Written by Jocelyn Boigenzahn, Curatorial Intern
Richard Emile Miller (American, 1875 – 1943), Café L’Avenue, Paris, c. 1906-1910, oil on canvas, 44 7/8 x 57 ½ in., Purchased with funds from The Cummer Council, AP.1985.1.1.
Richard E. Miller was an American painter who holds a high place in the American School of Impressionism, he was especially known for his paintings of female figures in sunlit interiors. While in Paris he became an integral part of the American Impressionist art colony — there he lived, worked and painted during the late 19th and early 20th centuries, staying from 1898 to 1914 until the beginning of World War I. While in France he was recognized by the French government who bestowed the distinguished award of Chevalier in the Legion of Honor upon him.
Miller’s early painting includes a series of dark Parisian nocturnes, such as Café L’Avenue, Paris, but his association with Frederic Frieseke lightened his palette. This contrast in tones and the stylistic influence between these two can be seen when we compare Miller’s Café with our Frederic C. Frieseke work found in the same gallery.
