Richard Clague Jr was born on 11 May 1821 in Paris, France to Richard Clague Sr. and Justine de la Roche. His parents were descended from wealthy New Orleans families and kept an apartment in Paris, where Richard Jr was born. The family returned to Louisiana when Richard was very young. However, when his parents separated, Richard and his brothers, Charles and Eduoard, went to live in Paris with their mother.^[1]

In 1836, along with his brother, Eduoard, Richard was sent to school in Geneva to study painting with Jean-Charles Ferdinand Humbert (1813-1881) where Richard developed a preference for landscape painting. Following his father's death in December, 1836, he received a substantial inheritance which allowed him to continue his studies. He and his brother returned to Paris and began studying with Leon D. Pomarède. Later, Richard studied with Horace Vernet, Antoine Auguste Ernest Herbert and Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres who recommended him to the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris.^[2]

After completing his studies, he travelled to Morocco, Algiers and other destinations in the Middle East where he kept a sketchbook (now in the New Orleans Museum of Art, Louisiana) and developed an interest in Oriental subject matter.^[3]

Although he was largely trained in Europe, he settled in Louisiana, becoming part of the "Bayou School".^[4] He regularly painted with William Buck, Marshall Smith and their contemporaries, who often chose to paint similar scenes. Clague's home on Bayou Street, near the Spanish Fort, was a popular retreat for artists.^[5]

Clague opened a studio in New Orleans in 1862, influencing artists such as William Aiken Walker^[6] and his pupil, William H. Buck.^[7]

Farm in St.Tammany
Fisherman's Camp
Portrait of a Twisted Tree
Back of Algiers

Richard Clague
Richard Clague Jnr, Self-portrait
Born	11 May 1821 Paris, France
Died	1873 North Carolina, US
Nationality	French-American
Education	Leon D. Pomarède; Horace Vernet; Antoine Auguste Ernest Herbert; Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres; École des Beaux-Arts, Paris
Known for	Painter
Style	Bayou School

Life and career

Books

See also

References