John Joseph Enneking

Summer Woodland with Stream
c. 1880
Oil on Canvas
16 x 20

Autumn Twilight
c. 1880
Oil on Canvas
20 x 24

John Joseph Enneking (1841-1916)

John Joseph Enneking, America’s earliest Impressionist painter, is often credited with bridging the gap between French and American painting. A native of Ohio but based in Boston for most of his career, it is believed that he painted with Monet himself while studying in France during the early 1870s, when Monet’s long career was just beginning. The two were only a year apart in age. Like Monet, Enneking also studied with Charles-François Daubigny, from whom he gained a sensitivity for painting in the Barbizon style, an important precursor to Impressionism. The two moods are combined in Enneking’s signature works, which include lush summer and autumnal scenes basked in the waning light of dusk and twilight. Enneking’s forte was capturing the essence of atmosphere, humidity, light and color of nature. The unity of effect is all important. A highly prolific painter, Enneking’s work is found in museums and private collections across America and beyond today. A pivotal figure in American art history, he is mentioned literally hundreds of publications regarding American art and artists, including the monograph John Joseph Enneking: An American Impressionist Painter (1972) and three articles in the American Art Review devoted specifically to his life and work.

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