Gavin Spanierman 2012

JOHN E. COSTIGAN (1888– 1972) Self-taught academician and city-raised farmer, John E. Costigan, was born in the latter part of the 19th century in Providence, RI. Costi- gan fought in World War I, survived the devastation of the Great Depression, experienced the rapid ascendance of industry and technology, and witnessed the tumultuous changes in art. As a teenager, Costigan took an apprenticeship at the H. C. Miner Lithographing Company and continued his employment there for 28 years. The 150 prints by Costigan show his expertise in etching and lithography and demonstrate the strong compositions and sensitivity to form and line that came from his inherent artistic ability. The most formal education Costigan received was a few weeks studying under William Merritt Chase and George Bridgeman at the Arts Students League in New York City. By the time he was thirty, Costigan had exhibited at the Corcoran Gallery of Washington, D.C., as well as the McDowell Club and Babcock Gallery, both of New York City. In 1919 Costigan married and moved to Orangeburg, NY, a bucolic town twenty-five miles north of New York City. Situated on the banks of the Husdon River, Orangeburg influenced many of Costigan’s 500 oils and 250 watercolors. In 1922 Costigan’s Sheep at the Brook , was awarded the Peterson Purchase prize from the Art Institute of Chicago. His first one-person show at the Rehn Gallery (NYC) followed in 1924 and less than three years later, a one-person show at the Art Institute of Chicago. In the next decade Costigan went on to receive recognition from high-profile organizations and exhibitions including the Art Institute of Chicago, the Salmagundi Club, the National Academy of Design, the 1926 International Exposition in Philadelphia, the National Arts Club, and the American Watercolor Society. In 1928, Costigan’s illustrious peers at the National Academy of Design bestowed upon him the distinction of National Academician, one of the highest honors to be accorded to an American artist. The Bathers Oil on canvas 25 x 30 inches Signed lower left: J.E.Costigan N.A.