John La Farge (1835-1910), American painter, muralist, stained-glass designer, and writer, was one of the most multifaceted American artists of his time.

John La Farge was born in New York City on March 31, 1835. He graduated from Mount St. Mary's College in Emmitsburg, Md., in 1853, and studied law in 1854-1855. He went to Europe in 1856 to study and travel, remaining until the end of 1857. In Paris he met many prominent literary and artistic figures and studied painting briefly with Thomas Couture. In England, La Farge saw the work of the Pre-Raphaelite painters and in Germany the rich collections of Old Masters. On his return to America he decided to take up painting and settled in Newport, R.I., where he studied with William Morris Hunt. In 1860 La Farge married.

Though by today's standards some of La Farge's paintings seem marred by an obvious eclecticism, at his best, especially in...