Jonas Lie
Jonas Lie 1880-1940
Norway/US

Jonas Lie emerged as a significant figure in American art during the early twentieth century, distinguished by his masterful Expressionist paintings of New England's coastline and New York City's urban landscape. Born in Moss, Norway, Lie's artistic journey was shaped by a rich cultural heritage and transatlantic influences. His early life was marked by the intersection of Norwegian and American cultures. His father, Sverre Lie, was a Norwegian civil engineer, while his mother, Helen Augusta Steele, hailed from Connecticut. The young artist was named after his uncle, the distinguished Norwegian author Jonas Lie, who would later play a pivotal role in his artistic development. Following his father's death in 1892, the twelve-year-old Lie relocated to Paris to live with his uncle and wife. Their home served as an intellectual salon, frequented by Nordic luminaries including Henrik Ibsen, Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson, Edvard Grieg, and Georg Brandes. During this period, Lie built upon his early artistic foundation by attending a Parisian art school.
The following year marked a significant transition as Lie immigrated to the United States, joining his mother and sisters in New York City. His formal artistic education continued at the Art Students League of New York, where he studied from 1897 to 1906, developing the technical mastery that would define his later work. Lie's artistic signature emerged through his distinctive approach to maritime and urban subjects. His work is characterized by dramatic perspectives and a sophisticated use of color, particularly evident in his depictions of harbors and coves along the New England and Canadian coasts. These summer expeditions produced a remarkable body of work that captured the region's distinctive coastal geography with both precision and artistic vision.
Among his most notable achievements was the documentation of the Panama Canal's construction, resulting in thirty canvases that merged architectural precision with artistic interpretation. His reputation in the international art community led to his selection as the United States representative in the 1928 Summer Olympics art competition, a now-discontinued Olympic category that recognized the intersection of athletics and aesthetics. His paintings continue to be valued for their technical excellence and their vivid portrayal of early twentieth-century American landscapes and seascapes. In 1932, King Haakon conferred on Lie Norway's highest civilian honor, making him a Knight of the Order of St. Olav. Paintings of Jonas Lie are on exhibit at art museums throughout the United States including at Utah Museum of Fine Arts; Cornell Fine Arts Museum; Phoenix Art Museum; San Diego Museum of Art; Corcoran Gallery of Art; Museum of Fine Arts, Boston; Brooklyn Museum of Art; Metropolitan Museum of Art; High Museum of Art; the Detroit Institute of Arts and at the Memorial Art Gallery .
This week the class captured the quiet beauty of trees and Winter snow, inspired by the landscapes of Jonas Lie.
On day two some of the students created pieces inspired by his maritime paintings. After doing initial drawings, they used paint pens and oil pastels on royal blue paper as a background for the snow paintings.
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