La Farge family

A biographical sketch of the life of John La Farge follows. For additional biographical information consult the Dictionary of American Biography, the official biography by Royal Cortissoz entitled John La Farge: a Memoir and a Study, and a collection of Russell Sturgis scrapbooks (3 vols.) in the Columbia University Library. Supplementary manuscript material may be found in the papers of Royal Cortissoz in the Yale Collection of American Literature, Beinecke Rare Book and Manuscript Library.

John La Farge was born in New York City on March 31, 1835, of French parents, John Frederic and Louisa La Farge. As a child, La Farge received instruction in drawing from his maternal grandfather, Binsse de Saint Victor. Upon completion of his college education, La Farge went to France in 1856 and studied for a short time under Couture in Paris. After having copied some of the old masters in the Louvre, La Farge visited museums in Germany, Denmark, and Belgium. He traveled to England, where he saw the Manchester Exhibition of 1857 and became acquainted with the work of the pre-Raphaelites.

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