Henry Strater

Henry Strater
BornJanuary 21, 1896
Louisville, Kentucky, U.S.
DiedDecember 21, 1987(1987-12-21) (aged 91)
Palm Beach, Florida, U.S.
Other namesMike Strater
EducationPrinceton University,
Art Students League of New York,
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts,
Académie de la Grande Chaumière
Occupation(s)Painter, illustrator
Ernest Hemingway and Henry Strater (1935), Cat Cay, Bahamas
Ernest Hemingway and Henry Strater (1935), Cat Cay, Bahamas

Henry "Mike" Strater (January 21, 1896 – December 21, 1987) was an American painter and illustrator. He was a friend of Ernest Hemingway and other figures of the Lost Generation.[1] He was best known for his portraiture, figurative, and landscape drawings and paintings.[2] Strater founded the Ogunquit Museum of American Art in Ogunquit, Maine in either 1952 or 1953.[3][4][5]

Early life and education

Henry Strater was born on January 21, 1896, in Louisville, Kentucky. He later attended Princeton University,[1] during which he befriended F. Scott Fitzgerald.[1] Strater was Fitzgerald's inspiration for the character "Burne Halliday" from the novel This Side of Paradise (1920).[1]

During 1917 and World War I, Strater enlisted in the French Red Cross and drove ambulances for the Allies.[6] In 1919 he returned to the United States to studied at the Art Students League of New York and Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts.[7] He also took some classes at Real Academia de Bellas Artes de San Fernando in Madrid.[7]

In the 1920s, Strater studied at the Académie de la Grande Chaumière in the Montparnasse district of Paris, under Edouard Vuillard.[1] While in Paris, Strater met Hemingway in a bar, where they had a brawl.[1] Later they became friends and Strater painted two portraits of Hemingway in late 1922 while still in Paris.[1][8][6]

Career

Ezra Pound had Strater illustrate part of the book, The Cantos.[6]

His friendship with Hemingway ended in 1935, over a Time magazine photo of Marlin fishing that incorrectly credited Hemingway with catching Strater's oversized fish.[9] Hemingway did not correct the issue. [citation needed]

In either 1952 or 1953, Strater founded the Ogunquit Museum of American Art in Ogunquit, Maine.[4][5]

Death and legacy

He died at the age of 91 on December 21, 1987, in Palm Beach.[1] He is buried at the First Parish Cemetery in York, Maine. [citation needed]

Strater's work can be found in museums including the Chrysler Museum of Art,[9] Harvard Art Museums,[10] the Art Institute of Chicago, the Detroit Institute of Arts,[11] and the Princeton University Art Museum.[12]

References

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h "Obituaries: Henry Strater, 91; Artist at Center of Lost Generation". Los Angeles Times. December 24, 1987.
  2. ^ "Henry Strater's Portrait of Ernest Hemingway". National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian. 2018-06-25. Retrieved 2022-07-27.
  3. ^ Culver, Michael (November 26, 2010). "Ogunquit Museum of American Art's Charles H. Woodbury and His Students". Traditional Fine Arts Organization, Inc. (tfaoi.org). Retrieved 2022-07-27.
  4. ^ a b Bair, Diane; Wright, Pamela (May 5, 2013). "Ogunquit Museum of American Art turns 60". Boston.com. Retrieved 2022-07-27.
  5. ^ a b "Ogunquit Museum of American Art announces adopt a school program". Bangor Daily News. May 27, 2022.
  6. ^ a b c Voss, Frederick; Reynolds, Michael; Reynolds, Michael S.; Institution), National Portrait Gallery (Smithsonian; D.C.), National portrait gallery (Washington (1999-01-01). Picturing Hemingway: A Writer in His Time. Yale University Press. pp. 14–15. ISBN 978-0-300-07926-5.
  7. ^ a b Rainey, Lawrence S. (1991-12-15). Ezra Pound and the Monument of Culture: Text, History, and the Malatesta Cantos. University of Chicago Press. p. 327. ISBN 978-0-226-70316-9.
  8. ^ Reynolds, Michael S. (1989). Hemingway: The Paris Years. W. W. Norton & Company. ISBN 978-0-393-31879-1.
  9. ^ a b "Nudes and a Marlin". Chrysler Museum of Art. September 10, 2020. Retrieved 2022-07-27.
  10. ^ "Spanish Gypsy Child". Harvard Art Museums. Retrieved 2022-07-27.
  11. ^ "Home from School". dia.org. Retrieved 2022-07-27.
  12. ^ "Flowers against the Sea". artmuseum.princeton.edu. Retrieved 2022-07-27.