The New York Years
(1873 to 1909)
| That which follows is a chronological listing of articles about the artist Gegoux, which were found in the newspapers of his time. These articles represent most of what is known and believed about the artist. Faithfully compiled from microfilm copies of the old newspapers. Please forgive the miss-spelled names and any other errors. Efforts have been made to assure that the information is as accurate as possible. |
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Chapter Fourteen - Postscript
Watertown After Gegoux's Death - 1931 to 1981 |
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"Events are not considered history until all eyewitnesses have passed away and the monuments over their graves are covered with moss."
Gegoux to Jay Allem - 1923. |
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News of Gegoux's students and some of his paintings continue to surface over the years. One such student was Nellie Dickson, who attended Professor Gegoux's classes in oil painting Ives Seminary. We also see news that the Justin Weeks portrait found a home at the Jefferson County Historical Society.
Nonetheless, obscurity has found the artist Gegoux. Unknown are the fates of the lost works of Gegoux. Doubtlessly many have hung silently on walls for more than a hundred years, knowledge of their origins having died with previous generations. Portraits are especially susceptible to this fate. Landscapes less so since Gegoux's realist style often depicts recognizable terrain. Occasionally Gegoux's work will surface in the hands of modern day entrepreneurs who inspect and examine them hoping for a Road Show find. More often though, there is no signature or distinctive mark and Gegoux's portraits are cataloged and listed for generic sale. Rarely will a new generation, sparked by some curiosity, find a link to Gegoux and seek more information. It is for these occasions that this booklet was prepared. After Gegoux's death in California, Prudentia shipped Gegoux's cremated remains back to Watertown for interment at the Brookside cemetery. The remains were placed in the family plot next to where Prudentia and son Frank would also rest. |
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News from Watertown (1931 to 1981)
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14.001) The Tribune Press, Gouverneur, N. Y. - October 26, 1938 - Wednesday Mr. and Mrs. William A. Dickson celebrated their golden wedding anniversary Sunday, October 16th, at their home at Dickson's Corners on the Sommerville - Antwerp road with many friends and guests present. Mrs. Dickson was Miss Nellie Eggleston of Antwerp before her marriage, daughter of David and Elizabeth Rugg Eggleston. She attended Professor Gegoux's classes in oil painting at Ives Seminary and also Mrs. Smith's class in Gouverneur. Mrs. Dickson has many paintings she has done during her life time. |
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14.002) The Watertown Daily Times - December 27, 1947 Mrs. Prudentia Gegoux, 85 Dies Expires of Heart Attack in Hospital Widow of Well Known Artist. Mrs. Prudentia Ann Favereau Gegoux, 85, of 412 Solar building whose husband, the late Prof. Theodore Gegoux, was a well known artist in Oregon, died suddenly of a heart attack at 6:10 this morning in the House of the Good Samaritan. Mrs. Gegoux, a patient in the hospital only since 8:15 Thursday evening, had been afflicted with a heart condition for years and suffered a heart attack Saturday. Death followed another attack this morning. Funeral services will be held Sunday afternoon at 2:30 at the Howland Funeral chapel. Rev. Robert Wells Youngs, pastor of the First Presbyterian church, will officiate. Burial will be made in Brookside cemetery. Friends may call at the funeral chapel Saturday afternoon and evening. Surviving Mrs. Gegoux, are a son, Frank G. Gegoux, 2os South Indiana avenue and two grand-children, Lieut. Victor C. Gegoux, U. S. Army stationed near Seattle, Wash., and Mrs. Eleanor Gegoux- Hughes, Los Angeles, Calf. For nearly 20 years Mrs. Gegoux had operated a gift shop of her own at her apartment in the Solar building. Her husband, Professor Gegoux, talented as a sculptor and violinist as well as an artist, died July 3, 1931 at South Pasadena, Calif., where his son, the late Theodore Gegoux, jr., had lived. Mrs. Gegoux was born near Exeter, N. H., Nov. 22, 1861, a daughter of the late Francis and Anna Shoot Favereau. With her parents she came to this city when she was three years old. She had lived here since with the exception of two years when she resided with her son, Theodore, at South Pasadena. Calif. The son died at South Pasadena Nov. 3. 1927. She was married to Prof. Theodore Gegoux of this city, a French-Canadian, on Nov. 22, 1881, her 20th birthday, at the home of her sister in Marietta, Ohio. Professor Gegoux had an interesting career. Years ago he established a studio in his living quarters in the second story of a block on the north side of Public Square and there he painted many pictures which gained him fame in this section. His wife and two sons lived there with him. Besides devoting himself to painting he gave lessons on the violin. More than a half century ago he painted a full-length portrait of the late Justin W. Weeks, one time court crier in supreme and county courts in this county. The portrait has hung on a wall of the court room in the court house and is considered by far the finest portrait of the many in oil which hang in that room, ranking with the finest products of the greatest portrait painters in the country. Another of his famous paintings was that of the old side-wheel steamboat, St. Lawrence. Feeling that Watertown did not afford a wide enough a field for his talent, Professor Gegoux suddenly disappeared from the community about 1910. For years where he had gone remained a complete mystery here. Finally, it developed, he had gone to Oregon because he felt there was material for his work there, and had established himself at Champoeg, near Portland, where he painted portraits of distinguished citizens, portraits which gained him a reputation as one of the greatest artists in oil west of the Rockies. He finally went to the home of his daughter-in-taw, Mrs. Theodore Gegoux, South Pasadena, Cal., where he died at the age of 80 years in 1931. His widow remained in Watertown throughout the years of his absence except for the two years she spent in California. Upon her return to this city in 1927 after her son died, she established gift shop in her Solar building apartment. She sold gift and greeting cards, cushions, embroidery and various other gift articles, many of which she made herself by hand. Mrs. Gegoux was a member of the First Presbyterian church. |
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14.003) The Watertown Daily Times - February 20, 1950 - Monday Portrait Of Weeks Taken From Wall In Court House - What is to be the fate of the fine, full-length oil portrait of Justin W. Weeks which has hung for more than half a century in the court room of the county court house on Arsenal street? That is the question being asked by many frequenters of the court room. Last fall when the portraits of the judges and others were taken from the court-room walls, cleaned and then replaced upon the walls under a different order, this portrait of Justin W. Weeks who served as court crier for supreme and county courts for more than 40 years, was stood upon the floor in a back anteroom. There it has since been. The rearrangement of the portraits was made at the direction of Judge Russell Wright, surrogate. Now, the order has been given to store the Weeks portrait in the courthouse attic or some other place, although there is some sentiment favoring its return to the walls or the court room. The late Theodore Gegoux, formerly of this city and later of Oregon, rated one of the finest painters in oils in the country, painted the life-size portrait of Justin W. Weeks, and it has long been declared to be the finest of all the portraits in the court room. In his history of Jefferson county published in 1894 John A. Haddock said of this portrait: "The artist Gegoux has painted an heroic sized portrait of Mr. Weeks, which has attained deserved popularity as a fine Work of art reflecting great credit upon the artist, for he has made a picture that seems just ready to walk out of the frame, to become the very living man himself. The writer lately examined that picture with great interest. Nothing finer in any of the great galleries of Europe - a thing easy to say, but which any observing European traveler will verify." The portrait is a masterpiece of portraiture as to pose, expression, coloration and brushwork. It is regarded as one of the best creations of Artist Gegoux. Within the past ten years an effort has been made by local art connoisseurs to make a collection of Gegoux's paintings, but there are some who believe that this painting of Justin W. Weeks should be returned to the walls of the court room where it has been for more than half a century. In this connection, question has been raised whether the portrait is owned by the county or by the Jefferson County Bar association. |
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14.004) The Watertown Daily Times - August 24, 1979 Watertown Artist's Painting Finds A Home Stored and forgotten for nearly 40 years, this historic painting by a Watertown artist has been unveiled in a state park in Oregon. Entitled " Birth of Oregon" the 1920 painting is the work of Theodore Gegoux. The painting commemorates an 1843 meeting at Champoeg when the settlers of the Willamette Valley voted to separate from England. By Twyla Cushman - Times Staff Writer Stored and all but forgotten for more than 40 years, a historic painting by a Watertown artist has been unveiled in a state park in Oregon. The painting, willed to his son in 1931, remained stored in an attic in South Pasadena until 11 years ago when his son's widow engaged appraisers and tried to convince the State of Oregon to buy it as a permanent commemorative. The painting, "Birth of Oregon," by Theodore Gegoux, commemorates an 1843 meeting at Champoeg when the settlers of the Willamette Valley voted to separate from England. Completed in 1920 or 1921, the painting was originally hung on May 2, 1922, in the Champoeg State Park Memorial Center where Mr. Gegoux was allowed to live as caretaker. There, his finances depleted by the expense of the canvas and materials to complete what he considered his great work, he collected 25 cents from all visitors wishing to view his seven-by-eleven foot painting. Musing over his situation in 1923, he observed, "Events are not considered history until all eyewitnesses have passed away and the monuments over their graves are covered with moss." "So," he added, "I must not expect to reap financial returns from my...labor". But, he did hope that the State of Oregon would buy what he considered his "masterpiece" for permanent display. Finally in 1924, Times files reveal, he did become quite discouraged and, at age 74, left Oregon to take his painting on exhibition tour. Still not finding a buyer, he returned to Oregon where his canvas was hung in the governor's office at the Oregon State Capitol for a short time in early 1925. But still the state did not buy it. Earlier, in 1923, Gegoux had described himself as a vain old man. Adding that he was "not discontented, but I am a little sad," Gegoux suggested, "I should scrape my few pennies together and take my picture away to California." But, it was not until 1926 that he did just that. Disillusioned, he took his "masterpiece" to California. There he rolled it up and, along with the frame which he and his son Frank had constructed in 1924, placed it in a specially constructed crate. At his death in 1931, the painting, willed to his son Frank of Watertown, was still stored in his son Theodore's attic. And there it remained, stored and all but forgotten, in an attic in South Pasadena until Mrs. Frank Gegoux, widow of the artist's son, engaged appraisers and contacted Governors Hatfield and McCann of Oregon, beginning about 11 years ago. Finally, working through an art collector, Mrs. Gegoux sold the painting to the Oregon State Parks and Recreation Advisory committee which made it available to the State Highway Commission for display in Champoeg Park. But Gegoux's masterpiece remained in storage for yet another ten years until the Oregon State legislature appropriated funds for its restoration. Finally, "Birth of Oregon," based on an event at Champoeg 136 years ago and first hung at Champoeg 57 years ago went home to Champoeg on May 22 of this year. "Birth of Oregon based on the 1843 meeting at Champoeg at which the settlers of Willamette Valley voted a provisional government, thus separating themselves from British rule. It took only another six years for the first United States territorial governor to arrive in the region which is now Oregon. The State of Oregon now says the Theodore Gegoux visited the 1915 ceremonies at Champoeg. Impressed by the event and the annual celebration, Gegoux reportedly researched the event itself as well as portraits and eyewitness reports of the participants. Able to find likenesses of 27 of those voting on the statehood issue, he learned that at the critical moment of the 1843 convention, Joe Meek, who had called the convention, strode from the building into the yard. Gegoux then used this moment as the focus of his painting. Those whose likenesses he had found, he painted outside so their faces could be seen. The others were painted as shadowy figures through the open door. The frame, considered an integral part of the painting, uses the state flowers of the four states once included in the jurisdiction of the provisional government of Oregon. The artist, Theodore Gegoux, was born in Montreal in 1850 and came to the Watertown-Carthage-Lowville area at the age of 14. Times files indicate that before his marriage in 1881, he traveled to Europe where he studied the masters in Paris and Brussels. After his marriage, he established his home as a studio, variously reported as on the second floor of Van Namee building at 77 Public Square and at 20 1/2 Public Square. There he lived with his wife and two sons and practiced his art. In addition to being a recognized portrait and landscape painter in oils, pastels, and crayons, he was also an accomplished sculptor, violinist and violin maker, making his own maple violins. In December 1909, Mr. Gegoux disappeared from Watertown, according to Times files, after telling his family he was making a trip to New York to paint a portrait of a nephew. He did not return and was not heard from until an employee of the local Agricultural Insurance office saw him and talked with him in Portland, Ore., in December 1911. Several of Gegoux's paintings are now housed in the Jefferson County Historical Society, including the often-mentioned, full-length portrait of Justin W. Weeks, one-time court crier, which for many years had hung on "the east wall of the court room in county court house." The Historical Society also houses a portrait of J.C. Kimball, originator of the Watertown City Directory, and two portraits of children. A landscape called the "The Duck Hunters" is also at the museum. A well-known and often reproduced painting by Gegoux is the "St. Lawrence," a painting of the old St. Lawrence River side-wheeler boat. Private collectors in Watertown also have examples of both his oils and his pastels, including a water scene with a hunter, a painting on birdseye maple, and studies of water lilies. On July 7, 1931, at the age of 80, Theodore Gegoux died in California. His body was returned to Watertown and is buried in Brookside Cemetery, Watertown. |
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14.005) The Watertown Daily Times - June 10, 1981 Works By "Runaway" Artist Return Home By Marsha J. Davis - Times Staff Writer When Watertown's resident artist came up missing in 1909, some recalled he had been working on a "flying machine." Others plainly thought he had left town to seek a "wider field" for his art. Theodore Gegoux actually had gone off to Oregon seeking artistic inspiration and the fortune he never made. This summer, seven Gegoux paintings will return to the north country as a highlight of the Jefferson County Historical Society's Antique Show and Sale July 14 and 15 at the society's museum. Cape Vincent summer resident Bernard C. Diekman Jr., New Milford, Conn., an antique dealer who retired from the New York Telephone Co., will offer the works for sale. Mr. Diekman purchased two undated and unsigned Gegoux oils from the late Maurice Harris, former Watertown High School principal and antique dealer. Mr. Harris found the paintings when he purchased Gegoux's former Point Vivian home. Mr. Diekman later purchased four signed oils from Mr. Harris's sister, Mrs. Mildred Hughes. A Gegoux pastel Mr. Diekman describes as "exquisite" was purchased from Gerald Dobson, West Carthage. The unsigned oils are landscapes, a wooded scene with a stream and trees and a view of an island. Signed and dated oils on canvas to be offered are a 1905 portrait of a child; a 1907 still life of fruits on a plate, and matching oval-framed portraits of an unidentified woman and man done in 1904 and 1905 respectively. The pastel chalk portrait of an unknown woman is signed but not dated. A nearly full-size portrait done in Watertown in 1853 by C.V. Bond also will be offered for sale by Mr. Diekman. The portrait depicts Mrs. Chittendon, wife of a former member of the House of Representatives from New York State, seated in a red velvet chair. Mr. Diekman, a summer resident of Cedar Breeze Point, Cape Vincent, since 1942, married the former Leilah J. Wilson, daughter of the late Rev. and Mrs. James W. Wilson. Rev. Mr. Wilson served as pastor of Asbury Methodist Church from October 1926 to May 1935. Theodore Gegoux, a French Canadian born in 1850, came to the Watertown-Carthage-Lowville area at age 14. Before his marriage in 1881 in Ohio he traveled to Europe and studied in Paris and Brussels. After his marriage he established his home and studio in a building on the north side of Public Square, variously reported to be in the Van Namee building at 77 Public Square and at 20 1/2 Public Square. There he lived with his wife and two sons and practiced his art. He left Watertown Dec. 15, 1909, to paint a portrait of a nephew in Cleveland, Ohio, and, according to a story from The Times files, his local family had received no word by the following March. The 1910 article notes that "he had been working for many months on a model of a flying machine of the helicopter revolving type of aeroplane, before leaving this city." It was known that he wanted to attend an aviation meet in Los Angeles, so some theorized he had gone on to California. "His long absence since the close of the meet, however, cannot be accounted for." the article continues. In December 1911, Mr. Gegoux, described as "one of the most gifted portrait and landscape artists this city ever produced" (although he was not born here), was located in Portland, Oregon, "alive and in good health" when spotted by an employee of the local Agricultural Insurance Co. Mr. Gegoux had painted many portraits of several prominent residents of Portland and "turned out a prodigious amount of landscape work." according to the 1911 clipping. Mr. Gegoux is probably best known locally for his often reproduced painting of the "St. Lawrence" a side-wheeler boat, and for a full length portrait of Justin W. Weeks, one-time court crier, which hangs in the Jefferson County Historical Society Museum. The historical society also has a Gegoux portrait of J.C. Kimball, originator of the Watertown City Directory, two portraits of children, and a landscape called "The Duck Hunters". But perhaps his most famous painting is a seven-by-11-foot epic. "Birth of Oregon," commemorating an 1843 meeting at Champoeg, Ore., when the settlers of the Willamette Valley voted to separate from England. The artist hoped the painting, completed in 1920 or 1921, would bring him great fortune, but his dream was never fulfilled. He was allowed to live as caretaker in the Champoeg State Park Memorial Center where the painting was hung. His finances were depleted by the expense of the canvas and materials to complete the work so he was allowed to collect 25 cents from all visitors wishing to view his historical painting. In 1923 he observed, "Events are not considered history until all eyewitnesses have passed away and the monuments over their graves are covered with moss...So I must not expect to reap financial returns from my...labor." He hoped the State of Oregon would buy the work but it did not. He took the painting on an exhibition tour in 1924 and in 1926 "scraped a few pennies together" and headed for California, where he spent his final years living with his son, Theodore Jr., and daughter-in-law. The artist died July 3, 1931, at the home of his daughter-in-law in South Pasadena, Calif., at age 80. Although the epic painting was willed to his son, Frank of Watertown, the work remained in California. Years later, Frank's widow sold the painting through an art collector to the Oregon State Parks and Recreation Advisory Committee. Finally the Oregon State Legislature appropriated funds for the restoration of the work. The painting returned to Champoeg for hanging in a state park May 22, 1979. The artist's body was returned to Watertown and buried in Brookside Cemetery. He was not only a painter but a sculptor and maker of fine maple violins. The artist's widow, Prudentia, had remained in Watertown except for two years when she lived in California with her son, Theodore, before his death Nov. 3, 1927. Prudentia Gegoux died Dec. 27, 1946, in Watertown at age 85. For nearly 20 years she operated a gift shop in her apartment in the Solar Building. |
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14.006) The Journal & Republican - Lowville - September 17, 1986 - Wednesday PUBLIC AUCTION Sat., Sept. 20, 10 a.m. Cataract St., Copenhagen We have been commissioned to sell the contents of large house and barn by Dave and Minnie Roberts. ANTIQUES: ... oil portrait of lady by Theodore Gegoux ... |
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14.007) The Journal & Republican - Lowville - January 6, 1988 - Wednesday Exhibition of Local Art The current special exhibition at the Jefferson County Historical Society museum is entitled "Six Jefferson County Artists of the 19th Century". It can be viewed at the museum, 228 Washington Street, Watertown, until mid-February. The present exhibition, which has been drawn entirely from the Society's collections, has been organized around the works of some artists who were born, or lived and worked, in Jefferson County. That the museum's collection of paintings spans the entire 19th century is due to the fact that the Historical Society itself is over 100 years old and that it has been collecting, area artifacts all during that time. The earliest artist of the group - E. Collins Baker - was a native of the county during the first decades of the 19th century. The portraits of his mother and father, Sabra and Isaac. Baker, are painted on wood panels as was the custom at that time. The latest, George Taggart, was born in Watertown in 1850. Evincing great talent in his formative years, he studied in Paris for seven years and returned to attain fame for his portraits in the United States and abroad during the early part of the 20th century. Of special interest is a sensitive unfinished portrait of his mother, Margaret Benoit Taggert. Another of this area's artists popular during the latter part of the 19th century was Theodore Gegoux, a native of Quebec, who had his studio/apartment in the upper reaches of the Arcade. Lemuel L. Lowell, who also maintained a studio in the present-day Arcade building, was noted for his local landscapes of the area's rivers and forests. Older residents of the county also recollect that he gave music lessons as well. Other artists whose works are shown in the current exhibition include Jonah Woodruff whose portraits of influential local men date from the 1840's and Charles Bragger, another talented, Watertown portraitist who studied in Paris and returned to Watertown to paint, only die prematurely in his 30's. A pair of landscapes complete the exhibition. Included for comparative purposes - in order to allow viewers to see what was going on in nearby areas - are the works of a Utica artist, J.B. Morse. Morse, was a well-known Utica preacher who was forced to retire because of ill health. Turning to his talent for painting, he became a popular artist, not only in the Utica area but along the east coast as well. The museum is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., Tuesday through Saturday. Admission is free. |
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14.008) The Journal & Republican - Lowville - December 12, 1990 - Wednesday Society Ready for Christmas The Jefferson County Historical Society has planned a variety of activities for the holiday season at the Paddock Mansion, 228 Washington Street, Watertown. New exhibits on display for the Holiday Season and continuing until March include an art exhibit entitled "Portraits and Places", featuring works by Theodore Gegoux, Lemuel Lowell and George Taggart, local artists who painted at the end of the 19th and early 20th century. |
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14.009) The Watertown Daily Times - February 13, 1991 TOUR JEFFERSON COUNTY'S PAST AT HISTORICAL SOCIETY Byline: Joanne C. Brown Times Staff Writer A journey through Watertown's nearly 200-year history can begin at 228 Washington St. Upon entering the brick building which houses the Jefferson County Historical Society, one is greeted by such noted residents as Edwin and Olive Paddock, Roswell P. and Sarah Woodruff Flower and Hart and Lucille Massey. Portraits of these and other famous north country residents adorn the walls of the house once owned by the Paddocks. In the late 1800s, Mr. Paddock acquired local fame as a financier and banker. He and his wife resided in the 20-room house for many years. They had no children. Mr. Paddock died in 1909. Mrs. Paddock died in 1922 and willed the house to the historical society, of which she had been an ardent supporter. Formerly situated in the Flower Memorial Library on Washington Street, the society moved into the Paddock house in 1924. The society is 105 years old. Victorian dresses formerly worn by Sarah Woodruff Flower make up one of the featured displays at the museum. The two heavily embroidered and elegantly designed dresses were considered to be the height of fashion in the late 1800s, said Gillian Q. Blair, curator of collections. "These are fairly dressy day dresses," she said. "These kinds of dresses were worn by the wealthier women in those days." The Flowers were at one time the state's first family. Roswell P. Flower, an area resident, was the governor of New York from 1892-1895. The Flower Memorial Library was named in honor of him. Hart and Lucille Massey were among the first settlers of Watertown. The city was settled in 1803 and the Masseys arrived in 1802. Judge Perley and Lucinda W. Keyes were also earlier settlers. Although the city was founded at the beginning of the 19th century, residents did not elect a mayor until 1869, when the city became incorporated. George W. Flower, older brother of Roswell P., was the first mayor. Watertown quickly became a major paper industry city because of the power that was available from the Black River. In 1909, Pine Camp was established outside Watertown by the Army. This outpost would later become Fort Drum. It was named after Gen. Hugh Drum, who was an instrumental leader there. "A lot of Watertown's history is kept here," said Mrs. Blair. "There is a lot of history to keep track of." "Portraits and Places," an exhibit in the main gallery, highlights the work of three 19th century artists who lived in Watertown: Lemuel Lowell, George Taggart and Theodore Gegoux. Photographs titled "Views of Jefferson County," portraying different social groups, organizations, school classes and Civil War soldiers from the north country, share the main gallery with the artists. The museum's extensive collection of photographs will be displayed on a rotating basis. The Jefferson County Historical Society not only preserves Watertown history, but that of the entire county. The museum is open to the public from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday. There is no admission fee, but donations are appreciated. For information on exhibits, memberships or activities, call 315-782-3491. |
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14.010) The Watertown Daily Times - October 24, 2001 GRANDSON LEADS TALK ON FAMOUS NNY PAINTER Theodore Gegoux III will speak on the life and times of one of Northern New York's finest painters, Theodore Gegoux, at 7 p.m. Friday at the Jefferson County Historical Society, 228 Washington St., Watertown. Mr. Gegoux will be bringing his 35mm slide show to illustrate his remarks about his grandfather. The public is invited to an intimate discussion and question-and-answer session with this art historian. Mr. Gegoux has developed a detailed Web site documenting the life and times of the north country artist - www.gegoux.com. Filled with photos of old Watertown and remarkable photographs of Mr. Gegoux's wide variety of paintings, the Web site uses modern technology to illuminate Northern New York history. Mr. Gegoux is also photographing as many of Theodore Gegoux's works as possible to included on the artist's Web site. So far, more than 40 images have been recorded on both color film and transparencies. Anyone from the north country or elsewhere who owns a Gegoux painting is encouraged to contact the historical society at 315-782-3491 to make arrangements to have the image recorded. The Jefferson County Historical Society is a not for profit organization and is open to the public from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Tuesday through Friday throughout the year and on Saturdays from noon to 5 p.m. from May to November. |
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14.011) The Watertown Daily Times - October 28, 2001 GREAT-GRANDSON CHRONICLES LIFE, WORKS OF GIFTED ARTIST Byline: Julie Berry - Times Staff Writer A Los Angeles man who came to Watertown to discuss and research the life of his great-grandfather, an accomplished painter, was excited to discover two of his artworks owned by attendees at his Friday night presentation at the Jefferson County Historical Society. Theodore Gegoux III has made a lifelong hobby of chronicling the life of his mysterious and "odd duck" paternal great-grandfather, who left his wife and two young sons in Watertown with no explanation and was thereafter reported to have had several "sweethearts." In the process, the great-grandson has created a detailed Web site containing photographs and the history of nearly 150 works of his great-grandfather, who, despite his undisputed talent, died penniless and with dementia in 1931. "I feel my grandfather was a great artist, not just a good artist," Mr. Gegoux III said. "I feel this sense of frustration that he died in obscurity." Theodore Gegoux, one of 11 children, was born in 1850 in Quebec. He was 5 when his father died. Later, he worked as a farmhand before moving to Watertown at age 14 to live with one of his brothers. While his great-grandfather "exhibited early on a little bit of talent with drawing," because of the sketches in his schoolbooks, a teacher beat that interest out of him, Mr. Gegoux III said. As a young adult, Mr. Gegoux held a variety of jobs, including logger, marble-cutter's apprentice, bartender and portrait painter, until in 1881 he had earned enough money to study art in Paris. "That's when he really became a serious student," Mr. Gegoux III said. In Europe, as was the tradition, Mr. Gegoux copied three masterpieces, learning lighting and shading techniques. Those techniques are evident in his great-grandson's favorite painting, an 1896 oil painting called "The Salute." It shows the moon shafting through clouds over a steamer and sailboat on the St. Lawrence River. He said sailboats often "played chicken with the ship until the captain turned his light on. That was their salute." "It ties in so closely with his work in Paris," he said. "It is so quintessential 1890s in Jefferson County." Mr. Gegoux III has lent a lithograph of that painting to the historical society. After his studies abroad, Mr. Gegoux returned in late 1881 to Watertown, where "he thought he was the hottest thing," his great-grandson said. It was at one of his exhibitions that he met Prudentia A. Favreau, whom he married in 1882 after she met his standards of being in perfect health and passing an art test. According to Times files, they had two sons, Theodore II and Frank, and Mr. Gegoux established studios at 20 1/2 Public Square. But in December 1909, he left to paint a posthumous portrait of a nephew in Cleveland, Ohio. He never returned. From Cleveland, he is believed to have traveled to an aviation meet in Los Angeles, but he had no contact with his family until in 1911 an employee of an insurance office in Watertown talked to him in Portland, Ore. When Mr. Gegoux departed the north country, he left behind a number of portraits that his great-grandson is still uncovering. One of those, which he saw for the first time at his presentation Friday, is a signed 1880 charcoal portrait of a woman, whose identity is not known. It is owned by Catherine M. and Arthur F. Dickinson, Adams. Mrs. Dickinson said her mother, an antiques dealer, purchased the portrait 30 years ago during a household sale in Lorraine, Worth or Boylston. A matching portrait of a man was also in the home's attic at that time, but her mother did not buy it. "My mom acquired it because she wanted the frame," Mrs. Dickinson said. "I loved the picture, so she saved it for me." She said the portrait hangs in a stairway, where the "exquisite details" can be admired. Particularly striking, she said, are the woman's delicate features, intricate hairnet and diamond earrings that appear to sparkle. "I love it and I'm very intrigued. I'm going to be watching all the garage sales and auctions now," she said. "I didn't really know I had anything that good." Mr. Gegoux III photographed the portrait and will catalog it on his Web site. But he is truly interested in the "orphans," like the ripped one titled "Three Fishermen," owned by a Watertown man who attended Friday's event. He did not want to be identified for fear the painting, which is signed, would be stolen. "What brings me to tears are those that are in such a poor state of conservation that they are in risk of being lost permanently," Mr. Gegoux III said. He said many paintings were already lost in a 1918 fire at his great-grandfather's Aurora, Ore., studio. With 2,50 hits on his Web site each month, Mr. Gegoux III is rapidly adding new paintings to his catalog. He eventually plans to write a book about the history of his great-grandfather and his art. One of the challenges he faces is that his great-grandfather didn't always sign his paintings. He is also trying to document reports that his great-grandfather was an accomplished violin carver and soloist. One of Mr. Gegoux's painting sold through the Christie's East auction in 1988 brought $800, while others are valued at several thousand dollars. The Gegoux family owns a number of paintings, but those are the ones that weren't commercial successes, Mr. Gegoux III said. In Oregon, his great-grandfather achieved recognition by continuing to paint portraits, landscapes and still-lifes. Near the end of his life, he was commissioned to paint portraits of the first 29 mayors of Portland, while he was living with his son Theodore II in Los Angeles. In Oregon, Mr. Gegoux painted his masterpiece the "Birth of Oregon," which depicted the 1842 settlers meeting in Champoeg, Ore., where a provisional government was established. But failed attempts to sell that painting to the state for the requested $10,000 in 1925 contributed to Mr. Gegoux's financial ruin. "Events are not considered history until all the eyewitnesses have passed away and the monuments over their graves are covered with moss. So I must not expect to reap financial returns from my several years of labor, even though my expenditure of time and money really stranded me here," Mr. Gegoux wrote to a friend, according to a 1923 Watertown Daily Times clipping. Mr. Gegoux willed that painting to son Frank of Watertown. Upon Frank's death in 1966, his widow, Hazel Grey Gegoux, sold the painting to Alfred Collier, who transferred it to the state of Oregon. It is now displayed at Champoeg Park in Oregon. In addition to "The Salute" works by Mr. Gegoux on display at the Jefferson County Historical Society include an 1897 portrait of court crier Justin Weeks; an 1897 portrait of Mrs. Warren Crowner; a portrait of John Hill Crowner, age 5; an 1894 portrait of an unknown woman; an 1894 portrait of an infant; an 1881 posthumous portrait of Marion Estelle Cooper, age 7; an 1898 portrait of Ella Snell, wife of Sen. Harrison Fuller, and an 1897 portrait of Colonel Piper. Mr. Gegoux III also believes an unsigned portrait of a woman on display at the society's museum may also have been painted by Mr. Gegoux. Mr. Gegoux's grave is in Brookside Cemetery. |