Augustus B. Koopman (American, 1869 to 1914)
Born in Charlotte, North Carolina, Koopman was one of an elite group of American art students admitted to the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in Paris. After his course of study, he remained in Europe, winning medals and honors on both sides of the Atlantic, including the major international expositions at Paris (1900), Buffalo (1901), and St. Louis (1904). The artist spent his winters in Paris, traveling during the warmer months to paint in picturesque locales in France, Belgium, and Holland popular with expatriate American artists around the turn of the century.
The artist’s figural works earned him high critical praise, including that from reviewer A.H. Griffith:
“The figure groups are of particular interest, so much so that it is hardly fair to single out any one for special mention. However in the portrait of Mrs. Alfred Stead, in which the easy pose, and face so full of life and animation are solidly painted without any tricks of glaze, the color glows in transparent tones… Looking at these, one gets an insight into the artist’s moods, for after all a painting reflects the artist’s temperament quite as much as the mood or temperament of the subject; and where there is a bond of sympathy better results obtain.”
Information courtesy of Shannon’s Fine Art Auctioneers, May 2010.