Daniel Garber

"[O]ut of the realism of the Bucks County countryside, [Garber] created an ideal, almost mystical world."
-Lauren Rabb, Pennsylvania Impressionists: Painters of the New Hope School

Daniel Garber was one of the most important painters of New Hope's second generation. Born of Old German Baptist farming stock in Indiana, Garber moved east as a teenager to pursue his dream career as an artist. After studying at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts and in Europe, Garber settled down to painting in his home, Cuttalossa, in Lumberville. Garber's style combines realism and fantasy, precise draftsmanship and decorative technique, emblazoning all in vibrant, shimmering colors. A landscape artist, Garber was best known for his paintings of Bucks County woods and quarries. To a greater extent than many of his New Hope colleagues, Garber also achieved recognition as a figure painter. A leading instructor at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts for over forty years, Garber influenced younger generations of painters, as well.

Throughout his life, Daniel Garber derived great pleasure from drawing. The first jobs he held in his youth cultivated his skills as a draftsman. After working at the Franklin Engraving Company, Garber illustrated books and magazines, including the collected works of Theodore Roosevelt. In 1917, he returned to drawing, this time as a printmaker.

By making prints, Garber broadened his exposure as an artist, exhibiting in print venues in addition to the usual galleries. He held several one-man shows of his drawings, etchings, and prints. Since prints cost only a fraction of the price of a painting- for example $35 as compared to $2000- Garber also expanded his market.

Garber's activity as a printmaker reveals a great deal about his character as an artist. Often modeling his prints upon earlier paintings, Garber demonstrated his business savvy. His register reveals that he often attempted a print several times before he was satisfied with the product, emphasizing his diligence and perfectionism. Garber's discipline and pragmatism enabled him to make the most of his genius.

Formerly a star pupil at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Daniel Garber returned in 1909 as a member of the faculty. For forty-one years he instructed students in drawing from antique casts and painting en plein air.

Renowned for his strictness, Garber evoked in his students a nervous silence as he passed among them, correcting the flaws in their work. The gruff severity of his remarks often reduced his students, especially women, to tears. "Can you cook?" he snapped. "You sure can't draw, so you'd better learn how to cook!" Garber's students respected his harshness, recognizing the high expectations and dedicated concern underlying it.

During the early decades of the twentieth century, an increasing number of art instructors and students favored innovative aesthetics and teaching methods, thereby dividing the Pennsylvania Academy community. Although Garber staunchly defended the methods that had shaped his own education at the turn of the century, he insisted upon treating all students fairly. When he retired in 1950, the entire community of the Academy lamented the loss of one of America's best loved art teachers.

Education and Training
Art Academy of Cincinnati, Ohio, 1897
Darby School, Fort Washington, Pennsylvania, Summers of 1899 and 1900
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1899-1905
Cresson Traveling Fellowship, England, France, and Italy, 1905-1907

Teachers and Influences
Vincent Nowottny, Art Academy of Cincinnati, 1897-1898
Thomas Anshutz, William Merritt Chase, Cecilia Beaux, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, Julian Alden Weir

Connection to Bucks County
Introduced to Bucks County by William Langson Lathrop, Daniel Garber and his wife, Mary (May) Franklin, settled there in 1907. In his beloved Lumberville home, Cuttalossa, Garber found the tranquility needed for his creative endeavors. He was friendly with many fellow Bucks County artists including Edward Redfield, Robert Spencer, William Langson Lathrop, Charles Rosen, Morgan Colt, and Rae Sloan Bredin, all of whom (except Redfield) composed the New Hope Group, which exhibited together in cities across the United States from 1916 to 1926. Garber also associated with several younger regional artists, including Robert Spencer and Fern I. Coppedge, serving informally as their mentor.

Colleagues and Affiliations
He was affiliated with Robert Spencer, William Lathrop, Charles Rosen, Morgan Colt, and Rae Sloan Bredin, who, along with Garber, composed the New Hope Group of Landscape Painters. They exhibited together from 1916 to 1926. Garber was also friendly with Edward Redfield.

Major Solo Exhibitions
Philadelphia Art Alliance, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1924
Macbeth Gallery, New York, New York, 1925, 1931
Retrospective Exhibition, Chester Springs, Pennsylvania, 1934
Exhibition of Etchings and Drawings, Norfolk Museum of Arts and Sciences, Norfolk, Virginia, 1940
Exhibition of Etchings and Drawings, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1942
Retrospective Exhibition, Woodmere Art Gallery, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1942
Retrospective Exhibition, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1945, 1980
American Academy of Arts and Letters, New York, New York, 1948
Daniel Garber: Romantic Realist, Michener Art Museum, Doylestown, PA and Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA, 2007
Garber in Spring, Michener Art Museum, Doylestown, PA, 2016

Major Group Exhibitions
Cincinnati Museum Association Gallery, Cincinnati, Ohio, 1899
Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1902, 1909, 1914-1949, 1956
National Academy of Design, New York, New York, 1902, 1904, 1907-1938, 1940-1941, 1947
The Salon, Paris, France, 1906-1907
Panama-Pacific International Exposition, San Francisco, California, 1915
Touring Exhibition with The New Hope Group, 1916-1926
Philadelphia Art Alliance, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1918
Sesquicentennial Exposition, mural A Wooded Watershed, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1926
Exhibition of Etchings and Drawings, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1942
Retrospective Exhibition, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, 1980
The Pennsylvania Impressionists: Painters of the New Hope School, James A. Michener Arts Center, 1990
Masterworks of the Pennsylvania Impressionists, Michener Art Museum, Doylestown, Pennsylvania, 1994
Objects of Desire: Treasures from Private Collections, Michener Art Museum, New Hope, Pennsylvania, 2005-2006
Artists of the Commonwealth: Realism and Its Response in Pennsylvania Painting 1900-1950, Michener Art Museum, Doylestown, PA, 2007
An Evolving Legacy: Twenty Years of Collecting at the James A. Michener Art Museum, Michener Art Museum, Doylestown, Pennsylvania, 2009-2010
Bucks County and the Philadelphia Sketch Club, Michener Art Museum, Doylestown, Pennsylvania, 2010

Teaching and Professional Appointments
Philadelphia School of Design for Women (now Moore College of Art and Design), 1904-1905, 1907-1909
The Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, 1909-1950

Major Awards
Garber was the recipient of many awards, among them:
First Place, Toppan Prize, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, 1903
Cresson Traveling Fellowship , Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, 1905
First Hallgarten Prize, National Academy of Design, New York, New York, 1909
Bronze Medal, International Exhibition, Buenos Aires, Argentina, 1910
Potter Palmer Gold Medal, Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, 1911
Second Clark Prize and Silver Medal, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1912
Gold Medal, Panama-Pacific International Exposition, San Francisco, 1915
First Altman Prize for Figure Painting, National Academy of Design, 1917
Temple Gold Medal, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, 1919
First William A. Clark Prize, Corcoran Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., 1921
First Altman Prize for Landscape, National Academy of Design, New York, 1922
Gold Medal, Philadelphia Art Club, Philadelphia, 1923
Gold Medal of Honor, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, 1929
Jennie Sesnan Gold Medal, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, 1937
Popular Prize, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, 1940, 1941
Pennell Medal, Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Philadelphia, 1942
38th Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts Fellowship Award, Philadelphia, 1947