1 00:00:01,320 --> 00:00:04,280 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class, a production 2 00:00:04,400 --> 00:00:14,000 Speaker 1: of iHeartRadio. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. I'm Holly 3 00:00:14,040 --> 00:00:17,400 Speaker 1: Frye and I'm Tracy V. Welson. I was in New 4 00:00:17,520 --> 00:00:20,200 Speaker 1: York recently, and, of course, as I try to do 5 00:00:20,280 --> 00:00:22,000 Speaker 1: every time I get to New York, but it doesn't 6 00:00:22,000 --> 00:00:26,000 Speaker 1: always work, I went to the Met. Oh I love 7 00:00:26,079 --> 00:00:29,640 Speaker 1: the Met had a little scare. People thought there was gunfire. 8 00:00:29,760 --> 00:00:34,280 Speaker 1: There wasn't, but it was scary in the moment, so 9 00:00:34,320 --> 00:00:36,239 Speaker 1: I didn't get to hang as long as I wanted to. 10 00:00:36,560 --> 00:00:40,279 Speaker 1: But while I was there, there's a piece of art 11 00:00:40,320 --> 00:00:42,560 Speaker 1: I have seen there many times, and I have never 12 00:00:42,720 --> 00:00:46,159 Speaker 1: really stopped and read the little placard on it. And 13 00:00:46,200 --> 00:00:48,760 Speaker 1: then when I did, I felt sort of foolish because 14 00:00:48,840 --> 00:00:51,199 Speaker 1: it was a piece by an artist whose work I 15 00:00:51,240 --> 00:00:55,200 Speaker 1: already liked, and I just never had realized what that 16 00:00:55,240 --> 00:00:57,920 Speaker 1: piece was and what its significance was. I'm not even 17 00:00:57,960 --> 00:01:00,360 Speaker 1: gonna say right now what it was, because it up 18 00:01:00,440 --> 00:01:02,760 Speaker 1: later in the narrative of the episode, and I'll notice 19 00:01:02,760 --> 00:01:06,560 Speaker 1: as the inspiration then. But today we are talking about 20 00:01:06,640 --> 00:01:11,680 Speaker 1: two painters, Frank Duvenick and his relationship with Elizabeth Boot 21 00:01:11,920 --> 00:01:15,560 Speaker 1: And to start, we're gonna give Frank's background, We'll get 22 00:01:15,560 --> 00:01:17,559 Speaker 1: a little bit of Lizzie's later and how their lives 23 00:01:17,600 --> 00:01:21,120 Speaker 1: came together. It's sort of sweet, but a heads up, 24 00:01:21,120 --> 00:01:22,800 Speaker 1: there's a little bit of sorrow in here as well. 25 00:01:23,440 --> 00:01:27,039 Speaker 1: Frank Duvinick was born Frank Decker on October ninth, eighteen 26 00:01:27,120 --> 00:01:31,240 Speaker 1: forty eight, in Covington, Kentucky. His father was Bernard Decker, 27 00:01:31,319 --> 00:01:34,800 Speaker 1: a German immigrant, and his mother, Katherine, was also from Germany. 28 00:01:35,600 --> 00:01:39,080 Speaker 1: Frank was named after his father's brother, also Frank Decker. 29 00:01:39,760 --> 00:01:42,600 Speaker 1: When the younger Frank was only a year old, his father, 30 00:01:42,680 --> 00:01:46,520 Speaker 1: Bernard died of cholera. Catherine got married again to a 31 00:01:46,560 --> 00:01:49,760 Speaker 1: man named Joseph Duvenick, and Frank's last name changed to 32 00:01:49,840 --> 00:01:53,120 Speaker 1: that of his stepfather. When Frank was twelve, the family 33 00:01:53,160 --> 00:01:56,160 Speaker 1: moved to Cincinnati, Ohio, into a house at twelve twenty 34 00:01:56,200 --> 00:02:01,400 Speaker 1: six green Up Street that had been owned by Frank's uncle. Frank, Catherine, 35 00:02:01,400 --> 00:02:04,320 Speaker 1: and Joseph opened and ran a beer garden next to 36 00:02:04,360 --> 00:02:08,840 Speaker 1: the house. Just in case you don't know, Covington to 37 00:02:08,919 --> 00:02:11,680 Speaker 1: Cincinnati like today is like a seven minute drive. That 38 00:02:11,760 --> 00:02:14,600 Speaker 1: wasn't a big fat move. Yeah, they're pretty close to 39 00:02:14,639 --> 00:02:17,720 Speaker 1: one another, but not long after that move, when Frank 40 00:02:17,800 --> 00:02:21,240 Speaker 1: was fourteen, he started an apprenticeship with a church decorator 41 00:02:21,560 --> 00:02:25,760 Speaker 1: named Wilhelm Lamprecht, who was also German. Sometimes you'll see 42 00:02:25,760 --> 00:02:29,280 Speaker 1: this reported as him being thirteen when this starts. It's 43 00:02:29,280 --> 00:02:32,000 Speaker 1: not entirely clear, but the timeline that made the most 44 00:02:32,040 --> 00:02:34,080 Speaker 1: sense to me put him at fourteen, although it seemed 45 00:02:34,120 --> 00:02:36,440 Speaker 1: like the wheels were in motion before that. But this 46 00:02:36,520 --> 00:02:39,280 Speaker 1: work that he was doing with Lamprecht involved a lot 47 00:02:39,320 --> 00:02:42,760 Speaker 1: of work in primarily Catholic churches and monasteries, and this 48 00:02:42,919 --> 00:02:46,200 Speaker 1: was a big operation. There was a pretty wide geographical 49 00:02:46,320 --> 00:02:49,400 Speaker 1: range of clients, so their work would reach us far 50 00:02:49,480 --> 00:02:53,680 Speaker 1: north into Quebec and also east into Pennsylvania. And doing 51 00:02:53,720 --> 00:02:56,640 Speaker 1: this exposed Frank to a lot of religious art, and 52 00:02:56,720 --> 00:02:59,400 Speaker 1: he learned how to paint and sculpt to fill the 53 00:02:59,400 --> 00:03:02,400 Speaker 1: needs of the very churches that they decorated. But he 54 00:03:02,400 --> 00:03:05,040 Speaker 1: didn't really have artistic freedom. But boy, he was getting 55 00:03:05,040 --> 00:03:10,800 Speaker 1: a technical education. Again. It's an interesting thing to me 56 00:03:10,880 --> 00:03:12,840 Speaker 1: to think of an artist getting all of the technical 57 00:03:12,840 --> 00:03:15,160 Speaker 1: stuff and none of the art stuff until later. But 58 00:03:15,240 --> 00:03:19,320 Speaker 1: that is how his life worked. His earliest signed and 59 00:03:19,400 --> 00:03:22,120 Speaker 1: dated picture is from this time in his life. And 60 00:03:22,160 --> 00:03:24,160 Speaker 1: that's a painting that he did of the Madonna and 61 00:03:24,320 --> 00:03:29,040 Speaker 1: Child in eighteen sixty seven for a church. An offshoot 62 00:03:29,080 --> 00:03:31,920 Speaker 1: of that work was that being an apprentice to a 63 00:03:32,000 --> 00:03:35,880 Speaker 1: German decorator meant he heard a lot about Germany, specifically 64 00:03:35,920 --> 00:03:39,120 Speaker 1: about Munich and the art scene there, and because of that, 65 00:03:39,200 --> 00:03:42,160 Speaker 1: when he was twenty one, Frank traveled to Munich to 66 00:03:42,240 --> 00:03:46,680 Speaker 1: study at the Munich Academy study art specifically. This was 67 00:03:46,720 --> 00:03:50,320 Speaker 1: something that his mentors had been advocating for with his 68 00:03:50,440 --> 00:03:53,400 Speaker 1: parents as well, and Frank found that Germany and art 69 00:03:53,440 --> 00:03:57,280 Speaker 1: school were very much to his liking. Because Frank had 70 00:03:57,320 --> 00:04:00,600 Speaker 1: grown up in a German speaking home and was bilingual, 71 00:04:00,680 --> 00:04:04,200 Speaker 1: he didn't have any problems with language. In Munich, he 72 00:04:04,280 --> 00:04:07,080 Speaker 1: fit right in with his peers, and as an American 73 00:04:07,160 --> 00:04:11,080 Speaker 1: student from abroad, he was popular. This was a lot 74 00:04:11,160 --> 00:04:15,040 Speaker 1: different from being an apprentice in Cincinnati. Yeah. I read 75 00:04:15,080 --> 00:04:18,280 Speaker 1: one article that said it was essentially like going from 76 00:04:18,640 --> 00:04:20,480 Speaker 1: even though he did not have a lot of money, 77 00:04:20,520 --> 00:04:23,919 Speaker 1: going from being you know, a pauper in Cincinnati to 78 00:04:23,960 --> 00:04:26,839 Speaker 1: being a prince in Munich because everyone loved him and 79 00:04:26,880 --> 00:04:29,480 Speaker 1: he was like the coolest kid on the block. As 80 00:04:29,560 --> 00:04:33,839 Speaker 1: an art student, Frank studied under Wilhelm Dietz and Alexander Strauber, 81 00:04:34,440 --> 00:04:38,000 Speaker 1: and he really flourished in art school. He was deeply 82 00:04:38,040 --> 00:04:41,000 Speaker 1: influenced by the work of the Baroque and Renaissance masters, 83 00:04:41,279 --> 00:04:43,520 Speaker 1: which he was exposed to for the first time while 84 00:04:43,560 --> 00:04:46,919 Speaker 1: he was in Munich. Because he had so much technical 85 00:04:46,960 --> 00:04:50,720 Speaker 1: skill from that apprenticeship, he was able to learn really 86 00:04:50,800 --> 00:04:54,520 Speaker 1: quickly about art and then express his ideas really well. 87 00:04:55,000 --> 00:04:57,760 Speaker 1: And when it came time for the student prizes, he 88 00:04:57,839 --> 00:05:01,320 Speaker 1: won most of them his first year. That was kind 89 00:05:01,360 --> 00:05:04,320 Speaker 1: of unheard of, and Duvinac's reputation at the school became 90 00:05:04,400 --> 00:05:08,559 Speaker 1: one of consistent excellence. He was a very fast painter. 91 00:05:08,760 --> 00:05:11,880 Speaker 1: His style of quickly getting work onto canvas with at 92 00:05:11,880 --> 00:05:15,840 Speaker 1: this point little or no sketching, focusing on spontaneity instead 93 00:05:15,839 --> 00:05:18,680 Speaker 1: of planning, is also known as fa presto. That's an 94 00:05:18,720 --> 00:05:23,919 Speaker 1: Italian word for me quickly. The style that this was 95 00:05:24,000 --> 00:05:28,240 Speaker 1: part of, which was very very sort of assertive, is 96 00:05:28,240 --> 00:05:29,800 Speaker 1: one of the words that comes up a lot. Was 97 00:05:29,960 --> 00:05:32,560 Speaker 1: very popular in Munich at the time, and this was 98 00:05:32,640 --> 00:05:36,080 Speaker 1: kind of a perfect match for Frank Duvinik. When he 99 00:05:36,200 --> 00:05:39,640 Speaker 1: was just twenty four, Duvenec painted one of his most 100 00:05:39,720 --> 00:05:43,880 Speaker 1: famous works called The Whistling Boy. This is a dark, 101 00:05:44,080 --> 00:05:46,919 Speaker 1: kind of moody piece. It features a young boy with 102 00:05:47,000 --> 00:05:50,080 Speaker 1: a cigarette in one of his hands. The idea of 103 00:05:50,279 --> 00:05:54,680 Speaker 1: kids with jobs being depicted in sort of adult attitudes 104 00:05:54,880 --> 00:05:59,080 Speaker 1: really echoed through several of his paintings. Others included The 105 00:05:59,120 --> 00:06:02,680 Speaker 1: Cobblers of pres which was in eighteen seventy seven, and 106 00:06:02,960 --> 00:06:05,560 Speaker 1: He Lives by his Wits, which he painted in eighteen 107 00:06:05,640 --> 00:06:09,120 Speaker 1: seventy eight. This period was one in which Duvenik was 108 00:06:09,160 --> 00:06:12,240 Speaker 1: creating a lot of the art that would define his legacy, 109 00:06:12,279 --> 00:06:15,240 Speaker 1: including Professor Lufts, which is a portrait of one of 110 00:06:15,279 --> 00:06:19,440 Speaker 1: his friends from school. That's a relatively simple composition. Ludwig 111 00:06:19,520 --> 00:06:23,600 Speaker 1: van Luft sits in partial profile, wearing a dark jacket 112 00:06:23,640 --> 00:06:26,880 Speaker 1: and hat and gazing out at the viewer, and overall 113 00:06:27,920 --> 00:06:30,400 Speaker 1: this is pretty indicative of all of his work of 114 00:06:30,400 --> 00:06:34,360 Speaker 1: this time. The palette is very dark, but there little touches, 115 00:06:34,520 --> 00:06:37,200 Speaker 1: like a pink flushed cheek that make it feel really 116 00:06:37,240 --> 00:06:42,159 Speaker 1: just incredibly alive. Descriptions of Duvenik, who was called Duf 117 00:06:42,360 --> 00:06:44,960 Speaker 1: by his friends, make him sound like somebody a lot 118 00:06:44,960 --> 00:06:47,279 Speaker 1: of folks would really want to be around. He was 119 00:06:47,440 --> 00:06:51,440 Speaker 1: really supportive of other students, and because of his excellence, 120 00:06:51,480 --> 00:06:54,880 Speaker 1: he naturally fell into a leadership role with his peers. 121 00:06:55,520 --> 00:06:58,320 Speaker 1: He made people feel at ease, and he sort of 122 00:06:58,360 --> 00:07:01,159 Speaker 1: swept his friends up into his work old he shared 123 00:07:01,240 --> 00:07:04,760 Speaker 1: things that he loved with them. By all the accounts 124 00:07:04,800 --> 00:07:07,800 Speaker 1: that we have, he was very well loved. And in 125 00:07:07,839 --> 00:07:12,040 Speaker 1: eighteen seventy three he had his first solo show in 126 00:07:12,280 --> 00:07:16,480 Speaker 1: Munich and that show went well. But later that year 127 00:07:16,640 --> 00:07:20,200 Speaker 1: Duvenik moved back to the United States to Cincinnati, Ohio. 128 00:07:20,880 --> 00:07:24,160 Speaker 1: He probably would have stayed in Munich much longer had 129 00:07:24,160 --> 00:07:27,880 Speaker 1: it not been for a cholera outbreak in Germany. Additionally, 130 00:07:28,040 --> 00:07:30,360 Speaker 1: his family just did not have the money to keep 131 00:07:30,440 --> 00:07:34,600 Speaker 1: supporting his life abroad. And there's another little twist, which 132 00:07:34,640 --> 00:07:39,040 Speaker 1: is it in nineteen ninety nine, that's not a misstatement. 133 00:07:39,640 --> 00:07:42,080 Speaker 1: In nineteen ninety nine, letters were found in the home 134 00:07:42,160 --> 00:07:45,760 Speaker 1: that the Duveniks lived in in Cincinnati, and those letters 135 00:07:45,800 --> 00:07:48,880 Speaker 1: suggested that Frank's half sister, Mollie, had gotten into our 136 00:07:48,920 --> 00:07:51,960 Speaker 1: relationship with a married man, and that Frank had been 137 00:07:52,000 --> 00:07:54,800 Speaker 1: asked to come home to help sort out that matter 138 00:07:54,840 --> 00:07:58,239 Speaker 1: and keep Molly from ruining her life. And even though 139 00:07:58,400 --> 00:08:01,880 Speaker 1: Frank was returning home. It seems like he may have 140 00:08:01,920 --> 00:08:04,560 Speaker 1: had a much harder time adjusting to life back in 141 00:08:04,640 --> 00:08:08,880 Speaker 1: Ohio than he had to life abroad. In Germany. He 142 00:08:08,920 --> 00:08:11,320 Speaker 1: was the toast of his school and his social group, 143 00:08:11,760 --> 00:08:15,280 Speaker 1: and in Cincinnati there really was not much fanfare over him, 144 00:08:15,320 --> 00:08:18,320 Speaker 1: no matter how good he was as an artist. Those dark, 145 00:08:18,360 --> 00:08:21,080 Speaker 1: sort of brooding pieces were not popular at the time. 146 00:08:21,800 --> 00:08:24,320 Speaker 1: He did a little more work in decorating churches, but 147 00:08:24,400 --> 00:08:26,400 Speaker 1: it wasn't enough. He kind of had to rebuild his 148 00:08:26,440 --> 00:08:28,960 Speaker 1: reputation there because he had been gone for several years, 149 00:08:29,440 --> 00:08:32,400 Speaker 1: and so ultimately he decided to move to Chicago, but 150 00:08:32,520 --> 00:08:35,160 Speaker 1: that also did not work out, and then he moved 151 00:08:35,200 --> 00:08:38,240 Speaker 1: on to Saint Louis, which also was not a great fit. 152 00:08:39,160 --> 00:08:43,200 Speaker 1: After almost two years of struggling, Frank had a solo 153 00:08:43,280 --> 00:08:46,360 Speaker 1: show at the Boston Art Club in eighteen seventy five. 154 00:08:47,360 --> 00:08:51,720 Speaker 1: It really wasn't especially successful, but then that same selection 155 00:08:51,800 --> 00:08:55,280 Speaker 1: of paintings was shown a second time in Boston, this 156 00:08:55,400 --> 00:08:57,880 Speaker 1: time at the doll And Richards Gallery, and with that 157 00:08:58,040 --> 00:09:03,079 Speaker 1: second show, almost overnight, his life changed. Both painter William 158 00:09:03,160 --> 00:09:06,839 Speaker 1: Morris Hunt and writer Henry James were really vocal in 159 00:09:06,920 --> 00:09:09,679 Speaker 1: their support of his work. They called him a genius. 160 00:09:10,360 --> 00:09:13,400 Speaker 1: There's really not a lot of documentation about what pieces 161 00:09:13,440 --> 00:09:16,080 Speaker 1: were in this show, though, and what we do know 162 00:09:16,080 --> 00:09:19,160 Speaker 1: about it is largely from different descriptions that were written 163 00:09:19,160 --> 00:09:23,920 Speaker 1: in reviews. It included portrait of William Adams, portrait of 164 00:09:24,240 --> 00:09:28,840 Speaker 1: Ludwig Loffs, and the old Professor. Yeah, there's some question 165 00:09:28,880 --> 00:09:31,880 Speaker 1: marks about how many pieces were even in that first show, 166 00:09:32,000 --> 00:09:35,920 Speaker 1: and some of this is going to come up in 167 00:09:35,960 --> 00:09:40,040 Speaker 1: behind the scenes. So the Boston Evening Transcript wrote of 168 00:09:40,080 --> 00:09:42,800 Speaker 1: that show, quote, the name of this gifted young painter, 169 00:09:43,080 --> 00:09:45,840 Speaker 1: almost unknown in our art world a few months ago, 170 00:09:46,160 --> 00:09:48,679 Speaker 1: has been made famous by the exhibition of a small 171 00:09:48,760 --> 00:09:52,520 Speaker 1: number of portraits and studies in our city. These works 172 00:09:52,520 --> 00:09:58,200 Speaker 1: displayed such striking originality, vigorous painting, close observation, and power 173 00:09:58,320 --> 00:10:02,240 Speaker 1: of rendering individual character that one was forced to admire 174 00:10:02,360 --> 00:10:06,080 Speaker 1: and even compare him with the great masters. The same 175 00:10:06,120 --> 00:10:08,760 Speaker 1: write up reported that because the exhibition had gone so 176 00:10:09,000 --> 00:10:12,800 Speaker 1: very well, Dubenac sent additional portraits to Boston. He kind 177 00:10:12,800 --> 00:10:14,720 Speaker 1: of added to it as like a second phase of 178 00:10:14,720 --> 00:10:18,199 Speaker 1: the show. And while this initial group for display only 179 00:10:18,240 --> 00:10:22,200 Speaker 1: included male figures, in that second batch, he included a 180 00:10:22,240 --> 00:10:24,440 Speaker 1: portrait of a woman that earned him a new round 181 00:10:24,520 --> 00:10:27,480 Speaker 1: of acclaim for being able to quote paint a refined 182 00:10:27,520 --> 00:10:30,240 Speaker 1: and graceful portrait of a lady as well as the 183 00:10:30,280 --> 00:10:34,480 Speaker 1: courser more powerful types of manhood. We'll talk about Frank's 184 00:10:34,520 --> 00:10:37,480 Speaker 1: process as a painter, which he apparently told to the 185 00:10:37,559 --> 00:10:41,880 Speaker 1: reporter who wrote this piece about the Boston exhibition. First, though, 186 00:10:41,920 --> 00:10:54,839 Speaker 1: we will have a quick sponsor break. Perhaps most interesting 187 00:10:55,120 --> 00:10:58,640 Speaker 1: in that August eighteen seventy five Boston Evening transcript write 188 00:10:58,679 --> 00:11:02,400 Speaker 1: up is a pretty detailed description of how Duvenek worked, 189 00:11:02,600 --> 00:11:05,920 Speaker 1: which the writer says came from speaking directly to the artist, 190 00:11:05,960 --> 00:11:09,120 Speaker 1: and it reads, in part quote, his palette is very 191 00:11:09,160 --> 00:11:12,400 Speaker 1: simply made up, the only thing essentially different from that 192 00:11:12,480 --> 00:11:15,520 Speaker 1: in use by most portrait painters being his use of 193 00:11:15,600 --> 00:11:19,880 Speaker 1: black in the grays instead of blue. Upon a slight drawing, 194 00:11:19,960 --> 00:11:23,400 Speaker 1: he begins painting in thick, square patches of color, laying 195 00:11:23,440 --> 00:11:26,760 Speaker 1: a broad mass wherever it is possible, and imitating the 196 00:11:26,800 --> 00:11:30,360 Speaker 1: model at once as closely as he can. He depends 197 00:11:30,520 --> 00:11:33,640 Speaker 1: very much upon his background color to assist in modeling 198 00:11:33,679 --> 00:11:37,160 Speaker 1: the face, as for instance, on the shadow side. He 199 00:11:37,200 --> 00:11:40,640 Speaker 1: will paint that color in first, then overlay the flesh 200 00:11:40,679 --> 00:11:44,520 Speaker 1: tones firmly, and then, according to the article, he lets 201 00:11:44,600 --> 00:11:46,880 Speaker 1: his what they call his first painting they really mean 202 00:11:46,920 --> 00:11:50,240 Speaker 1: his first pass dry and then, according to the write up, 203 00:11:50,280 --> 00:11:53,800 Speaker 1: he quote rubs the surface down with ossiscipia until he 204 00:11:53,840 --> 00:11:57,480 Speaker 1: obtains a surface almost as smooth as glass, and by 205 00:11:57,559 --> 00:12:00,400 Speaker 1: using raw linseed oil upon it and with his color, 206 00:12:00,840 --> 00:12:04,360 Speaker 1: keeps it wet as long as possible. Okay for art 207 00:12:04,400 --> 00:12:09,360 Speaker 1: folks in the crowd, this description is confusing. Osiscipia is 208 00:12:09,480 --> 00:12:13,040 Speaker 1: used to refer to a couple of different things, one 209 00:12:13,120 --> 00:12:17,680 Speaker 1: being one use mold casting that's obviously not what would 210 00:12:17,720 --> 00:12:21,720 Speaker 1: have been going on here. The other is a lithographic 211 00:12:21,920 --> 00:12:27,200 Speaker 1: negative technique that involves pitting a stone surface, so that 212 00:12:27,480 --> 00:12:30,640 Speaker 1: is not what this is either. It's hard to know 213 00:12:30,720 --> 00:12:34,720 Speaker 1: what specifically the writer was talking about here, but suffice 214 00:12:34,760 --> 00:12:38,240 Speaker 1: it to say Duvenik was smoothing out his painting with 215 00:12:38,480 --> 00:12:42,440 Speaker 1: something to prepare it for further work on it, and 216 00:12:42,679 --> 00:12:45,760 Speaker 1: he would, according to this account, sometimes work for weeks 217 00:12:45,800 --> 00:12:48,040 Speaker 1: on a painting, not because he was spending so much 218 00:12:48,040 --> 00:12:50,840 Speaker 1: time on the actual painting, but because he liked to 219 00:12:50,840 --> 00:12:53,000 Speaker 1: go to museums in the early part of the day 220 00:12:53,400 --> 00:12:55,520 Speaker 1: and then paint in his studio for a few hours 221 00:12:55,520 --> 00:12:57,640 Speaker 1: in the afternoon. That sounds like pretty good life to me. 222 00:12:57,920 --> 00:13:00,320 Speaker 1: It does to me as well. We do. I also 223 00:13:00,400 --> 00:13:03,200 Speaker 1: know that he liked to really lay varnish on quite heavily, 224 00:13:03,240 --> 00:13:05,440 Speaker 1: because he wanted to make his paintings look like the 225 00:13:05,480 --> 00:13:09,720 Speaker 1: old Masters, just kind of charming. The other tidbit that's 226 00:13:09,800 --> 00:13:12,640 Speaker 1: dropped in that discussion of Frank's work is that he 227 00:13:12,760 --> 00:13:15,360 Speaker 1: was headed back to Europe, but that he planned to 228 00:13:15,440 --> 00:13:19,280 Speaker 1: move to Boston once he returned. It's unclear whether that 229 00:13:19,400 --> 00:13:22,080 Speaker 1: was true. It certainly wasn't how things actually played out. 230 00:13:22,760 --> 00:13:26,680 Speaker 1: One point of interest regarding the sales of duven 's paintings, though, 231 00:13:26,720 --> 00:13:30,720 Speaker 1: in that successful Boston show, one of them, portrait of 232 00:13:30,720 --> 00:13:35,280 Speaker 1: William Adams, was purchased by kind of a he's sometimes 233 00:13:35,280 --> 00:13:38,760 Speaker 1: referred to as an amateur composer named Francis Boot, and 234 00:13:38,800 --> 00:13:40,720 Speaker 1: that name is going to come up again just a 235 00:13:40,760 --> 00:13:45,720 Speaker 1: little later. Frank Duvenec's decision to return to Europe just 236 00:13:45,840 --> 00:13:48,760 Speaker 1: as he was gaining success in the United States might 237 00:13:48,880 --> 00:13:53,320 Speaker 1: seem counterintuitive, but he really wanted to return to Munich. 238 00:13:54,400 --> 00:13:56,559 Speaker 1: He knew he could always send art back to the 239 00:13:56,679 --> 00:13:59,440 Speaker 1: United States if he wanted to for shows, which he did. 240 00:14:00,120 --> 00:14:03,240 Speaker 1: He had ample opportunity, on the heels of that instant 241 00:14:03,360 --> 00:14:06,920 Speaker 1: name recognition to stay in the United States, and particularly 242 00:14:07,000 --> 00:14:10,040 Speaker 1: to stay in Boston, but he took the advice of 243 00:14:10,120 --> 00:14:13,200 Speaker 1: other artists who had gone abroad and then returned home 244 00:14:13,240 --> 00:14:16,320 Speaker 1: in the United States to find us audiences kind of 245 00:14:16,480 --> 00:14:20,960 Speaker 1: slow to engage with their art. William Morris Hunt, in particular, 246 00:14:21,120 --> 00:14:24,120 Speaker 1: had traveled through France, Italy, and the Middle East and 247 00:14:24,160 --> 00:14:26,360 Speaker 1: then had returned to the United States to find that 248 00:14:26,480 --> 00:14:31,760 Speaker 1: American audiences had what he called the quote unpardonable conceit 249 00:14:32,280 --> 00:14:35,680 Speaker 1: of looking down on French painting. French painting was one 250 00:14:35,720 --> 00:14:39,400 Speaker 1: of his most significant influences, so it makes sense that 251 00:14:39,560 --> 00:14:43,480 Speaker 1: Frank wanted to recapture the joy and enthusiasm that he 252 00:14:43,520 --> 00:14:48,360 Speaker 1: had experienced in Munich during his early twenties. This actually worked. 253 00:14:48,720 --> 00:14:52,480 Speaker 1: Duvenec spent two years back in Munich and became known 254 00:14:52,520 --> 00:14:56,360 Speaker 1: as much for his fondness for parties and socializing as 255 00:14:56,400 --> 00:14:59,760 Speaker 1: he was known for his art. Next, Frank moved on 256 00:14:59,800 --> 00:15:02,280 Speaker 1: to Venice with two of his friends from art school, 257 00:15:02,360 --> 00:15:05,240 Speaker 1: and at this point they were pretty low on cash. 258 00:15:05,320 --> 00:15:07,200 Speaker 1: They kind of made a go of things, but then 259 00:15:07,240 --> 00:15:10,200 Speaker 1: a serious illness hit one of his best friends, and 260 00:15:10,240 --> 00:15:13,800 Speaker 1: then a lucrative job offer was tendered as that friend 261 00:15:13,840 --> 00:15:17,160 Speaker 1: was recovering to that friend, not to Duvenik, and Duvenik 262 00:15:17,240 --> 00:15:19,120 Speaker 1: went back to Munich with his friends to kind of 263 00:15:19,120 --> 00:15:21,440 Speaker 1: get them ready to leave again. But when they headed 264 00:15:21,480 --> 00:15:24,000 Speaker 1: back to the United States, he decided that he was 265 00:15:24,040 --> 00:15:26,400 Speaker 1: going to stay in Munich and to support himself he 266 00:15:26,440 --> 00:15:30,200 Speaker 1: started teaching. So at this point in Frank's story, we 267 00:15:30,280 --> 00:15:32,520 Speaker 1: need to pause for a minute and catch up with 268 00:15:32,600 --> 00:15:37,320 Speaker 1: a young woman named Elizabeth Boot. We mentioned composer Francis 269 00:15:37,320 --> 00:15:41,880 Speaker 1: Boot earlier. On April thirteenth, eighteen forty six, Francis and 270 00:15:41,920 --> 00:15:45,720 Speaker 1: his wife, Elizabeth Lyman Boot, welcomed a daughter into the family. 271 00:15:45,840 --> 00:15:49,400 Speaker 1: They named her Elizabeth Lyman Boot after her mother, although 272 00:15:49,440 --> 00:15:53,640 Speaker 1: she went by Lizzie. In a sad parallel to Frank's life, 273 00:15:53,880 --> 00:15:56,000 Speaker 1: you we said earlier, he lost his father when he 274 00:15:56,120 --> 00:15:59,480 Speaker 1: was just a year old, Lizzie lost her mother when 275 00:15:59,480 --> 00:16:03,480 Speaker 1: she was on that same age. Unlike in Frank's family, though, 276 00:16:03,520 --> 00:16:07,280 Speaker 1: Francis did not remarry and instead decided to move with 277 00:16:07,400 --> 00:16:11,360 Speaker 1: his infant daughter to Europe. Lizzie grew up traveling, but 278 00:16:11,400 --> 00:16:16,200 Speaker 1: the Boots eventually called Florence, Italy home. Francis saw to 279 00:16:16,280 --> 00:16:20,160 Speaker 1: it that Lizzie had a comprehensive education, and particularly in 280 00:16:20,240 --> 00:16:23,840 Speaker 1: the arts. She took music lessons right alongside her father, 281 00:16:24,000 --> 00:16:27,480 Speaker 1: and when she expressed interest in visual art, he was 282 00:16:27,600 --> 00:16:30,400 Speaker 1: very supportive and made sure she had lessons in tutors. 283 00:16:30,920 --> 00:16:34,520 Speaker 1: She also had language instruction in French, Italian and Latin. 284 00:16:35,360 --> 00:16:38,560 Speaker 1: Lizzie spent her entire childhood in Europe until she and 285 00:16:38,600 --> 00:16:41,920 Speaker 1: Francis moved back to Boston when she was nineteen in 286 00:16:42,000 --> 00:16:45,680 Speaker 1: eighteen sixty five. It was in the eighteen sixties that 287 00:16:45,720 --> 00:16:48,360 Speaker 1: the Boots became close with the people who would be 288 00:16:48,440 --> 00:16:52,360 Speaker 1: influential in Frank Duvinik's career. They were close to the 289 00:16:52,480 --> 00:16:56,480 Speaker 1: James family and Henry, who was three years older than Lizzie, 290 00:16:56,760 --> 00:17:00,080 Speaker 1: he was particularly fond of her. The families were so 291 00:17:00,160 --> 00:17:03,280 Speaker 1: close that they vacationed together, and it was during one 292 00:17:03,320 --> 00:17:06,520 Speaker 1: of those vacations that the Boots met William Morris Hunt. 293 00:17:07,119 --> 00:17:09,800 Speaker 1: At the time, Hunt was putting together an art class 294 00:17:09,840 --> 00:17:13,840 Speaker 1: for women's students and Lizzie enrolled. And it was while 295 00:17:13,920 --> 00:17:17,480 Speaker 1: Lizzie was in Boston taking lessons from Hunt that she 296 00:17:17,600 --> 00:17:20,760 Speaker 1: went to an art exhibition of paintings by Frank Duvenek, 297 00:17:21,359 --> 00:17:23,760 Speaker 1: And while some sources suggest that she was the one 298 00:17:23,800 --> 00:17:27,040 Speaker 1: who purchased portrait of William Adams, it kind of seems 299 00:17:27,040 --> 00:17:29,000 Speaker 1: like it was more like she convinced her father to 300 00:17:29,000 --> 00:17:31,800 Speaker 1: buy it, kind of for her. He probably had the 301 00:17:31,840 --> 00:17:34,120 Speaker 1: cash to do it and she didn't. But that's kind 302 00:17:34,119 --> 00:17:36,119 Speaker 1: of a picking knits thing. But sometimes you'll see that 303 00:17:36,160 --> 00:17:38,639 Speaker 1: Francis purchased it, and other times you'll see that Lizzie 304 00:17:38,640 --> 00:17:43,080 Speaker 1: purchased it. So if this were a romantic comedy, that 305 00:17:43,119 --> 00:17:46,000 Speaker 1: would sort of seem like things were conspiring to put 306 00:17:46,040 --> 00:17:49,880 Speaker 1: Frank and Elizabeth in each other's paths more than anything, though, 307 00:17:49,920 --> 00:17:52,639 Speaker 1: this was just the result of both of them traveling 308 00:17:52,640 --> 00:17:55,160 Speaker 1: in the same circles. But it is kind of romantic 309 00:17:55,280 --> 00:17:58,159 Speaker 1: to think that Elizabeth's art tutor Hunt was one of 310 00:17:58,240 --> 00:18:02,080 Speaker 1: Dubank's early supporters and that her father had been one 311 00:18:02,119 --> 00:18:05,480 Speaker 1: of his earliest benefactors by purchasing a painting from the 312 00:18:05,480 --> 00:18:10,760 Speaker 1: Boston Show. But that romanticized version kind of robs Lizzie 313 00:18:10,800 --> 00:18:15,000 Speaker 1: of her agency, because she later sought Frank out herself. 314 00:18:15,640 --> 00:18:18,320 Speaker 1: When he was in Venice. She was taking lessons in 315 00:18:18,440 --> 00:18:22,000 Speaker 1: Villiers Le Belle, France, and she decided to go to 316 00:18:22,040 --> 00:18:25,520 Speaker 1: Italy to see him. There's some debate about whether she 317 00:18:25,560 --> 00:18:28,040 Speaker 1: met him in Boston. It seems like probably not, but 318 00:18:28,680 --> 00:18:30,800 Speaker 1: she wanted to meet him at least, so she did 319 00:18:30,840 --> 00:18:33,680 Speaker 1: some travel because if you look at this whole situation 320 00:18:33,800 --> 00:18:36,040 Speaker 1: on a map, it is obviously that she was not 321 00:18:36,280 --> 00:18:38,639 Speaker 1: at all in the part of France that would have 322 00:18:38,640 --> 00:18:41,080 Speaker 1: been nearest to Venice. This wasn't like a quick hop. 323 00:18:41,480 --> 00:18:43,439 Speaker 1: She was in the north of France and it was 324 00:18:43,480 --> 00:18:47,080 Speaker 1: a hike. It was almost eleven hundred and forty kilometers, 325 00:18:47,119 --> 00:18:51,240 Speaker 1: that's more than seven hundred miles. And then when Frank 326 00:18:51,280 --> 00:18:54,919 Speaker 1: traveled back to Munich and started teaching, Lizzie went to 327 00:18:55,000 --> 00:18:58,919 Speaker 1: Munich and signed up for lessons. Frank moved his painting 328 00:18:59,000 --> 00:19:01,879 Speaker 1: school to Florence, something that Lizzie may have been the 329 00:19:01,880 --> 00:19:05,119 Speaker 1: one to suggest. She encouraged him to start a class 330 00:19:05,119 --> 00:19:07,520 Speaker 1: for women there, similar to the one that she had 331 00:19:07,560 --> 00:19:11,560 Speaker 1: taken with Hunt. She was instrumental in managing all the 332 00:19:11,600 --> 00:19:16,119 Speaker 1: move logistics, and this was a considerable task because Frank 333 00:19:16,240 --> 00:19:20,480 Speaker 1: moved all of his students with him. Lizzie also kind 334 00:19:20,520 --> 00:19:24,040 Speaker 1: of taught Duvenak how to move in higher society circles 335 00:19:24,080 --> 00:19:27,440 Speaker 1: among the expatriots in Italy. He had been a really 336 00:19:27,520 --> 00:19:30,480 Speaker 1: poor artist right up until his success at the age 337 00:19:30,520 --> 00:19:32,760 Speaker 1: of twenty seven, and this was only a couple of 338 00:19:32,840 --> 00:19:36,240 Speaker 1: years after that. They still really hadn't gotten the knack 339 00:19:36,280 --> 00:19:39,680 Speaker 1: of handling his own finances. He had to have proper 340 00:19:39,720 --> 00:19:42,800 Speaker 1: clothes picked out for him. The young men who were 341 00:19:42,840 --> 00:19:47,120 Speaker 1: Frank's devoted students had gained the nickname the Duvenik Boys, 342 00:19:47,400 --> 00:19:51,240 Speaker 1: and one of them became Frank's sort of de facto accountant. 343 00:19:51,320 --> 00:19:55,240 Speaker 1: Since Frank struggled so much with handling money. I had 344 00:19:55,240 --> 00:19:57,320 Speaker 1: such a bless your heart moment when I was reading 345 00:19:57,359 --> 00:20:00,640 Speaker 1: about that. He's like, I had nothing, now just have money. 346 00:20:00,640 --> 00:20:03,199 Speaker 1: I don't know how to do any of this. It 347 00:20:03,240 --> 00:20:05,639 Speaker 1: didn't seem like he was like spendy spendy. He just 348 00:20:05,680 --> 00:20:08,120 Speaker 1: literally had no concept of that much money coming in. 349 00:20:08,880 --> 00:20:11,240 Speaker 1: What Frank was really good at, though, was being the 350 00:20:11,320 --> 00:20:14,640 Speaker 1: life of the party. There are stories of him climbing 351 00:20:14,680 --> 00:20:18,360 Speaker 1: under tables in restaurants to make animal noises to confuse 352 00:20:18,440 --> 00:20:22,560 Speaker 1: the diners. He would also stage elaborate audio dramas from 353 00:20:22,640 --> 00:20:25,560 Speaker 1: under tables in the same way, making people think, for example, 354 00:20:25,920 --> 00:20:28,160 Speaker 1: that they were overhearing a couple in the crowd having 355 00:20:28,200 --> 00:20:32,679 Speaker 1: an argument. During this time, Duvenik was as popular in Venice. 356 00:20:32,720 --> 00:20:34,760 Speaker 1: It seemed as he had been in Munich as a 357 00:20:34,800 --> 00:20:37,919 Speaker 1: younger man with an endless array of romances, and his 358 00:20:38,040 --> 00:20:43,240 Speaker 1: social schedule sounds quite dizzying. Frank Duveneck was young, talented, 359 00:20:43,400 --> 00:20:47,240 Speaker 1: suddenly flush with cash, admired by his peers, and really 360 00:20:47,280 --> 00:20:50,760 Speaker 1: had a very carefree personality and everyone wanted to be 361 00:20:50,880 --> 00:20:54,919 Speaker 1: in his circle. His students absolutely adored him. There are 362 00:20:54,960 --> 00:20:57,399 Speaker 1: lots of accounts that people are like, yes, they all 363 00:20:57,480 --> 00:21:00,480 Speaker 1: worshiped him, and it's because he was all of these 364 00:21:00,520 --> 00:21:02,480 Speaker 1: fun things. But he was also a really good teacher. 365 00:21:02,520 --> 00:21:05,480 Speaker 1: He was very insightful and could give people critiques that 366 00:21:05,560 --> 00:21:09,919 Speaker 1: actually made them better artists. Duven X started to create 367 00:21:10,040 --> 00:21:14,360 Speaker 1: etching pieces in Italy and also started experimenting with different 368 00:21:14,400 --> 00:21:18,399 Speaker 1: styles of art. Sometimes this is attributed to his desire 369 00:21:18,480 --> 00:21:22,080 Speaker 1: to make more saleable art, but it's also sometimes attributed 370 00:21:22,080 --> 00:21:26,520 Speaker 1: to Frank's developing relationship with Elizabeth Boot. We'll talk more 371 00:21:26,600 --> 00:21:29,760 Speaker 1: about their relationship right after we hear from some of 372 00:21:29,800 --> 00:21:43,160 Speaker 1: the sponsors that keep the show going. While in Italy, 373 00:21:43,480 --> 00:21:47,080 Speaker 1: Lizzie and Frank fell in love, much to the dismay 374 00:21:47,320 --> 00:21:50,320 Speaker 1: of the men who they had in common. Francis Boot 375 00:21:50,480 --> 00:21:53,320 Speaker 1: and Henry James both thought that Duvenik was a great 376 00:21:53,359 --> 00:21:56,480 Speaker 1: painter and a charming man, but neither of them thought 377 00:21:56,520 --> 00:22:00,000 Speaker 1: he was refined enough to be with Lizzie. Francis Boot 378 00:22:00,359 --> 00:22:03,880 Speaker 1: probably resented someone else becoming important to his daughter, and 379 00:22:04,119 --> 00:22:07,040 Speaker 1: he was worried that Duvenik was after her for her money. 380 00:22:07,920 --> 00:22:10,600 Speaker 1: It has long been theorized that Henry James may have 381 00:22:10,680 --> 00:22:14,120 Speaker 1: been in love with Lizzie himself. He was very public 382 00:22:14,240 --> 00:22:17,800 Speaker 1: in his negative opinion of the couple. There was also 383 00:22:17,840 --> 00:22:20,399 Speaker 1: a concern that Frank, because he was kind of a 384 00:22:20,440 --> 00:22:23,080 Speaker 1: party boy, was a little bit unfocused and that he 385 00:22:23,160 --> 00:22:26,000 Speaker 1: wasn't going to be able to maintain his reputation as 386 00:22:26,040 --> 00:22:29,680 Speaker 1: an artist. But Lizzie really seemed pretty good for his art. 387 00:22:29,800 --> 00:22:33,399 Speaker 1: She seemed intent on making sure his work was a success. 388 00:22:33,440 --> 00:22:37,360 Speaker 1: Several of her society friends commissioned portraits by Frank, including Gertrude, 389 00:22:37,359 --> 00:22:41,479 Speaker 1: Elizabeth Blood and Mary E. Goddard. Blood and Duvenac were 390 00:22:41,520 --> 00:22:43,440 Speaker 1: even interested in each other and may have had a 391 00:22:43,480 --> 00:22:45,359 Speaker 1: brief affair for a short period of time, but it 392 00:22:45,400 --> 00:22:49,239 Speaker 1: obviously didn't last. Frank even painted during this time a 393 00:22:49,280 --> 00:22:52,680 Speaker 1: gorgeous portrait of Lizzie's father, Francis. It kind of mimics 394 00:22:52,720 --> 00:22:55,160 Speaker 1: Titian's portrait of a man in a link's trimmed coat. 395 00:22:56,400 --> 00:22:59,080 Speaker 1: This is the postulated that this is a thing he 396 00:22:59,119 --> 00:23:01,679 Speaker 1: painted as a way to curry favor with France's Boot. 397 00:23:02,280 --> 00:23:04,919 Speaker 1: It is a gorgeous painting, although Francis seems to have 398 00:23:04,920 --> 00:23:08,040 Speaker 1: been kind of unconvinced when it came to Frank's suitability 399 00:23:08,400 --> 00:23:13,000 Speaker 1: as a suitor to his daughter Elizabeth. Meanwhile, Lizzie was 400 00:23:13,040 --> 00:23:17,240 Speaker 1: busy working on her own painting career, and during their 401 00:23:17,280 --> 00:23:20,040 Speaker 1: breakups she would travel for that. She had her first 402 00:23:20,119 --> 00:23:23,399 Speaker 1: exhibit in Boston at the J. Eastman Chase Gallery in 403 00:23:23,440 --> 00:23:27,879 Speaker 1: eighteen eighty three alongside Annie Dixwell. Lizzie also traveled to 404 00:23:27,920 --> 00:23:31,119 Speaker 1: the United States Southern States in eighteen eighty three and 405 00:23:31,240 --> 00:23:36,440 Speaker 1: painted several pieces depicting farm and plantation life there. The 406 00:23:36,560 --> 00:23:40,120 Speaker 1: relationship between Boot and Duvenek was kind of on again 407 00:23:40,160 --> 00:23:42,600 Speaker 1: and off again as they would travel away from each other. 408 00:23:43,040 --> 00:23:45,800 Speaker 1: They loved each other. They would be engaged and then 409 00:23:45,840 --> 00:23:48,439 Speaker 1: break off their engagement, try to end things, only to 410 00:23:48,480 --> 00:23:51,520 Speaker 1: realize again that they wanted to be together. All of 411 00:23:51,560 --> 00:23:55,800 Speaker 1: that happened multiple times, but after several years of being 412 00:23:55,840 --> 00:23:58,320 Speaker 1: engaged on and on, I think it's like over five years, 413 00:23:58,440 --> 00:24:02,919 Speaker 1: during which Lizzie often saw other society women basically throwing 414 00:24:02,960 --> 00:24:07,760 Speaker 1: themselves at Frank, the pair finally decided they wanted to 415 00:24:07,800 --> 00:24:10,879 Speaker 1: be together forever, and they got married. Lizzie wrote to 416 00:24:10,920 --> 00:24:13,640 Speaker 1: a friend, quote, this has been a long affair, lasting 417 00:24:13,680 --> 00:24:17,159 Speaker 1: for years. The thing was given up entirely at one time, 418 00:24:17,520 --> 00:24:19,800 Speaker 1: but on meeting again, we find the old feeling is 419 00:24:19,840 --> 00:24:21,880 Speaker 1: not dead and we are going to make up life 420 00:24:21,920 --> 00:24:25,160 Speaker 1: together as we did not like it very well apart. 421 00:24:25,600 --> 00:24:28,680 Speaker 1: Their ceremony was performed by a civil servant at Lizzie's 422 00:24:28,680 --> 00:24:33,080 Speaker 1: apartment in Paris on March twenty fifth, eighteen eighty six. Frank, 423 00:24:33,680 --> 00:24:36,480 Speaker 1: still kind of a mess financially, had to borrow money 424 00:24:36,680 --> 00:24:38,800 Speaker 1: from one of his students to pay for that service. 425 00:24:39,280 --> 00:24:41,439 Speaker 1: Lizzie was thirty nine at the time and Frank was 426 00:24:41,480 --> 00:24:44,159 Speaker 1: thirty eight. This is also allegedly when it became a 427 00:24:44,280 --> 00:24:47,359 Speaker 1: parent due to some needed paperwork that although Frank had 428 00:24:47,359 --> 00:24:49,959 Speaker 1: been using the name Duvenik since he was a tiny child, 429 00:24:50,359 --> 00:24:54,359 Speaker 1: his name had never legally been changed from Decker. Henry 430 00:24:54,440 --> 00:24:56,960 Speaker 1: James wrote of this marriage, quote for him, it is 431 00:24:57,000 --> 00:25:01,399 Speaker 1: all gain. For her, it is very brave. But the 432 00:25:01,440 --> 00:25:04,720 Speaker 1: thing is Francis Boot, her father, had actually intervened to 433 00:25:04,800 --> 00:25:09,080 Speaker 1: make sure Lizzie was financially protected before the marriage. Allegedly, 434 00:25:09,160 --> 00:25:11,520 Speaker 1: just the day before, he had required Frank to sign 435 00:25:11,520 --> 00:25:14,840 Speaker 1: a document that gave up all rights to Lizzie's estate. 436 00:25:15,760 --> 00:25:18,520 Speaker 1: Frank had moved to Paris the year prior with the 437 00:25:18,520 --> 00:25:22,959 Speaker 1: hope of exhibiting at the salon there. Lizzie followed, and 438 00:25:23,040 --> 00:25:25,679 Speaker 1: they announced their plan to get married not long after, 439 00:25:26,520 --> 00:25:29,679 Speaker 1: although Francis might not have been a fan of the union. 440 00:25:29,760 --> 00:25:34,160 Speaker 1: When the newlyweds finished their celebratory travels, they moved in 441 00:25:34,240 --> 00:25:38,199 Speaker 1: with him at Villa Castillani in Florence. They set up 442 00:25:38,200 --> 00:25:42,720 Speaker 1: a studio space. They both worked there. Frank's work changed, 443 00:25:42,800 --> 00:25:44,879 Speaker 1: which we will talk more about in just a minute, 444 00:25:44,920 --> 00:25:48,240 Speaker 1: and more and more he was capturing the sunny scenes 445 00:25:48,280 --> 00:25:51,920 Speaker 1: that were unfolding before them in Tuscany. This was also 446 00:25:52,000 --> 00:25:55,600 Speaker 1: a time of anticipation because Frank and Lizzie were expecting 447 00:25:55,640 --> 00:25:59,000 Speaker 1: a baby at the end of eighteen eighty six. Baby 448 00:25:59,119 --> 00:26:02,480 Speaker 1: Frank was born on December eighteenth and Lizzie wrote in 449 00:26:02,520 --> 00:26:05,320 Speaker 1: a letter to a friend, quote, it seemed so strange, 450 00:26:05,359 --> 00:26:08,560 Speaker 1: after so many years of spinsterhood to get so much 451 00:26:08,680 --> 00:26:12,680 Speaker 1: domestic life in so short a time. With the whole 452 00:26:12,720 --> 00:26:16,840 Speaker 1: family living together, Francis Boot had softened on his opinion 453 00:26:16,920 --> 00:26:20,760 Speaker 1: of Frank Duvenek. He withdrew the legal papers that had 454 00:26:20,880 --> 00:26:25,359 Speaker 1: kept Lizzie from combining her estate with Frank's. Yeah, it 455 00:26:25,359 --> 00:26:28,440 Speaker 1: seems like because Frank really did seem to be a 456 00:26:28,520 --> 00:26:31,040 Speaker 1: very good husband and he was very devoted to the baby. 457 00:26:31,400 --> 00:26:33,960 Speaker 1: Francis kind of realized, like, oh, he's actually in love 458 00:26:34,040 --> 00:26:36,879 Speaker 1: and not trying to just steal from my family. Uh. 459 00:26:37,119 --> 00:26:40,199 Speaker 1: The Duvenec and Boot household traveled to Paris in eighteen 460 00:26:40,240 --> 00:26:42,439 Speaker 1: eighty eight, and while they were there, they saw a 461 00:26:42,440 --> 00:26:44,480 Speaker 1: lot of their old friends and they kept a very 462 00:26:44,520 --> 00:26:48,639 Speaker 1: busy social schedule. But though she was painting a large 463 00:26:48,640 --> 00:26:53,000 Speaker 1: watercolor for the Paris Salon, Lizzie was not entirely happy. 464 00:26:53,560 --> 00:26:55,360 Speaker 1: They had a nurse for the baby, but they had 465 00:26:55,359 --> 00:26:58,560 Speaker 1: trouble finding a doctor for the baby. Lizzie was still 466 00:26:58,600 --> 00:27:01,480 Speaker 1: really tired from child care and trying to make art 467 00:27:01,560 --> 00:27:04,840 Speaker 1: and keeping up with all of their social engagements. The 468 00:27:04,920 --> 00:27:08,080 Speaker 1: late winter in Paris that year was especially cold, and 469 00:27:08,119 --> 00:27:11,840 Speaker 1: Lizzie caught a chill which quickly developed into pneumonia, and 470 00:27:11,880 --> 00:27:15,119 Speaker 1: she declined very rapidly, and just over the course of 471 00:27:15,160 --> 00:27:17,639 Speaker 1: a few days, things got very bad, and she died 472 00:27:17,680 --> 00:27:22,159 Speaker 1: on March twenty second, eighteen eighty eight. Francis wanted baby 473 00:27:22,240 --> 00:27:25,760 Speaker 1: frank to be raised by the Boot family with relatives 474 00:27:25,800 --> 00:27:30,240 Speaker 1: of Lizzie's who lived in Waltham, Massachusetts, and Duvenac agreed 475 00:27:30,320 --> 00:27:34,960 Speaker 1: to that. Frank moved back to Cincinnati, but spent summers 476 00:27:34,960 --> 00:27:37,879 Speaker 1: at the Rocky Neck Art Colony in Gloucester, which was 477 00:27:38,000 --> 00:27:41,080 Speaker 1: close enough that he could see his son. Yeah. Sometimes 478 00:27:41,080 --> 00:27:45,000 Speaker 1: he would bring baby Frankie over to the art colony 479 00:27:45,040 --> 00:27:46,800 Speaker 1: and spend time with him there, and sometimes he would 480 00:27:46,840 --> 00:27:50,520 Speaker 1: go into to Waltham and spend time there. Frank was 481 00:27:50,720 --> 00:27:54,800 Speaker 1: unsurprisingly devastated by the loss of Lizzie, and his reaction 482 00:27:54,960 --> 00:27:58,680 Speaker 1: to her death was art. He sculpted a funeral effigy 483 00:27:58,760 --> 00:28:02,119 Speaker 1: monument to her that completed in eighteen ninety one. I 484 00:28:02,119 --> 00:28:04,760 Speaker 1: have also seen later years, but that is the most 485 00:28:04,800 --> 00:28:07,280 Speaker 1: common one that I see, and it was placed on 486 00:28:07,320 --> 00:28:11,560 Speaker 1: her tomb in the Cemeterio Evangelico dely Alori in Florence. 487 00:28:12,320 --> 00:28:15,760 Speaker 1: This monument depicts Lizzie lying down peacefully, and her face 488 00:28:15,840 --> 00:28:19,560 Speaker 1: was created using her funeral mask. She's draped in folds 489 00:28:19,560 --> 00:28:22,040 Speaker 1: of fabric and there is a palm covering most of 490 00:28:22,080 --> 00:28:26,520 Speaker 1: her body. This is a spectacularly beautiful piece of sculpture 491 00:28:26,840 --> 00:28:29,080 Speaker 1: and her father was so moved by it that he 492 00:28:29,119 --> 00:28:31,320 Speaker 1: asked Frank to make a copy of it in marble 493 00:28:31,720 --> 00:28:33,800 Speaker 1: that could be displayed at the Museum of Fine Arts 494 00:28:33,800 --> 00:28:37,040 Speaker 1: in Boston so that the Boot family could always see it. 495 00:28:37,040 --> 00:28:39,400 Speaker 1: It would be the first of many copies of that. 496 00:28:39,680 --> 00:28:41,800 Speaker 1: The bronze and gold leaf cast of it that was 497 00:28:41,800 --> 00:28:44,480 Speaker 1: made in nineteen twenty seven that is on display at 498 00:28:44,520 --> 00:28:47,280 Speaker 1: the MET in New York was what inspired this episode. 499 00:28:47,800 --> 00:28:49,800 Speaker 1: It is so pretty. If you're at the Met, it's 500 00:28:49,840 --> 00:28:52,760 Speaker 1: in that big sculpture garden that's right by the little cafe. 501 00:28:53,440 --> 00:28:57,240 Speaker 1: Highly recommend going to see it. Frank's longtime critic when 502 00:28:57,240 --> 00:29:00,760 Speaker 1: it came to matters involving Lizzie, Henry James, wrote that 503 00:29:00,800 --> 00:29:04,360 Speaker 1: the sculpture exemplified quote the jolly great truth that it 504 00:29:04,400 --> 00:29:08,840 Speaker 1: is art alone that triumphs over fate. The impact of 505 00:29:08,920 --> 00:29:12,040 Speaker 1: Lizzie on Frank's work in both her life and her 506 00:29:12,160 --> 00:29:16,120 Speaker 1: death has been something that art historians have analyzed and 507 00:29:16,200 --> 00:29:20,560 Speaker 1: theorized about for a long time. His work shifted pretty 508 00:29:20,600 --> 00:29:25,360 Speaker 1: markedly in tone. From the darkness that he had become 509 00:29:25,400 --> 00:29:29,480 Speaker 1: famous for. This moved to a much lighter style associated 510 00:29:29,480 --> 00:29:33,360 Speaker 1: with the French school of the time. This change is 511 00:29:33,640 --> 00:29:36,520 Speaker 1: really obvious when you look at his body of work. 512 00:29:37,080 --> 00:29:40,080 Speaker 1: His painting The Whistling Boy, which he completed in eighteen 513 00:29:40,200 --> 00:29:44,320 Speaker 1: seventy two, is right in line with the detailed description 514 00:29:44,440 --> 00:29:47,600 Speaker 1: of his work that we gave earlier. He clearly used 515 00:29:47,680 --> 00:29:52,360 Speaker 1: a deeply dark background to create a bed against which 516 00:29:52,360 --> 00:29:56,000 Speaker 1: he painted this figure of a boy. It's really dramatic 517 00:29:56,040 --> 00:29:58,280 Speaker 1: in its contrast. But then when you look at the 518 00:29:58,280 --> 00:30:01,840 Speaker 1: painting The Water Carrier, which he painted in Venice in 519 00:30:01,920 --> 00:30:06,040 Speaker 1: eighteen eighty four, it almost looks like the work of 520 00:30:06,080 --> 00:30:10,640 Speaker 1: a different artist. The brushstrokes have some commonality, with some 521 00:30:10,800 --> 00:30:14,120 Speaker 1: sections sort of having the suggestion of a shape rather 522 00:30:14,160 --> 00:30:18,360 Speaker 1: than a realistic rendering, but overall it's a lot more 523 00:30:18,480 --> 00:30:23,360 Speaker 1: detailed and realistic than The Whistling Boy. Most obvious is 524 00:30:23,400 --> 00:30:26,120 Speaker 1: the fact that it is set against a light gray 525 00:30:26,240 --> 00:30:31,280 Speaker 1: background the painting. That's perhaps the most obvious moment of 526 00:30:31,360 --> 00:30:34,480 Speaker 1: Transition is a portrait of Lizzie that he was working 527 00:30:34,560 --> 00:30:38,600 Speaker 1: on when she died. It is light in its background, 528 00:30:38,880 --> 00:30:42,880 Speaker 1: although she's depicted in a dark brown gown with a 529 00:30:43,000 --> 00:30:46,520 Speaker 1: muff that was actually her wedding dress. Yeah, it's an 530 00:30:46,520 --> 00:30:51,600 Speaker 1: interesting reversal because his early work was dark background, lighter 531 00:30:51,680 --> 00:30:55,200 Speaker 1: figure than he had done some of those light background, 532 00:30:56,320 --> 00:30:58,560 Speaker 1: more detailed figures, and this one is light background with 533 00:30:58,600 --> 00:31:03,160 Speaker 1: a darker figure. It's quite drmant and beautiful. Frank continued 534 00:31:03,200 --> 00:31:06,680 Speaker 1: to teach after Lizzie's death in Cincinnati, in New York, 535 00:31:06,720 --> 00:31:10,000 Speaker 1: and in Chicago, and he also traveled to Europe frequently, 536 00:31:10,120 --> 00:31:12,520 Speaker 1: so though he was in mourning, he was still Frank. 537 00:31:13,360 --> 00:31:16,560 Speaker 1: After teaching with the Art Academy of Cincinnati for a decade, 538 00:31:16,680 --> 00:31:19,560 Speaker 1: he was made a member of the faculty in nineteen hundred. 539 00:31:19,880 --> 00:31:21,840 Speaker 1: Prior to that, he had kind of been a contractor. 540 00:31:22,400 --> 00:31:24,920 Speaker 1: He actually became head of the school in nineteen oh five, 541 00:31:24,960 --> 00:31:26,760 Speaker 1: and that was a position he held for the rest 542 00:31:26,760 --> 00:31:30,520 Speaker 1: of his life. Without Elizabeth, it seems that Frank really 543 00:31:30,520 --> 00:31:33,440 Speaker 1: poured all of his love into his work and his students. 544 00:31:34,000 --> 00:31:36,600 Speaker 1: He also became a member of the Cincinnati Art Club 545 00:31:36,840 --> 00:31:39,080 Speaker 1: and was really influential in the city as both a 546 00:31:39,120 --> 00:31:43,320 Speaker 1: painter and a supporter of other artists. He kept working 547 00:31:43,320 --> 00:31:47,120 Speaker 1: in his studio in Covington, Kentucky, and also managed to 548 00:31:47,240 --> 00:31:52,040 Speaker 1: ruffle some feathers still. His nineteen oh two painting Siesta 549 00:31:52,280 --> 00:31:55,440 Speaker 1: depicts a naked woman asleep on a bed and her 550 00:31:55,520 --> 00:32:00,440 Speaker 1: body is twisted in this unself conscious way. That was 551 00:32:00,640 --> 00:32:03,680 Speaker 1: bought for a saloon but turned out to be too 552 00:32:03,720 --> 00:32:06,920 Speaker 1: salacious even for that venue. Yeah, there's kind of a 553 00:32:07,040 --> 00:32:09,120 Speaker 1: joke that the person that owned the saloon was like, 554 00:32:09,200 --> 00:32:11,880 Speaker 1: this is actually too much. Maybe this would be better 555 00:32:11,880 --> 00:32:16,239 Speaker 1: in a high society place, even though it was, you know, 556 00:32:16,720 --> 00:32:21,080 Speaker 1: Lascivius allegedly for the time, it's quite beautiful. In nineteen fifteen, 557 00:32:21,320 --> 00:32:24,840 Speaker 1: he traveled to the Panama Pacific Exposition in San Francisco 558 00:32:25,120 --> 00:32:27,959 Speaker 1: with his sister Molly and some friends of theirs, and 559 00:32:28,000 --> 00:32:30,479 Speaker 1: while there he received the Medal of Honor for his 560 00:32:30,560 --> 00:32:34,880 Speaker 1: contributions to art as an artist and a teacher. Duveneck 561 00:32:35,000 --> 00:32:40,480 Speaker 1: died on January third, nineteen nineteen. One of the things 562 00:32:40,480 --> 00:32:44,840 Speaker 1: that Duvenac believed was most important for young artists was 563 00:32:44,880 --> 00:32:48,720 Speaker 1: to have access to art, so he bequeathed his entire 564 00:32:49,000 --> 00:32:51,960 Speaker 1: art collection, both his works and those of many other 565 00:32:52,000 --> 00:32:56,040 Speaker 1: important artists, to the Cincinnati Art Museum. You can still 566 00:32:56,040 --> 00:32:57,960 Speaker 1: see a lot of them there now. They did a 567 00:32:57,960 --> 00:33:00,280 Speaker 1: big exhibit two years ago, but I think it is 568 00:33:00,320 --> 00:33:04,360 Speaker 1: down now or it started in twenty twenty. Art historian 569 00:33:04,400 --> 00:33:07,520 Speaker 1: Mahonri Sharp Youung wrote of Duvenik when he died in 570 00:33:07,600 --> 00:33:12,640 Speaker 1: nineteen nineteen, he was worshiped locally and completely forgotten everywhere else. 571 00:33:13,280 --> 00:33:15,880 Speaker 1: Doesn't seem entirely true, since he had just gotten that metal, 572 00:33:15,880 --> 00:33:17,880 Speaker 1: but he did kind of fade out for a while, 573 00:33:17,920 --> 00:33:20,000 Speaker 1: and there's been a lot of effort in recent years 574 00:33:20,040 --> 00:33:25,400 Speaker 1: to recognize his work, which is really quite lovely. That 575 00:33:25,560 --> 00:33:27,640 Speaker 1: is Frank Duvnik. I have so many things to say 576 00:33:27,640 --> 00:33:35,280 Speaker 1: about Frank on Friday, you just get ready. I love him. 577 00:33:35,800 --> 00:33:41,040 Speaker 1: I have listener mail from Aaron about Lucy Stone, which 578 00:33:41,360 --> 00:33:43,800 Speaker 1: points out a thing that I don't think we expressly 579 00:33:43,800 --> 00:33:47,920 Speaker 1: said about Lucy Stone, but becomes kind of important to me. Okay, 580 00:33:48,440 --> 00:33:51,040 Speaker 1: So Aaron writes, dear Holly and Tracy, happy summer. I've 581 00:33:51,040 --> 00:33:53,200 Speaker 1: been listening to the podcast for about five years now, 582 00:33:53,240 --> 00:33:56,080 Speaker 1: and I love anything to do with history, especially stuff 583 00:33:56,080 --> 00:33:58,200 Speaker 1: that I have maybe heard about. But never really known 584 00:33:58,240 --> 00:34:01,800 Speaker 1: anything in detail. Something new by listening to your podcast 585 00:34:01,840 --> 00:34:04,520 Speaker 1: makes me happy. I recently caught up with the podcast. 586 00:34:04,560 --> 00:34:07,520 Speaker 1: By listening to your episode on Lucy Stone, I was 587 00:34:07,600 --> 00:34:10,560 Speaker 1: inspired to hear about her life growing up. Listening to 588 00:34:10,600 --> 00:34:13,480 Speaker 1: how her father paid for her brother's schooling but wouldn't 589 00:34:13,480 --> 00:34:17,560 Speaker 1: support her educational aspirations until later on reminded me of 590 00:34:17,600 --> 00:34:21,040 Speaker 1: my middle and high school years. I attended a challenging 591 00:34:21,080 --> 00:34:24,000 Speaker 1: all girls high school where I lived. When I complained 592 00:34:24,040 --> 00:34:26,160 Speaker 1: about the hard and difficult work out loud one day 593 00:34:26,200 --> 00:34:28,640 Speaker 1: to some close family members, they just told me I 594 00:34:28,640 --> 00:34:31,440 Speaker 1: should quit. This was sad and tough to hear when 595 00:34:31,440 --> 00:34:34,319 Speaker 1: many of my male family members attended the adjoining brother 596 00:34:34,440 --> 00:34:37,400 Speaker 1: school and no expense was spared for their tuition when 597 00:34:37,480 --> 00:34:40,480 Speaker 1: I attended my school on scholarship and the generosity in 598 00:34:40,560 --> 00:34:44,480 Speaker 1: my grandparents paying my way. However, this did not stop me, 599 00:34:44,520 --> 00:34:47,400 Speaker 1: and I later attended an all female college and graduated 600 00:34:47,400 --> 00:34:51,000 Speaker 1: with honors from grad school. All of these experiences made 601 00:34:51,040 --> 00:34:53,200 Speaker 1: me who I am today. Even though I have become 602 00:34:53,239 --> 00:34:55,759 Speaker 1: a wife and mom, it hasn't stopped me from running 603 00:34:55,800 --> 00:34:59,520 Speaker 1: two small businesses. Thank you for continuing to share inspiring 604 00:34:59,520 --> 00:35:02,160 Speaker 1: true store about women in our history who have overcome 605 00:35:02,280 --> 00:35:05,080 Speaker 1: challenges like this. To close out my email, I have 606 00:35:05,160 --> 00:35:08,360 Speaker 1: included a photo of my mom's two cats, Annie and Baxter. 607 00:35:08,880 --> 00:35:11,080 Speaker 1: My husband is allergic, so me and my kids spend 608 00:35:11,160 --> 00:35:14,280 Speaker 1: time with her pets. Looking forward to hearing more amazing episodes. 609 00:35:14,520 --> 00:35:17,319 Speaker 1: Thank you both for what you do. Aaron. I love this, 610 00:35:17,400 --> 00:35:20,200 Speaker 1: and here's why. I mean one congratulations, Aaron, because it 611 00:35:20,200 --> 00:35:23,160 Speaker 1: sounds like you made it happen and that's amazing. But 612 00:35:23,400 --> 00:35:27,439 Speaker 1: I think what's really interesting about Lucy Stone is that 613 00:35:27,880 --> 00:35:31,400 Speaker 1: she was so ahead of her time that that struggle 614 00:35:31,480 --> 00:35:34,359 Speaker 1: is something that is more common to hear a little 615 00:35:34,360 --> 00:35:38,000 Speaker 1: bit closer to our own point in the timeline, because 616 00:35:38,120 --> 00:35:40,640 Speaker 1: she was one of the first women who was like, no, 617 00:35:41,040 --> 00:35:44,839 Speaker 1: I would like to get an education please, yeah, which 618 00:35:44,960 --> 00:35:48,080 Speaker 1: just is one of those things where you know, history 619 00:35:48,160 --> 00:35:50,640 Speaker 1: is forever reverberating and we are not over those hurdles 620 00:35:50,640 --> 00:35:53,200 Speaker 1: for everybody, so it's important. That's why it's important to 621 00:35:53,200 --> 00:35:56,799 Speaker 1: tell those stories. Anyway, Lucy Stone, these cats are so 622 00:35:56,920 --> 00:36:00,560 Speaker 1: cute and they are spooned up together the way that 623 00:36:00,600 --> 00:36:02,479 Speaker 1: I love to see kiddies and I want to kiss 624 00:36:02,520 --> 00:36:07,960 Speaker 1: their faces. They may not like that, so thank you Aaron, 625 00:36:08,080 --> 00:36:10,439 Speaker 1: because now you have resulted in my poor cats getting 626 00:36:10,520 --> 00:36:13,279 Speaker 1: the kisses I would like to bestow on others. If 627 00:36:13,280 --> 00:36:14,880 Speaker 1: you would like to write to us, you could do 628 00:36:14,920 --> 00:36:18,120 Speaker 1: so at History Podcasts at iHeartRadio dot com. You can 629 00:36:18,160 --> 00:36:21,160 Speaker 1: find us on social media as Missed in History, and 630 00:36:21,320 --> 00:36:23,680 Speaker 1: if you haven't subscribed yet, you can do so on 631 00:36:23,719 --> 00:36:28,560 Speaker 1: the iHeartRadio app or wherever you listen to your favorite shows. 632 00:36:32,400 --> 00:36:35,520 Speaker 1: Stuff you Missed in History Class is a production of iHeartRadio. 633 00:36:35,840 --> 00:36:40,440 Speaker 1: For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, 634 00:36:40,600 --> 00:36:42,879 Speaker 1: or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.