American sculptor Louis McClellan Potter was born on November 14, 1873 in Troy, New York. Though little is known regarding his early childhood, his ambition to become an accomplished artist appears to have materialized following his matriculation to Trinity college in Hartford, Connecticut. It is here that Potter studied under portrait painters (and brothers), Charles Noel Flagg and Montague Flagg. Aspiring artists at the time were expected to study their craft in Europe for an extended period. Potter followed suit and, upon graduating from Trinity College, continued his education abroad.
Promptly after arriving in Paris in 1896, Potter enrolled and was admitted to the Ecole des Beaux Arts. There he worked under renowned academic painter, Luc-Olivier Merson, and the equally renowned sculptor, Jean Auguste Dampt. Under their auspices, Potter’s artistic style matured, leading to the acceptance and display of his sculpture at the Paris Salon of 1899. It is also during this time that Potter would have been introduced to the work of Post Impressionist sculptor Auguste Rodin, whose preference for rough, textured surfaces seems to have inspired Potter’s style.
Potter, like his European and American contemporaries, was also interested in ethnography, which was slowly evolving into cultural anthropology. Typology, the typing of other cultures, race, and social classes, was gradually giving way to a growing interest in exploring other cultures in earnest. Many nineteenth-century artists, including Paul Gauguin, were intrigued by the notion of “civilized” versus “primitive” art – an aesthetic exploration that would lead to the development of Fauvism, Cubism, and other early Modern art movements. Potter would have known something of Gauguin’s ventures in French Polynesia through his work, which was exhibited in Paris. Following Gauguin’s example, Potter embarked on his own expedition.
Louis Potter traveled to French occupied Tunisia, arriving sometime before 1900 and promptly immersing himself in the Islamic culture. His Post Impressionist portraits of his subjects, both sketched and sculpted, reveal his genuine interest in and respect for their spiritual concerns. Potter’s talent did not go unnoticed by the Tunisian people, whom he represented in his sculptures exhibited at the Exposition Universelle of 1900 in Paris. The Bey of Tunis recognized his unique service to the country by awarding him the decoration of an Office of Nichal Iftikhar (also known as the “Order of Victory of Tunisia”) that same year.
Returning to America in 1901, Potter’s interest in cultural anthropology shifted from Islamic culture to a one geographically closer. Native American cultures had already come to the attention of late nineteenth-century American artists, who tended to either demonize or romanticize them in their work. Potter’s interest in Native Americans, however, appears to have grown out of his fascination with alternative concepts of spirituality. Potter became increasingly attracted to mysticism, occultism, and other modes of spiritual exploration. Potter traveled to the Pacific Northwest coast in 1905 to experience the ritualistic behavior of the Tlingit community. He appears to have approached his subject somewhat objectively, imbuing his forms with dignity.
Potter’s sculptures appeared in exhibitions regularly until his unexpected death on August 19, 1912 in Seattle, Washington. But his popularity did not wane thereafter. Louis Potter’s sculpture was included in the Armory Show of 1913, where it was displayed alongside those of European modernists, including Constantin Brancusi, Pablo Picasso, and George Braque. Since then his work has found its way into numerous collections both private and public, including the Wadsworth Athenaeum, the Art Institute of Chicago, Trinity College, and the Smithsonian American Art Museum.
Gerry Keefe says
Mr. Potter’s home is for sale in NY state (although you probably knew that).
http://www.gabelrealestate.com/0648.html
Beautiful home & views.
Virginia Henneberry-Hering says
We bought it, so yes.