The following was previously published to Patrons and Membership in our Spring/Summer Newsletter as "Recalling the “Roycroft Court Painter,” Alexis Jean Fournier" by Tami Fuller. A truncated version was published in EA and Beyond, a regional publication by the East Aurora Advertiser in June 2024.
Alexis Jean Fournier, born July 4, 1865 in St. Paul, Minnesota (an unlikely birthplace for someone destined for Fournier’s stature) is a admired and much beloved figure in East Aurora’s pantheon of larger than life personalities. Referred to as “the last of the Barbizon painters,” Fournier’s work carried the traditions of the French Barbizon School well into the twentieth century.
Alexis Jean Fournier (1865-1948). Courtesy of Aurora Town Historian/Aurora Historical Society
Fournier got his start in the arts as a sign and scenery painter for vaudeville shows while in his teens. After traveling through the American Southwest as a staff artist accompanying archaeological digs and a course of study at the Minneapolis Academy of Fine Arts, he went on further his studies abroad at the Academie Julian in Paris, and subsequently, the famed Barbizon School of painters. He spent years in France studying the works of masters like Théodore Rousseau, Charles- François Daubigny and Jean-François Millet, capturing the scenery of the French countryside. During the course of his time in France, he developed a personal friendship with the family of Millet, with whom he would share a warm personal correspondence for the rest of his life. Millet's most prominent subject of choice was the peasantry. Fournier's regard for Millet and Millet's resultant influence on Fournier's work can be seen in several of his works, none so keenly or sweetly (in this writer's opinion) as in "Untitled - Goose Girl," one of the pieces on view with Meibohm Fine Arts through September 7, 2024 as part of Meibohm's collection of work by Fournier.
Untitled- Goose Girl (Normandy) - 1895, Oil on canvas is available through Meibohm Fine Arts. Courtesy of Meibohm Fine Arts
Upon meeting Elbert Hubbard, Fournier was persuaded to join the young Roycroft community in 1903. He divided his time between Minneapolis and East Aurora until 1937, becoming known as the “Roycroft Court Painter,” when he became a full-time resident of East Aurora until his death in 1948. While occupying the official position as Art Director at Roycroft, he was uncomfortable with the title, preferring “Court Painter.” This would eventually become his unofficial and enduring title. Fournier was an admired and much beloved figure in the East Aurora community, working on projects as Hubbard requested, many not related to painting. He was known for his charisma and flamboyance, displaying a joyful abandon in his everyday life that translated to his work.
Fournier was a prolific painter, and worked with many artistic groups throughout his career, loving to lecture and teach. He worked with the Woodstock Colony, in New York, Provincetown, Massachusetts and the Brown County artist colony in Indiana. Locally, he co-founded the Paint and Varnish Club with fellow Roycrofter Eleanor Douglas. His works, spanning decades spent refining his trademark Barbizon influenced style, are found in collections all over the country.
Fournier adored painting Cazenovia Creek, which he said reminded him of France and his days as a Barbizon, and was a passionate friend to the Early Roycroft movement. He retained his love of France until his death, and had it not been for Roycroft, often said he would have never left France. He attributed the fraternity he found in the East Aurora Roycroft community as his reason to stay stateside, much to our benefit. Fournier’s brought a taste of the Old World to East Aurora and a refinement as “Court Painter” that elevated the early Arts & Crafts Movement, marking this young movement’s place in art canon side by side with the titans of realism and the Impressionists of France.
Fournier lived out his days in East Aurora adjacent to the modern-day campus in a “perfectly charming” home and studio full of treasures, with a dashing wit, an almost cliche Gallic joie de vivre and a dashing vintage car that, by all accounts, was a hazard to all, himself included, owing to Fournier’s terrible driving skills. Despite his reputation as “the world’s worst driver,” spent his final days pursuing the beloved blue haze of the Cazenovia valley and running down treasures, always well-dressed and always full of vitality, until a fall in 1948 led to his unexpected passing.
To this day, we see traces of Fournier all over East Aurora, the most significant being his murals representing the seasons, times of day and great cities of the world at The Roycroft Inn. These murals, restored and re-installed in the salon at The Inn in 1996, represent the largest group of murals painted by Fournier. A visit to the Elbert Hubbard Roycroft Museum will reveal 14 examples of his work both in local and French locations. The Burchfield Penney Art Center also has an extensive collection of his work.
Fournier’s home and studio (known as the Bungle House) are still standing on Walnut Street in East Aurora, right behind the Roycroft Campus. Inside this house, now fallen into disrepair, are the murals he painted in the dining room and his north facing studio on the second floor.
Fournier was a strikingly dapper and exuberant man who was possessed of common sense and individuality, loved by all. He found an easy place in Roycroft culture, and was a dear friend to Hubbard and his community, as “A gentleperson, a kind friend, a generous teacher, a challenging artist,” according to Miriam Hubbard Roelofs.
Our friends at Meibohm Fine Arts received an unexpected treat this spring: the opportunity to bring to the public a collection of Fournier's work that been heretofore privately owned and unavailable. After an extensive restoration and conservation by Meibohm and her staff, this collection, encompassing early works to more established examples of Barbizon style work from France to local landscapes rendering scenes from WNY, opened to the public on Saturday, August 3. This exhibit constitutes the largest Fournier exhibition in the United States this century. An exhibit like this one in scope and scale has not been staged since Minnesota in 1997.
Included in this exhibit is a rare pastel, titled “Cazenovia Creek, East Aurora #6” in a series of which at this time only three are known.
The exhibit will be on view from August 3 - September 7, 2024.
Untitled-'Paris Farm' 1898, Alexis Jean Fournier, oil on canvas. Courtesy of Meibohm Fine Arts.
We are thrilled to feature Grace Meibohm and Artist Constance Payne as our August speakers in our Little Journey Speaker Series on August 8 at The Roycroft Inn. Payne, who painted “The Four Seasons,” originally part of Fournier’s collection of murals at Inn that had been missing, will share the process of the restoration, her process, and information on the historical process relevant to Fournier's time period together with Meibohm, who will share personal stories of Fournier and his life in East Aurora for a night of tribute to the “Last Barbizon.”
The August Little Journey will take place from 6pm - 7pm in the Salon of The Roycroft Inn. The Inn will host a relaxed start to the evening with a 5:00 PM - Happy Hour in the Lounge with cocktail and drink specials before the main event. The presentation will be followed by a period where questions from the publiv will be entertained before breaking for informal conversation and socializing in the Lounge before dinner. Guests who attend Little Journeys receive 10% off of their dinner at The Roycroft Inn that evening beginning at 7:15 p.m. by mentioning Little Journeys when making their reservation. Reservations may be made by contacting The Inn at 716-652-5552.
How to Attend:
In Person:
This is a space limited event. Little Journeys is, has been and will remain free to the public. However, in order to ensure that we don't overwhelm the Inn's capacity, an RSVP is required.
Social interaction in the Craftsman Lounge at The Roycroft Inn before and after do not require RSVP, but advance ticketing is required to enter the Salon at 6pm to attend the lecture.
Reserve for in person attendance Here.
Remotely (Members Only):
As part of our new value added membership initiatives, we will live stream the lecture to our membership via encrypted feed. Register to attend remotely by confirming your email Here.
If you need to renew your membership for June 2024 - 2025, renew now on our Membership Page.
This is a live lecture and constitutes a creative performance that contains research and proprietary intellectual property. In order to reserve the integrity of the intellectual property of the presenting speakers, a recording of this lecture will not be made available.
RALA’s Little Journeys connects Roycroft Artisans with the community by offering artist talks, demonstrations and lectures in the Masters’ mediums that educate and create opportunities for collectors and members of the Roycroft community to connect with the modern Roycroft artists, and serves as a homage to Elbert Hubbard’s original Little Journeys, small trips to artists of note that shared intimate glimpses behind their process and lives. For years, this series was an important part of RALA’s presence on South Grove, and offered “show and tell” by Masters and Artisans, Artisan Forums and visiting nationally known speakers. RALA is proud to bring this lecture series back to its birthplace at The Roycroft Inn and to celebrate the life and talent of Alexis Fournier and the talent of Meibohm and Payne.
The contents of this year's Goodie Box will be on site and tickets will be available to purchase the evening of the event. All active members are encouraged to attend and share in this celebration of the Roycroft culture and our connections to such a beautiful and powerful provenance. Please remember that an RSVP is required to attend the lecture.
The centerpiece of the 2024 Goodie Box is a Copper Jewelry Box by Master Metalsmith Ronald VanOstrand. The design features chased ginkgos and a tooled leather interior designed by new Roycroft Artisan in Leather Tom Ciminelli. This, and the companion pieces by our other Artisans, will be on site at The Roycroft Inn on Thursday, August 8. Drawing will be held February 2025 at the National Arts & Crafts Conference in Asheville, N.C. Information on the Goodie Box tradition and the conference can be found on our website.
For information on how to view the Fournier exhibit at Meibohm Fine Arts and to browse a selection of the available works online, visit meibohmfinearts.com.
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