to the Salon of Two
1901 Exhibitions of
Decorative Burnt Wood Panels
by J. William Fosdick
Featured in The International Studio Magazine

Decorative Art Excerpt, Highlighting Burnt Wood Panels by J. William Fosdick From the 1901 feature column American Studio Talk: Notes on Art in New York From The International Studio: An Illustrated Magazine of Fine and Applied Art

This volume (13) of The International Studio: An Illustrated Magazine of Fine and Applied Art had two segments featuring J. William Fosdick, of which the principal one is displayed above (from pp. 219–225), showing four works by him exhibited at the thirty-third annual exhibition of the Society of American Artists.

The second segment, featuring the sixteenth annual exhibition of the Architectural League of New York, in a separate American Studio Talk column in this volume (pp. 73–74), offered the following critique of his work The Lotos Eaters (also illustrated above):

"In the West Gallery...[was] the very successful decoration for the café of the Lotos Club, by J. William Fosdick, entitled The Lotos Eaters (No. 202). ... Mr. Fosdick's clever burning of his wood has resulted in actual color. The color of the wood has itself been permitted to give its share, and the charring effect of the live instrument adds tone to the whole scheme. We congratulate Mr. Fosdick."

Thanks to the helpful captions in the first segment with images of his works, we have also learned of some of the owners of them, viz., "The Lady of Shalott," owned by H. P. King of Pride's Crossing, Massachusetts (see a 1906 picture of the Kings' residence below); "The Lotos Eaters," owned by the Lotos Club of New York; and "Sleep" owned by J. Scott Hartley of New York. "The Glorification of Joan of Arc" may have still belonged to Fosdick in 1901. At some point it was purchased by William T. Evans, who in 1910 donated it to the Smithsonian in Washington, D. C., where it is today at the American Art Museum.