Fairfield Porter facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Fairfield Porter
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Porter's painting "Under the Elms," 1971-72.
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| Born | June 10, 1907 Winnetka, Illinois, U.S.
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| Died | September 18, 1975 (aged 68) Southampton, New York, U.S.
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| Education | Harvard University, Art Students' League |
| Known for | Painting, art criticism |
| Movement | New York Figurative Expressionism |
Fairfield Porter (June 10, 1907 – September 18, 1975) was an American painter and art critic. He was known for his realistic paintings of everyday life. He also wrote about art.
Fairfield was born in Winnetka, Illinois. He was one of five children. His father, James Porter, was an architect. His mother, Ruth Furness Porter, was a poet. His brother, Eliot Porter, became a famous photographer.
Becoming an Artist
Fairfield Porter went to Harvard University. There, he studied fine arts. After Harvard, he moved to New York City in 1928. He continued his art studies at the Art Students' League.
His training taught him to create art about real life. He always painted in a realistic style. This was different from many artists at the time. Many others were painting in a style called Abstract Expressionism. This style uses shapes and colors that don't look like real objects.
Porter was praised for sticking to his realistic style. He showed that you could still paint real things.
What He Painted
Porter loved to paint things he saw every day. His main subjects were:
- Landscapes: Scenes of nature and outdoor spaces.
- Domestic interiors: Pictures of rooms inside homes.
- Portraits: Paintings of people.
He often painted his family and friends. Many of these friends were writers from the New York School. These included famous writers like John Ashbery and Frank O'Hara.
Many of his paintings showed places he knew well. These included his family's summer house in Great Spruce Head Island, Maine. He also painted scenes from their home in Southampton, New York.
His Artistic Style
Porter's way of seeing the world was special. He loved nature and found beauty in ordinary things. He was greatly inspired by two French painters. These were Pierre Bonnard and Édouard Vuillard. They also painted everyday scenes.
Art critic John Ashbery once wrote about Porter. He said Porter liked the later, softer paintings of Vuillard. These were different from Vuillard's earlier, more detailed works.
Porter once shared his goal for painting. He said he wanted to make everything "more beautiful." This idea came from what the artist Pierre-Auguste Renoir told Bonnard.
Where to See His Art
Fairfield Porter's paintings are in many museums. He gave about 250 of his works to the Parrish Art Museum. You can also find his art in other famous places.
Some of the museums that have his art include:
- Metropolitan Museum of Art
- Museum of Modern Art
- Whitney Museum of American Art
- Smithsonian American Art Museum
- Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden
His paintings help us see the beauty in everyday moments.
