Hugh Newell (1830-1915)

Hugh Newell - An American Sportsman and Self Portrait
Sold: Sotheby's Auction House, April 8, 2011, for $13,020.00 (Euros)

 



Born in Belfast, Ireland, Hugh Newell made a name for himself as an artist and instructor after settling in the United States in the middle of the nineteenth century. Before his move, Newell studied at the best schools in Europe: the Academy of Antwerp, the Ecole des Beaux Arts in Paris (under Thomas Couture), and the Royal College of Art in London. In 1851, he established himself in Baltimore, creating still lifes, portraits, landscapes, and genre scenes whose precision reflected his extensive training. Newell’s bright, naturalistic work was highly popular, and he exhibited at the American Watercolor Society, the National Academy of Design, the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, the Brooklyn Art Association, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Boston Art Club, and the Washington Art Association. He was also a prominent art instructor who served as the Principal of the Pittsburgh Women’s School of Design, the President of the Maryland Institute College of Art, and the Professor of Drawing at Johns Hopkins University. His work can now be seen in the Baltimore Museum of Art, the Washington County Museum of Fine Arts, the Shelburne Museum, the Reading Public Museum, the Maryland Historical Society, and the Peabody Institute.

http://www.questroyalfineart.com/artist/hugh-newell

Note:  Hugh also happens to be the artist who painted the iconic portrait of his cousin McFadden A Newell, founder of the Maryland Normal School of Baltimore, the foundational institution upon which the Maryland public school system was eventually built.  Today that portrait hangs in the top floor of the Albert  S. Cook Library on the Towson University Campus in Baltimore.

 

Reposted by Alec Newell Oct. 18 2014 

 

Towson University Faculty/Staff News • January 15, 2004
	Lighten up, Mr. NewellFirst principal’s descendants hope to help restore 125-year-old painting M.A. Newell, his purposeful Victorian features softened by time and grime, keeps watch over the campus from the top floor of Cook Library. The oversized portrait, painted midway through his 24-year stint as TU’s first principal, occupies a place of honor in the University Archives--and in the hearts of several Newell descendants, who recently established a fund for a much-needed restoration. “When we were shown Principal Newell’s huge portrait, and were told all he had done for the state of Maryland’s educational system, it left us with a great feeling of pride,” says North Carolina resident Suzy Barile, who organized the 16-member group’s trip to TU last spring. “We wanted to do something to thank Towson for keeping his spirit and name alive and for being so gracious to us. Perhaps the establishment of this fund will be an impetus for others who admire M.A. Newell to contribute toward the restoration.” According to TU archivist Nancy Gonce, the portrait itself was a labor of love. It’s the work of M.A. Newell’s cousin Hugh Newell (1830-1915), a well-regarded portraitist who launched his career in the mid-1850s after studying art in Antwerp at the Academy, in Paris under Couture and in London at the Royal Academy of Art. Hugh Newell completed the portrait in 1879, the year he became president of the Maryland Institute College of Art. “Since this year marks the portrait’s 125th anniversary, it would be especially fitting to have it returned to its original brightness and detail,” says Gonce. “If historic works are neglected, they’ll eventually be lost to the generations that follow. We’re hoping the campus community will join M.A. Newell’s descendants to make sure this part of his legacy remains at Towson.” To contribute to the M.A. Newell portrait restoration fund, call Vesna Gjaja, TU Development Office, x43375. Story by Jan Lucas/Photo by Kanji Takenohttp://www.towson.edu/etu/011404/newell011404.html