Illustrator and painter, born in New York City, New York, USA. He studied in Paris (1856), toured Europe, returned to New York (18616), then settled in Rome (1866). He is known for his paintings, such as The Questioner of the Sphinx (1863), illustrations of the Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam (1884), and murals for the Library of Congress, Washington, DC (18967).
Elihu Vedder (1836, New York City - 1923) was an American symbolist painter, book illustrator, and poet.
He is best known for his fifty-five illustrations for Edward FitzGerald's translation of The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam (deluxe edition, published by Houghton Mifflen).
Vedder grew up on his grandfather's farm at Schenectady, New York. Finally, he completed his studies in Italy - where he was strongly influenced not only by Italian Renaissance work but also by the modern Macchiaioli painters and the living Italian landscape. Their idyllic trips through the Italian countryside were cut short because Vedder's father cut off his financial allowance.
Vedder returned to the USA, penniless, during the American Civil War, and made a small living by undertaking commercial illustrations. Paintings of this time include 'The Roc's Egg', 'The Fisherman and the Genii' and one of his most famous works, 'Lair of the Sea Serpent.' In the USA he sought out and became friends with Walt Whitman, Herman Melville and William Morris Hunt. Vedder became a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters in 1865.
At the end of the Civil War he left America to live in Italy.
Vedder visited England many times, and was influenced by the Pre-Raphaelites, and was a friend of Simeon Solomon. In 1890 Vedder helped establish the In Arte Libertas group in Italy.
Tiffany commissioned him to design glassware, mosaics and statuettes for the company.
He occasionally returned to the USA, but lived only in Italy from 1906.
User Comments Add a comment…