputes often overshadowed his artistic achievements during his lifetime and have complicated his historical assessment. He was a transitional figure, bridging the more detailed, descriptive style of mid-century landscape painting with the later, more atmospheric and subjective approaches that emerged towards the end of the 19th century.
His influence can be seen in the generation of Canadian landscape painters who followed, such as Homer Watson, whose work also conveyed a deep connection to the Canadian soil, or members of the Canadian Art Club like Maurice Cullen and James Wilson Morrice, who brought more impressionistic and post-impressionistic sensibilities to Canadian landscape painting, though they represented a further evolution from Fraser's style.
Today, John Arthur Fraser's paintings are held in major Canadian collections, including the National Gallery of Canada, the Art Gallery of Ontario, and the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts. They are valued for their artistic merit and as important documents of 19th-century Canadian landscape and cultural history. He remains a figure who invites further study, not only for his art but also for the light his career sheds on the challenges and opportunities for artists in a rapidly changing North American art world. His determination to forge a professional career, his advocacy for artists' rights (however abrasively expressed), and his dedication to capturing the essence of the landscapes he encountered ensure his place in the annals of Canadian art history.
