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"Fernand Lungren (1857-1932) was an American painter and illustrator mostly known for his paintings of American South Western landscapes and scenes (California, New Mexico, Arizona) as well as for New York and European city street scenes. He is famous for his vibrantly colored paintings of the Southern California desert, especially in the Death Valley and Mojave Desert area, which remarkably express the immensity, colors and solitude of these landscapes. He also dabbled in Orientalist art, while travelling through Europe and North Africa. Early years Born in Hagerstown, Maryland, of Swedish descent, on November 13, 1857, Fernand Lungren was raised in Toledo, Ohio. He showed an early talent for drawing but his father induced him to pursue a professional career and in 1874 entered the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, to study mining engineering. However, after meeting the painter Kenyon Cox (1856-1919), he was determined to follow a career as a visual artist."Fernand Lungren," in The Grove Encyclopedia of American Art, Volume 1, by Joan M. Marter (ed), Oxford University Press, 2011, p. 197 At the age of 19, and following a dispute with his father, Lungren was finally permitted to enrol at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia, where he studied under Thomas Eakins (1844-1916) and Robert Frederick Blum (1857–1903). He also studied briefly in Cincinnati and in 1882, he furthered his studies in Paris at the Académie Julian, but only remained there for brief period, abandoning formal study for direct observation of Parisian street life."Fernand Lundgren,' [Biographical notes], Lundgren Art Museum, Online: http://lagunaartmuseum.org/fernand-lungren/; Art Institute of Chicago, http://www.artic.edu/aic/collections/artwork/59908 It was during this period that he painted In The Cafehttps://www.artic.edu/artworks/59908/in-the-cafe Illustrator in New York City Illustration from St. Nicholas, (serial) (1873) In 1877, now twenty years old, and upon completion of his studies, Fernand Lungren moved to New York City. There he rented a studio with the prominent painter and pastellist Robert Frederick Blum. In New York City, he found work as an illustrator for Scribner’s Monthly (renamed Century in 1881) during the period known as ‘the Golden Age of American illustration.’ His first illustration appeared in 1879 and he continued to contribute to Scribner’s Monthly until 1903. He was also an illustrator for the children’s magazine, Saint Nicholas from 1879 to 1904 and later for Harper’s, McClure’s and The Outlook. His illustration work in these periodicals focussed on portraits, landscapes and social scenes, which gave him some notoriety as the illustrator of New York street scenes."Fernand Lundgren,' [Biographical notes], Lundgren Art Museum, Online: http://lagunaartmuseum.org/fernand- lungren/; also Biographical Notes at Sullivan Cross Art Gallery, Online: http://www.sullivangoss.com/fernand_Lungren/ In 1878, he helped found The Tile Club, an association of young artists who gathered for the purpose of painting on decorative tiles. Among the members of the club were William Merritt Chase, J. Carroll Beckwith, John Twachtman, Winslow Homer, J. Alden Weir, and Robert Frederick Blum. Visit to Europe, return to New York, Cincinnati Il cafè, painting by Fernand Lungren, 1882-84 In 1882, Fernand Lungren traveled to Paris with Robert Frederick Blum. In Paris, Lungren enrolled briefly at the Académie Julian and saw French Impressionist artists at work. Disappointed with the academic art that he observed, and eager to experience life, Lungren left his Paris studies and traveled to the town of Barbizon, South East of Paris, near Fontainebleau, where a colony of artists had been established just a decade earlier. In the village of Grez-sur-Loing, near Barbizon, he became acquainted with artists who were practicing plein-air (outdoor) painting. Returning to America in 1883, Lungren first settled in New York, then moved shortly thereafter to Cincinnati, Ohio. There, he was encouraged to explore Western subjects by fellow artists Frank Duveneck, Joseph Henry Sharp, and Henry Farny, who were teaching at the Art Academy of Cincinnati. Coincidentally, while teaching an illustration course in Cincinnati, he convinced Ernest Blumenschein to change his studies from music to art, and was therefore instrumental in forming Ernest Blumenschein's career as a renowned artist, noted for his paintings of Native Americans, New Mexico and the American Southwest.Ackerman, G.M., American Orientalists, ACR edition, 1994, p. 22 Discovering Santa Fe: South-Western and Indian themes In 1892, the Santa Fe Railway hired Lungren to sketch scenes along its route. He spent eight months in Santa Fe, New Mexico, visiting the Indian pueblos and the next year spent several months living with the Hopis in Arizona.Grauer, M., Rounded Up in Glory: Frank Reaugh, Texas Renaissance Man, University of North Texas Press, 2016, p. 124 He was eventually made a member of several Indian tribes and priesthoods. In 1895, Lungren created illustrations of the Moquis, Navajo, and Apache for Harper’s Magazine. His most famous illustration "Thirst", depicting a dying man and a dead horse, was published in 1896 in Harper’s Weekly and attracted much attention across the U.S."Fernand Lungren," [Biographical Notes], Terra Foundation, https://collection.terraamericanart.org/view/people/asitem/items$0040null:279/0;Grauer, M., Rounded Up in Glory: Frank Reaugh, Texas Renaissance Man, University of North Texas Press, 2016, p. 124 From this time, he turned his attention to painting and sketching Indian people and their culture. He married Henrietta Whipple in 1898, then spent three years in London, England. During his stay, he exhibited some of his views of the American desert and produced a number of images of London street life. During their three-year stay, Lungren became highly skilled at the use of pastel, a chalk-like colored drawing medium, exhibiting the results with success. Lungren met many prominent artists in London, including James Abbott McNeill Whistler, with whom the couple became good friends.Ackerman, G.M., American Orientalists, ACR edition, 1994, p.122 During this period, he exhibited at the Royal Academy. He also participated in shows at the Walker Art Gallery in Liverpool."Fernand Lungren," [Biographical Notes], Terra Foundation, https://collection.terraamericanart.org/view/people/asitem/items$0040null:279/0 Late in 1900, he traveled to Egypt for seven months with the medical scientist Henry Solomon Wellcome. There he created pastels of the pyramids, but many of the pastels and sketches that resulted were lost when his baggage was damaged on the return journey.Ackerman, G.M., American Orientalists, ACR edition, 1994, p.121-22 California Illustration from Art in California: A survey of American Art, 1916 In 1901, Lungren returned to the United States. After settling initially in New York, he moved to Los Angeles, California, in 1903. Three years later, he established his home in Santa Barbara, commenting in 1914 that "as a field for artistic endeavor, it would be impossible to find a spot more favored than Santa Barbara"."Fernand Lungren," [Biographical Notes], Online Archive of California, Online: http://www.oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/kt4g50195q/ In 1909, Lungren made his first of many trips to the Death Valley and Mojave Desert region, North East of Los Angeles, California, where he focused on scenes of the desert in all conditions of weather, seasonal change and time of the day, producing several famous paintings of these landscapes, with often poetic rendition of the specific desert atmosphere.Skolnick, A. (ed), Paintings of California, University of California Press, 1993, p. 10 In the same period, Fernand Lungren authored the illustrations of three books by the American nature writer Stewart Edward White, i.e. The Mountains (1904), The Pass - Mountaineering Through the Late 19th and Early 20th Centuries (1906) and Camp and Trail (1907), based on the experience he had acquired when staying and painting in New Mexico and Arizona, while, in return, Stewart Edward White wrote the foreword for the first Fernand Lungren biography written by John A. Berger and published in 1936 (Schauer Press, Santa Barbara, CA). An important figure in the Southern California art scene in the early twentieth century, Fernand Lungren helped found the Santa Barbara School of the Arts in 1920 with the sponsorship of the Community Arts Association of Santa Barbara. He remained a resident of Santa Barbara until his death in 1932. Although not born and educated in California, Fernand Lungren can be associated to the California Plein-Air Painting school, by his outdoor subjects and his impressionist style during the last third of his life when he was living in California."Fernand Lungren," [Biographical Notes], Online Archive of California, Online: http://www.oac.cdlib.org/findaid/ark:/13030/kt4g50195q/; Starr, K., Material Dreams: Southern California through the 1920s, [E-book edition] Oxford University Press, 1990 Collections of Fernand Lungren works Fernand Lungren donated 320 of his paintings and drawings to the Santa Barbara State College, which ultimately became the University of California, Santa Barbara; his collection is kept at the University's Art, Design & Architecture Museum (formerly the University Art Museum). https://www.museum.ucsb.edu/collections/fine-arts, , https://www.independent.com/2013/06/05/artist-fernand-lungren/ In addition to the University of California, Santa Barbara, other public collections with works by Fernand Lungren include the Santa Barbara Museum of Art; the Orange County Museum of Art, Newport Beach, California; the Laguna Art Museum https://lagunaartmuseum.org/artist/fernand-lungren/; the Hubbell Trading Post Museum, Ganado, Arizona; the Art Institute of Chicago, Illinois; the Terra Foundation for American Art, Chicago, Illinois; the Toledo Museum of Art, Ohio; the Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; the Mead Art Museum, Amherst College, Massachusetts; the Wallace Collection, London. Exhibitions Elizabeth Brown has described Lungren as Santa Barbara's most important artist.Brown, E. A. (ed), Afterglow in the Desert: The Art of Fernand Lungren, University Art Museum, University of California, Santa Barbara, March 2001. Art historians have suggested that he was largely responsible for establishing desert scenery as a subject worthy of exploration.Marter, J.M., The Grove Encyclopedia of American Art, Volume 1, Oxford University Press, 2011, p. 197 2010: "The Desert Speaks: The Art of Fernand Lungren" - Wildling Art Museum, Solvang, CA 2007: "The Urban Myth: Visions of the City" - Sullivan Goss - An American Gallery - Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA The Montecito Salon II - Sullivan Goss - An American Gallery - Montecito, Montecito, CA 2005: California Art from the Permanent Collection - Part I, The Beginning, 1832-1925 - Laguna Art Museum, Laguna Beach, CA 2001: Homage to the Square - Berry-Hill Galleries, New York City, NY 2000 - 2001: "Afterglow in the Desert - The Art of Fernand Lungren" - Art Museum at University of California, Santa Barbara, CA, then Laguna Art Museum, Laguna Beach, CA, (January–March), then Palm Springs Desert Museum, Palm Springs, CA (April–June). 2000: Fernand Lungren - Sketches of the West - Santa Barbara Museum of Art, Santa Barbara, CA 1987: Fernand Lungren - Art Museum at University of California, Santa Barbara, Santa Barbara, CA Paintings by Fernand Lungren were also featured in the following thematic exhibitions: 1959: Two Centuries of American Art: 1750-1950 - The Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL References Further reading * The Art of Fernand Lungren, by Elizabeth A. Brown, in American Art Review, Vol. XIII, No 2 2001. * Painters and the American West: The Anschutz collection, by Joan Carpenter Troccoli, Denver Art Museum and Yale University Press, 2000. * Afterglow in the Desert - The Art of Fernand Lungren"", by Elizabeth A. Brown. University Art Museum, Sant Barbara, CA (2000). * Artists in California, 1786-1940, by Edan Milton Hughes, ed.: Hughes Pub Co; 2 Sub edition, June 1989 * The Arts in Santa Barbara, by Janet B. Dominik, in "Plein Air Painters of California", Westphal Publishing, Irvine, California, 1986. * Fernand Lungren: A Biography, by John A. Berger, Foreword By Stewart Edward White, The Schauer Press, Santa Barbara, 1936 (reprints available) External links * * Category:1857 births Category:1932 deaths Category:19th-century American painters Category:20th- century American painters Category:American landscape painters Category:American male painters Category:Orientalist painters Category:Painters from California Category:University of Michigan alumni "
"Jacob Gaster (6 October 1907-12 March 2007), known as Jack Gaster, was a British communist solicitor and politician. Biography Born in Maida Vale, Jack was the son of Moses Gaster, the leader of the Sephardic Jewish Congregation in London, and Lucy Friedlander. He studied at the London School of Economics and then entered a legal career, qualifying as a solicitor in 1931, and soon thereafter forming a socialist law practice with Richard Turner.Victoria Brittain, "Obituary: Jack Gaster", The Guardian, 13 March 2007. In 1926, Gaster joined the Independent Labour Party (ILP), inspired by its support for workers during the British General Strike. He became prominent in the party, and was its representative at the arrival of the Jarrow March in London. However, he was a champion of unity with the Communist Party of Great Britain (CPGB), and to this end was a founder of the ILP's Revolutionary Policy Committee. The Committee successfully persuaded the ILP to disaffiliate from the Labour Party, but could not convince members to merge with the CPGB. As a result, in 1935, he joined the majority of the Committee in resigning from the ILP and joining the CPGB. Gaster joined the British Army during World War II. He was posted to the Royal Sussex Regiment and was watched closely by British intelligence.Dan Carrier, "Why Jack Gaster never went to war", Camden New Journal, 13 March 2008. However, he was injured in training and instead spent the war educating illiterate soldiers. In 1946, Gaster was elected to the London County Council in Mile End, alongside fellow communist Ted Bramley. However, he lost the seat in 1949, and was again unsuccessful in 1952.Geoffrey Alderman, London Jewry and London Politics 1889–1986, p. 106. He subsequently acted as the principal legal consul to the CPGB, and became a vice-president of the Haldane Society of Socialist Lawyers."Gaster Jack", Compendium of Communist Biography. During the Korean War, Gaster travelled to the North to study the situation, as part of an international legal team. The group produced a report covering a range of issues, including the conditions for prisoners of war, but were heavily criticised for their allegations of germ warfare by the United States. Gaster remained a prominent communist solicitor until he retired in 1990, and an activist in the CPGB until it was disbanded in 1991, a decision with which he strongly disagreed. He subsequently joined the Socialist Labour Party, but soon left, later re-joining and then again resigning.John Haylett, "Obituary: Jack Gaster", Morning Star, 20 March 2007. He spent much of his retirement in support of the Marx Memorial Library. References Category:1907 births Category:2007 deaths Category:Communist Party of Great Britain councillors Category:English Jews Category:English solicitors Category:Jewish British politicians Category:Jewish socialists Category:Independent Labour Party National Administrative Committee members Category:Members of London County Council Category:People from Maida Vale Category:Socialist Labour Party (UK) members Category:Alumni of the London School of Economics "
"General Hospital's 50th anniversary on April 1, 2013, was a milestone for the American soap opera series and has been commemorated with several events in the media and storylines on the show. Declining ratings and the cancellation of other soap operas in the late 2000s and early 2010s prompted concern that the show would not reach the milestone until new management led to a turn- around. Other events were organized to commemorate the occasion, with media promoting the milestone and commemorative memorabilia being released by ABC. Begun in 1963, General Hospital eventually became the top daytime soap opera before a decline in the late 1970s, which was followed by a resurgence that peaked in the early 1980s. In honor of the anniversary, the producers reintroduced previous major characters and created storylines reminiscent of notable arcs of the past with the focus of the anniversary week on the show being the return of the popular Nurses' Ball event. Cast members also made appearances on several programs and at various media events to mark the anniversary. The Nurses' Ball is always a fan favorite episode to watch with many of the cast getting to show off talents other than acting. Background General Hospital is the third longest-running soap opera in history and the longest-running American soap still in production. Started on April 1, 1963, the show became the highest rated show on daytime television within a decade, eclipsing previous leader As the World Turns. In 1977 General Hospital started to suffer a major drop in ratings and was at risk of being cancelled when Gloria Monty was hired on as executive producer. Monty refocused the series on younger characters and the show became the most successful daytime soap on television, with the 1981 episode featuring the wedding between characters Luke and Laura garnering 30 million views, setting a record as the most widely watched episode of daytime television in history. When the show began focusing heavily on mob storylines in the 2000s, ratings saw a heavy decline. The show was one of several daytime dramas that was at risk of cancellation in the wake of falling ratings in the late 2000s and early 2010s with long-running soaps As the World Turns and Guiding Light being pulled off the air. Two soaps that aired alongside General Hospital on the ABC network, All My Children and One Life to Live, were also cancelled in September 2011 and January 2012 respectively. Members of the General Hospital cast began to believe that the soap would not be able to reach its 50th anniversary as ABC Daytime started prioritizing reality programming. Frank Valentini, who was executive producer of One Life to Live, took over as executive producer of General Hospital after One Life to Lives cancellation. He was joined by One Life to Live writer Ron Carlivati and are together credited with revitalizing the series. The show began bringing in a new cast to put an emphasis on younger characters and moved away from the show's mob storylines. It has subsequently seen its best ratings in five years with an average of 3 million viewers, the biggest increase being amongst the 18-34 female demographic. Storylines To honor the anniversary, several storylines were introduced that harkened back to historic periods in the series. Valentini described the plans for the anniversary storylines as being "not only to celebrate what's happening now, the resurgence of 'General Hospital' and a spike in its ratings in the past year, but what it means in terms of the history of the show." He stated that organizing the celebration was difficult due to the festivities going on both on and off-camera. Anthony Geary, who portrayed Luke Spencer, stated that the anniversary could have passed with minimal fanfare but that Valentini and head writer Carlivati were "determined to make it something special for the audience." Several characters returned to the show in preparation for or to commemorate the anniversary including Audrey Hardy, who first appeared six months into the series. Audrey, portrayed by Rachel Ames, appears in the official anniversary episode, which aired a day after the anniversary due to scheduling changes prompted by the naming of Pope Francis. In the episode, Chris Robinson, Stuart Damon, and Natalia Livingston also returned in the roles of Rick Webber, Alan Quartermaine, and Emily Quartermaine respectively, whose deceased characters appeared as ghosts to the living character Monica Quartermaine, portrayed by Leslie Charleson. Genie Francis returned in her role as Laura Spencer in the lead-up to the anniversary and together with Geary as Luke became part of a storyline involving Helena Cassadine that Geary described as reminiscent of the Luke and Laura storylines created by Monty during the 1980s. Another storyline element that was revived was the Nurses' Ball, which serves as the focus of the anniversary week programming. The fictional charity event to promote HIV/AIDS awareness was popular with viewers of the series since it began in 1994 and until it ended in 2001. Valentini revived the event on the show partially out of a desire to mark the anniversary. Lucy Coe, portrayed by Lynn Herring, also recently returned to the series and the character continued in her capacity as the master of ceremonies for the Ball. Musician Rick Springfield reprised his role as Noah Drake to do a performance during the Ball and Richard Simmons, who had been a recurring presence on the show in the 1980s (portraying himself), returned as a choreographer for the ball. Regular character Sam Morgan, portrayed by Kelly Monaco, performed a dance number during the special with a character portrayed by Maksim Chmerkovskiy of Dancing with the Stars. Originally, Valentini wanted to have Maksim's brother Val Chmerkovskiy appear on General Hospital to perform the number since he was Monaco's partner during her stint on Dancing with the Stars, but his schedule would not permit it. For the first time the fictional charity gala was linked to a real non-profit devoted to HIV/AIDS research, amfAR, The Foundation for AIDS Research, as part of a partnership between the organization and ABC. Valentini stated with regards to the partnership that "by linking the ball to amfAR we partner in their efforts to raise awareness beyond the town of Port Charles." Other commemorations TV Guide featured an advertisement for the anniversary on the back cover of its 60th anniversary issue consisting of an image collage depicting Luke and Laura from their 1981 wedding. In addition to storylines on the show, ABC released limited-edition commemorative prints depicting various iconic scenes from the series including a group photo of present and past cast members as well as individual character prints. Only 1,963 prints of the cast photo have been made, signifying the year General Hospital premiered. Members of the cast, Valentini, and Carlivati, rung the opening bell for the New York Stock Exchange on April 1 to celebrate the anniversary. Finola Hughes and Jason Thompson, who portray Anna Devane and Patrick Drake respectively, made an appearance on the April 1 and April 2 airings of Who Wants to Be a Millionaire? where they performed a mock soap opera scene with host Meredith Vieira. Together they competed for money that would be donated to The Art of Elysium, a non-profit that encourages people in the entertainment industry to work with children suffering from serious illnesses, and managed to win $500,000. Katie Couric had a "Countdown to the General Hospital 50th Anniversary Extravaganza" on her daytime talk show Katie, releasing exclusive interviews with cast, which culminated in an April 4 program of the show focused on the soap opera. Couric further anchored an April 6 20/20 behind- the-scenes special for the anniversary, "General Hospital - The Real Soap Dish", discussing the impact the show has had on popular culture and how some of its storylines have delved into societal topics. For a February collector's edition issue, People magazine ran a special cover honoring the 50th anniversary. TV Guide, itself celebrating its 60th anniversary with a special edition issue, had an in-depth four-page feature about General Hospitals anniversary and a full-page advertisement for the event on its back cover. The feature reflected on the show's troubled state a year before the anniversary, its resurgence, and past revivals. For the back cover, the magazine depicted an image from the 1981 wedding of Luke and Laura formed by a collage of images from the show. Both the feature and back cover ad were well received by soap opera commentators. SOAPnet aired a 50-hour marathon the weekend before the anniversary with an encore of the marathon airing the following weekend. The marathon began with the first episode of the series and some of the most noteworthy moments in the story over every decade, such as the wedding of Luke and Laura, the Ice Princess storyline, and the death of Stone Cates from HIV/AIDS. A panel called "General Hospital: Celebrating 50 Years and Looking Forward", moderated by William Keck of TV Guide, was organized by the Paley Center for Media for April 12 to commemorate the anniversary. The panel consisted of several major cast members, along with producer Valentini and head writer Ron Carlivati. During the panel, audience members asked the panelists questions about the show and the soap opera genre. Panelists reflected on the show's history, discussed their roles in the anniversary storylines, and remembered deceased cast members, such as John Ingle who played Edward Quartermaine until his death in 2012, and John Beradino who played Steve Hardy. References Category:2013 in American television Category:General Hospital Category:Anniversary television episodes "