This biography from the Archives of AskART:
|  A distinguished theatrical and scenic designer who also became a landscape painter and muralist, Ernest Albert worked in New York, St. Louis, and Chicago.
He was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1857, and showing early talent, he received the Graham Art Medal* at age 15, while he was studying at the Brooklyn Art Institute. Though Albert had some early success as a newspaper artist, his introduction to the theater world in 1877 began a career in stage design; he worked on productions starring most of the best-known performers of the day. During this time in 1879, he employed and befriended young Jules Guerin, who went on to become the Lincoln Memorial Muralist.
From New York City, Albert went to St. Louis in 1880, and five years later to Chicago. In 1892, he became involved with the Chicago World's Colombian Exposition*. He was responsible for the color schemes and ornamental design of many of the interiors of buildings in that renowned and successful fair. While in Chicago, he helped found the American Society of Scenic Painters.
In 1894, Albert returned to New York City, where, from then on, his work in scenic design was centered. His Albert Studios did the sets for many successful productions. All along, he had painted whenever he could snatch the time. At the pinnacle of his career in 1905, he began to withdraw gradually from his theater work. His family was settled in the striking new house he had built in New Rochelle, New York; his financial independence was established; and from then on, he devoted most of his considerable talent and energy to his landscapes.
Albert's landscapes, painted mostly in Old Lyme, Connecticut and later on Monhegan Island, Maine (as well as a few on the West Coast), are simple in composition but subtle in effect. His impressionistic rendering of color and light imbue his quiet country scenes with all the magic of the moment. The gentle strength of these pictures and of his still lifes ensured their popularity and earned him a place as one of America's respected artists.
Albert was active in several organizations and was a founder and first president of the Allied Artists of America*.
Sources:
Michael David Zellman, 300 Years of American Art
Peter Hastings Falk, Editor, Who Was Who in American Art
* For more
in-depth information about these terms and others, see AskART.com Glossary
http://www.askart.com/AskART/lists/Art_Definition.aspx
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Biography from Turak Gallery of American Art:
| A
distinguished theatrical and scenic designer, Ernest Albert worked in
New York, St. Louis and Chicago. Born in Brooklyn in 1857, he showed
early talent and received the Graham Art Medal at age 15, while he was
studying at the Brooklyn Art Institute. Though Albert had some early
success as a newspaper artist, his introduction to the theater world in
1877, began a career in stage design, he worked on productions staring
most of the best-known performers of the day. During this time, in
1879, he employed and befriended young Jules Guerin, who went on to
become the Lincoln Memorial muralist.
From New York City, Albert
went to St. Louis in 1880 and five years later to Chicago. In 1892, he
became involved with the World's Colombian Exposition in Chicago. He
was responsible for the color schemes and ornamental design of the many
interiors of buildings in that renowned and successful fair. While in
Chicago, he helped found the American Society of Scenic Painters. In
1894, Albert returned to New York City, where his work in scenic design
was centered from then on.
All along, he had painted whenever he
could snatch the time. At the pinnacle of his career in 1905, he began
to withdraw gradually from his theater work. His family was settled in
the striking new house he had built in New Rochelle, New York and his
financial independence was established. From then on, he devoted most
of his considerable talent and energy to his landscapes.
Albert's
landscapes, painted mostly in Old Lyme, Connecticut and later on
Monhegan Island, Maine {as well as a few on the West Coast}, are simple
in composition but subtle in effect. His impressionistic rendering of
color and light imbue his quiet country scenes with all the magic of
the moment. The gentle strength of these pictures and of his still
lifes ensured their popularity and earned him a place as one of
America's respected artists.
Albert was active in several organizations and was a founder and first president of the Allied Artists of America.
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Biography from Newman Galleries:
| Landscape painter and theater designer, Ernest Albert was born in 1857 in Brooklyn, NY. He was christened Ernest Albert Brown, but changed his name to Ernest Albert in 1879 in the interest of his profession.
After attending both the Old Montague Art School and the Brooklyn Art School, Ernest Albert began his career in 1872 as a scenic painter and theater designer for the Brooklyn Theater. His work grew in acclaim and over the next forty years. He designed for numerous theaters in cities stretching from New York City to London and Montreal. During his free time, he pursued his passion for landscape and still life painting, exhibiting in many highly reputed artists’ associations and clubs throughout the United States. In 1909, allured by his enjoyment of fine art, Albert devoted himself completely to his noncommercial painting, leaving the theater.
Albert was the founder of the American Society of Scenic Painters and was a member of many art associations including the New Canaan Society of Artists, the Chicago Society of Artists and the Grand Central Gallery.
During his lifetime, Albert exhibited at the Brooklyn Art Association, the St. Louis Sketch Club, the New Canaan Society of Artists, the Highland Park Art Museum, and the Grand Central Art Gallery. In 1941, he enjoyed a solo show at Rockefeller Center in New York City. After his death in 1946, his popularity continued and he has been honored with several posthumous solo shows, the first in Boston in 1981.
Art historians pay tribute to Ernest Albert for his lyrical impressionism, exhibited at its best in his emotive winter landscapes. |
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Ernest Albert is also mentioned in these AskART essays:
San Francisco Panama-Pacific Exhibition 1915
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