The Quartier Latin – January 2010

Front cover of The Quartier Latin showing a woman in a red dress and London, Paris, New York' written in the bottom section of image
The Quartier Latin. Vol. IV, no. 20, 22; vol. V, no. 27-28; vol. VI, no. 29-30 1898-1899
(London: [Iliffe & Son], 1896-)
(19th Century Collection, 19th C. Coll. 052 QUA)

The Quartier Latin was produced by Americans residing in the Latin Quarter of Paris, on the Left Bank of the River Seine in the late Nineteenth Century and sold in France, America and Britain. It is now quite a scarce periodical and represents an important period in the history of American art.

Issues typically contain full-page illustrations and Art Nouveau advertisements by such contributors as Ernest Haskell (1876-1925) who had studied under James McNeill Whistler and who specialised in etchings and watercolour posters; William Merritt Chase (1849-1916) who championed Impressionism; F. Luis Mora (1874-1940) who specialised in scenes of American and Spanish life and Henry O. Tanner (1859-1937) who was an African-American known for his portraits and depictions of religious subjects. The periodical also carried poetry and prose.

At the time, France was considered to be the focal point of the world’s artistic community – a locus for artistic training and output. Americans flocked to Paris to study in the academies and to stage exhibitions in the salons.

The March 1898 issue, the cover of which is shown here, includes an advertisement designed by H.G. Fangel for Glendenning’s Beef and Malt Wine, a sample bottle of which was available from Glendenning & Son, Grainger Street, Newcastle.