This biography from the Archives of AskART:
|  Born in New York, Francis Silva was a second generation Hudson River School painter, who did much
painting along the Hudson River and along the coastline from Chesapeake Bay to Cape Ann,
Massachusetts. His earliest known painting is titled Cape Ann.
He became one of the leading marine
painters of the luminist style of the mid to late 19th century,
especially known for his brilliant sunsets with atmospheric
effects. Of him, it was written: "For Silva, the subtle
manipulation of light and atmosphere was an aesthetic device that
transcended naturalism and became an almost abstract means of
expressing sentiment." (Zellman, 265)
Francis Silva was the son of a barber who had
emigrated from Madeira to New York in 1830. He showed early art talent and with no apparent
formal training, he apprenticed to a sign painter in New York and
decorated fire wagons, vans, stagecoaches, etc. He also exhibited pen and ink drawings at the American Institute.
In 1861, he
enlisted in a New York militia and became a Captain of the Ninth New
York Volunteer Infantry in the Civil War. He was stricken with
malaria, and, wrongfully accused of desertion, received a dishonorable
discharge. He applied for reinstatement, which was granted, and
then received an honorable discharge.
In
1865, he began his career as fine artist, and in 1868 made his debut at
the National Academy of Design's annual exhibition. That same
year, he married Margaret Watts of Keyport, New Jersey.
From that time, he received much acclaim for his serene, atmospheric
marine
paintings, and his later paintings tended towards Impressionism in
style. In 1872, he was elected to the American Watercolor
Society.
Francis Silva maintained his studio in New York but moved to New
Jersey in 1880. He died in 1886.
Sources include:
Michael David Zellman, 300 Years of American Art
Peter Falk, Who Was Who in American Art
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Biography from South Coast Fine Art:
| Francis A. Silva was born on October 4, 1835 in New York City and died
March 31, 1886. He was one of two children born to Francis John
Silva. Little is known about his mother except that she was born
in New York. As a schoolboy, Silva exhibited pen drawings at the
American Institute. Silva’s parents, however, did not want him to
pursue art as a career, so he apprenticed to several trades before
ending up with a sign painter. He worked in that trade until the
outbreak of the Civil War in 1861.
Silva wouldn’t begin his
art career until after service in the Seventh Regiment of the New York
State Militia during the Civil War. Advancing from lieutenant to
captain, Silva was soon stricken with “miasmatic disease.” He was
dishonorably discharged for desertion when he left his regiment, but
was soon reinstated.
In 1868, Silva married Margaret A. Watts in
Keyport, New Jersey. His debut as a painter was at the National
Academy of Design’s annual exhibition of 1868-1869. Silva
developed a reputation as a marine painter. He became known for
exaggerating and intensifying natural effects of light and air for
poetic purposes. His subtle manipulation of light and atmosphere
was an aesthetic device that transcended naturalism and became an
almost abstract means of expressing sentiment. Silva became known
as one of the leaders in the American Luminist movement.
By
1870, Silva had evolved from a self-taught artist, to one with a
remarkably skillful technique and a repertoire of marine subject and
atmospheric effects that varied little for the rest of his life. “We
have few artists who are so accurate in drawing or so conscientious in
the rendering of detail,” an Art Journal critic wrote in
1880. His luminous technique led to his election to the American
Water Color Society in 1872. Just before he died in 1886, Silva painted
A Summer Afternoon at Long Branch (1885, National Gallery of Art), considered his masterpiece.
MEMBERSHIPS:
American Water Color Society
PUBLIC COLLECTIONS:
Broad Street Trust, Boston
Brooklyn Museum
National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.
Peabody Essex Museum, Salem, Massachusetts
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Francis Silva is also mentioned in these AskART essays:
Hudson River School Painters
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