Editing Francis Davis Millet

{{Short description|American painter and sculptor (1848–1912)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=July 2018}}
{{Infobox person
| name         = Francis Davis Millet
| image        = F.D.Millet Oval Portrait.jpg
| caption      = Photographed circa 1910
| birth_name   = 
| birth_date   = {{Birth date |1848|11|3}}
| birth_place  = [[Mattapoisett, Massachusetts]], U.S.
| death_date   = {{Death date and age |1912|4|15|1848|11|3}}
| death_place  = [[Atlantic Ocean]]
| other_names  = 
| occupation   = {{Hlist|Painter|sculptor}}
| years_active = 
| spouse       = Elizabeth Merrill (m. 1879)
| children     = 4
| signature    = F. D. Millet.png
}}

'''Francis Davis Millet''' (November 3, 1848<ref name="Diary">{{Citation | url = http://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/container/viewer/-Civil-War-Diary-in-four-parts-includes-partial-transcripts--266516 | type = diary entry | last = Millet | first = Francis Davis | date = November 3, 1864 | publisher = Smithsonian Institution | title = Civil war diary, includes partial transcripts | access-date = January 28, 2013 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160901083517/http://www.aaa.si.edu/collections/container/viewer/-Civil-War-Diary-in-four-parts-includes-partial-transcripts--266516 | archive-date = September 1, 2016 | url-status = live | df = mdy-all }}.</ref> – April 15, 1912) was an American academic classical painter, sculptor, and writer who died in the [[sinking of the RMS Titanic|sinking of the RMS ''Titanic'']] on April 15, 1912.

==Early life==
Francis Davis Millet was born in [[Mattapoisett, Massachusetts]].<ref>{{cite book|last= Moore |first= Charles|author-link= Charles Herbert Moore |editor= Malone, Dumas|title=Dictionary of American Biography |publisher= Charles Scribner's Sons |location=New York |volume=12 (McCrady-Millington) |year=1933 |chapter= Millet, Francis Davis |chapter-url=https://archive.org/stream/dictionaryofamer12amer#page/644/mode/2up|pages=644–646   |access-date=July 21, 2018|via= Internet Archive }}</ref>  Most sources give his date of birth as November 3, 1846, but a diary which he kept during his military service stated that November 3, 1864 was his 16th birthday, suggesting his year of birth was 1848.<ref name = "Diary" /> At age fifteen, Millet entered the 60th Massachusetts Infantry, first as a [[Drummer boy (military)|drummer]] and then a surgical assistant (helping his father, a surgeon) in the [[American Civil War]].

He repeatedly pointed to his experience working for his father as giving him an appreciation for the vivid blood red that he frequently used in his early paintings. Millet graduated from [[Harvard]] with a Master of Arts degree. He worked as a reporter and editor for the ''[[Boston Courier]]'' and then as a correspondent for the ''Advertiser'' at the Philadelphia [[Centennial Exposition]].

==Career==
[[File:Millet-The Fourth Minnesota Entering Vicksburg After-Restoration.jpg|thumb|''The Fourth Minnesota Entering Vicksburg'', c. 1904, Governor’s Reception Room at the [[Minnesota State Capitol]]|left]]

In 1876, Millet returned to Boston to paint murals at [[Trinity Church (Boston)|Trinity Church in Boston]] with [[John LaFarge]]. He entered the [[Royal Academy of Fine Arts (Antwerp)|Royal Academy of Fine Arts]] at [[Antwerp]], Belgium. He was the first student to win a silver medal in his first year; the following year he won a gold medal. In the [[Russo-Turkish War (1877–1878)|Russo‐Turkish war of 1877–78]], he was engaged as a war correspondent by the ''New York Herald'', the London ''Daily News'', and the London ''Graphic''.<ref>{{cite book |last=Forbes |first=Archibald |author-link= Archibald Forbes |title= Memories and Studies of War and Peace |publisher= Cassell and Company Limited |place= London, Paris & Melbourne |url=https://archive.org/stream/memoriesstudieso01forb#page/17/mode/1up |year=1895 |edition=2nd |pages= 17, 22, 234–235, 269|access-date= 27 July 2018 |via= Internet Archive}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|editor= Thomas, Frederick Moy |title=Fifty Years of Fleet Street being the Life and Letters of John Richard Robinson |url=https://archive.org/stream/fiftyyearsofflee00thomiala#page/187/mode/2up|year=1904|publisher=Macmillan |place=London |edition=1 |pages= 187 |access-date= 16 August 2018| via=Internet Archive}}</ref> He was decorated by Russia and Romania for his bravery under fire and his services to the wounded.

Millet became a member of the Society of American Artists in 1880, and in 1885 was elected as a member of the National Academy of Design, New York and as Vice-Chairman of the Fine Arts Committee. He was made a trustee of the [[Metropolitan Museum of Art]], and sat on the advisory committee of the [[National Gallery of Art]]. He was decorations director for the [[World's Columbian Exposition]] in Chicago in 1893, with claims he invented the first form of compressed air [[spraypaint]]ing to apply [[whitewash]] to the buildings, but the story may be apocryphal as contemporary journals note spraypainting had already been in use since the early 1880s.<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/The-312/November-2011/The-Contentious-Historical-Origins-Spray-Paint/ |title=Whet Moser, The Contentious Historical Origins of Spray Paint, chicagomag.com, Nov. 7, 2011 |access-date=August 20, 2016 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180719143105/http://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/The-312/November-2011/The-Contentious-Historical-Origins-Spray-Paint/ |archive-date=July 19, 2018 |url-status=live |df=mdy-all }}</ref> His career included work on a number of worlds' fairs, including Vienna, Chicago, Paris, and Tokyo, where he made contributions as a juror, administrator, mural painter/decorator, and adviser.<ref name="gaines">Gaines, Catherine S. ''A Finding Aid to the Francis Davis Millet and Millet Family Papers, 1858–1984 (bulk 1858–1955) in the Archives of American Art.''  [http://www.aaa.si.edu/collectionsonline/millfran/ The Francis Davis Millet And Millet Family Papers Online] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20101206031358/http://www.aaa.si.edu/collectionsonline/millfran// |date=December 6, 2010 }}, Smithsonian Archives of American Art.</ref>

Millet was among the founders of the [[School of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston]], and was influential in the early days of the American Federation of Arts.<ref>{{Citation | url = http://www.afaweb.org/ | title = American federation of arts | access-date = March 11, 2008 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20160417204827/http://afaweb.org/ | archive-date = April 17, 2016 | url-status = live | df = mdy-all }}.</ref> He was instrumental in obtaining the appointment of [[Emil Otto Grundmann]], an old acquaintance from his Antwerp days, as first head of the school.<ref>{{Citation | url = http://jssgallery.org/Other_Artists/Millet_Francis_D/Francis_D_Millet.htm | title = Other artists | contribution = Millet, Francis D | publisher = John Singer Sargent Virtual Gallery | access-date = October 4, 2008 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20120622171339/http://www.jssgallery.org/Other_Artists/Millet_Francis_D/Francis_D_Millet.htm | archive-date = June 22, 2012 | url-status = live | df = mdy-all }}.</ref> Millet was involved with the American Academy in Rome<ref>{{Citation | url = http://www.aarome.org/ | title = American academy in Rome | access-date = March 11, 2008 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20050527212033/http://www.aarome.org/ | archive-date = May 27, 2005 | url-status = live | df = mdy-all }}.</ref> from its inception and served as secretary from 1904 to 1911. He was a founding member and vice chairman of the [[U.S. Commission of Fine Arts]], serving from 1910 until his death in 1912.<ref>Thomas E. Luebke, ed., ''Civic Art:  A Centennial History of the U.S. Commission of Fine Arts'' (Washington, D.C.:  U.S. Commission of Fine Arts, 2013):  Appendix B, p. 549.</ref> He died aboard the ''[[Titanic]]'' while traveling to New York City on Academy business.<ref name="gaines" />

[[File:Francis Davis Millet, ca1900.jpg|thumb|Millet at work in his studio, circa 1900|216x216px]]

As well as an artist, Millet was a writer and journalist. He translated [[Leo Tolstoy|Tolstoy]] and also wrote essays and short stories. Among his publications are ''Capillary Crime and Other Stories'' (1892),<ref>{{cite book |last= Millet |first=  F. D. |title= A Capillary Crime and Other Stories |place=New York |publisher= Harper & Brothers |url=https://archive.org/stream/acapillarycrime00millgoog#page/n8 |year= 1892 |access-date= July 26, 2018|via= Internet Archive}}</ref> ''The Danube From the Black Forest to the Black Sea'' (1892)<ref>{{cite book |last= Millet |first=  F. D. |title=The Danube: From the Black Forest to the Black Sea |place=New York |publisher= Harper & Brothers |url=https://archive.org/stream/danubefromblackf00milluoft#page/n5 |year= 1892 |access-date= July 26, 2018|via= Internet Archive}}</ref> and ''Expedition to the Philippines'' (1899).<ref>{{cite book |last= Millet |first=  F. D. |title=Expedition to the Philippines |place=New York |publisher= Harper & Brothers |url= https://archive.org/stream/expeditiontophil00mill#page/n7 |year= 1899 |access-date= July 26, 2018|via= Internet Archive}}</ref> He was elected a member of the [[American Academy of Arts and Letters]] and was an honorary member of the [[American Institute of Architects]].

A noted sculptor and designer, Millet designed the 1907 [[Civil War Medal]] at the request of the [[U.S. Army]] and [[United States War Department]] and the 1908 [[Spanish Campaign Medal]].<ref>{{cite web | url= http://www.foxfall.com/csm-army-scm.htm | title= SPANISH CAMPAIGN MEDAL (Army) | access-date= October 9, 2018 | work= COMMEMORATIVE MEDALS FOR SALE | publisher= Foxfall Medals | archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170303065833/http://foxfall.com/csm-army-scm.htm | archive-date= March 3, 2017 | url-status= live | df= mdy-all }}</ref>  He executed the ceiling of the Call Room of the [[U.S. Custom House (Baltimore, Maryland)|US Custom House]] at [[Baltimore]], Maryland.<ref>{{cite web | url = {{MHT url|id=212}} | title= Maryland Historical Trust| date= November 21, 2008 | work = US Custom House, Baltimore City|publisher=Maryland Historical Trust}}</ref>

==Personal life==
[[File:Mrs Frank Millet.jpg|thumb|left|Mrs Frank Millet ("Lily", née Elizabeth Merrill), [[John Singer Sargent]], 1885–1886|237x237px]]
[[File:Portrait of Laurence Millet by John Singer Sargent.jpg|thumb|Portrait of Laurence Millet, [[John Singer Sargent]], 1887|303x303px]]

Millet was close friends with [[Augustus Saint-Gaudens]] and [[Mark Twain]], both of whom attended his 1879 wedding to Elizabeth ("Lily") Greely Merrill in Paris, France; Twain was Millet's best man. The couple had four children: Kate, Edwin, Laurence, and John.<ref>
* {{Cite thesis|title=Francis Davis Millet: the early years of "A Cosmopolitan Yankee", 1846-1884|date=2004|language=en|first=Gina M|last=D'Angelo|oclc=84608598}}
* {{Cite book|chapter-url=https://books.google.com/books?id=mcVNAAAAYAAJ&q=Edwin|title=Soldier of Fortune: F.D. Millet 1846-1912 |last=Sharpey-Schafer|first=Joyce A.|publisher=J.A. Sharpey-Schafer|year=1984|location=Utica, New York|pages=5|chapter=6|via=Google Books|quote=Lily was soon pregnant again, and in July 1881 a son, Edwin Abbey Millet, was born and then tragedy struck this hap-[...]}}</ref>

Millet was acquainted with the famed American portraitist [[John Singer Sargent]], who often used Millet's daughter Kate as a model. He was also close to the esteemed [[Huxley family]].

Millet lived with [[Archibald Butt]], who called him "my artist friend who lives with me," in a large mansion at [[Oscar W. Underwood House|2000 G Street NW]].<ref>"Maj. Butt's Home Sold". ''The Washington Post'' November 22, 1912.</ref> They were known for throwing large but spartan parties that were attended by members of Congress, justices of the Supreme Court, and President Taft himself.<ref name="Daily2">Davenport-Hines, Richard. [http://www.thedaily.com/page/2012/03/20/032012-opinions-history-butt-davenport-hines-1-3/ "The History Page: Unsinkable Love"]. ''[[The Daily (News Corporation)|The Daily]]''. March 20, 2012. Accessed 2012-05-18.</ref> There is some speculation that Butt and Millet were lovers. Historian [[Richard Davenport-Hines]] wrote in 2012:<ref name="Daily2"/>

{{Blockquote|"The enduring partnership of Butt and Millet was an early case of 'Don't ask, don't tell.' Washington insiders tried not to focus too closely on the men's relationship, but they recognized their mutual affection. And they were together in death as in life."}}

== Death ==
On April 10, 1912, Millet boarded the RMS ''Titanic'' at [[Cherbourg]], France, bound for New York City. He was traveling with long-time friend [[Archibald Butt]].<ref>{{Cite news |date=2022-08-07 |title=Archibald Butt and Francis Millet died on Titanic. Were they a couple? - The Washington Post |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]] |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2022/08/07/francis-millet-archibald-butt-titanic/ |access-date=2022-08-07 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220807211719/https://www.washingtonpost.com/history/2022/08/07/francis-millet-archibald-butt-titanic/ |archive-date=August 7, 2022 }}</ref> Millet was last seen helping women and children into lifeboats. His body was recovered after the sinking by the cable boat ''[[CS Mackay-Bennett|Mackay-Bennett]]'' and returned to [[East Bridgewater, Massachusetts]], where he was buried in Central Cemetery.<ref>Wilson, Scott. ''Resting Places: The Burial Sites of More Than 14,000 Famous Persons'', 3d ed.: 2 (Kindle Location 32543). McFarland & Company, Inc., Publishers. Kindle Edition.</ref>

==Memorials==
[[File:John Alfred Parsons Millet.jpg|thumb|John Alfred Parsons Millet, [[John Singer Sargent]], 1892, Frank Millet's youngest son named after two of his close friends: John Singer Sargent and Alfred Parsons.|270x270px]]

In 1913, the [[Butt-Millet Memorial Fountain]] was erected in Washington, D.C., in memory of Millet and his long-time friend [[Archibald Butt|Archibald W. Butt]], with whom he shared a home.

A bronze bust in Harvard University's [[Widener Library]] also memorializes Millet.

In 2015, his murals were exhibited in [[Cleveland Ohio]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=http://triblive.com/news/allegheny/8647956-74/keycorp-cleveland-artifacts |title=The McKeesport Daily News 6-29-2015 |access-date=June 30, 2015 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20160415003152/http://triblive.com/news/allegheny/8647956-74/keycorp-cleveland-artifacts |archive-date=April 15, 2016 |url-status=live |df=mdy-all }}</ref>

==Gallery==
<gallery mode="packed" heights="180px">
File:At the Inn Millet-FD Millet.jpg|''At the Inn'', 1884, Union League Club, New York. Oil on canvas 25" × 30".
File:A Cosey Corner MET DT218488.jpg|''A Cosey Corner'', 1884, Metropolitan Museum of Art.
File:Francis Davis Millet - An Autumn Idyll, 1892.jpg|''An Autumn Idyll'', 1892, The Brooklyn Museum.
File:Francis_Davis_Millet_-_Music_in_New_Orleans.jpg|The Guitarist/Music in New Orleans. Oil on canvas 16" × {{Frac|11|5|8}}". Private collection, Stawell, Australia
File:Samuel L Clemens (Mark Twain), by Frank Millet, 1877.jpg|''Portrait of Samuel L Clemens'' ([[Mark Twain]]), 1877.  Free Public Library, Hannibal, Missouri.
File:Bookplate of Francis Davis Millet.jpg|Bookplate of Francis Davis Millet.
File:Millet Fracis David Between Two Fires.jpg|Between Two Fires, 1892. Oil on canvas 36" × 29" Tate Gallery, London.
</gallery>

==See also==
{{Portal|Biography}}
* ''[[The Devil in the White City]]''
* [[Passengers of the RMS Titanic]]
* [[RMS Titanic|RMS ''Titanic'']]
* [[World's Columbian Exposition]]

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==Further reading==
* {{Citation | last1 = Beckwith | last2 = Baxter | last3 = Maynard | author4-link = Edwin Blashfield| last4 = Blashfield | first4 = Edwin | last5 = Coffin | title = Art and Progress | volume = iii | place = Washington | year = 1912}}
* {{Cite book | editor-last = Brown | editor-first = Glenn | year = 1912 |title=The American Federation of Arts: Francis Davis Millet Memorial Meeting  | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=hUIbAAAAYAAJ | publisher=Gibson Bros. |location=Washington | page =62 |access-date= 13 July 2009}}
* {{Cite journal |last=Mechlin |first=Leila |date=December 1909 |title=A Decorator of Public Buildings: The Work of Francis D. Millet |journal=[[World's Work|The World's Work: A History of Our Time]] |volume=XIX | pages=12378–86  |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=bHIAAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA12378 | access-date =10 July 2009}}
* {{Cite book | last = Sharpey-Schafer | first = Joyce Anne | title = Soldier of Fortune: FD Millet | publisher = Printed privately}}

==External links==
{{Commons category|Francis Davis Millet}}
{{Wikisource1911Enc |Millet, Francis Davis|Francis Davis Millet}}
* {{Citation | url = http://www.atitaniclife.com/ | title = Francis Davis Millet – A Titanic Life | first = Peter A | last = Engstrom | type = biography | url-status = dead | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20130521035712/http://atitaniclife.com/ | archive-date = May 21, 2013 }}.
* {{Citation | contribution-url = http://www.artcyclopedia.com/artists/millet_francis_davis.html | contribution = Francis Davis Millet | title = Artcyclopedia| title-link = Artcyclopedia }}.
* {{Gutenberg author |id=5851| name=Francis Davis Millet}}
* {{Internet Archive author |sname=Francis Davis Millet}}
* {{Citation | contribution-url = http://www.encyclopedia-titanica.org/biography/207/ | contribution = Francis Davis Millet | title = Encyclopedia Titanica| title-link = Encyclopedia Titanica }}.
* {{Citation | url = http://www.aaa.si.edu/collectionsonline/millfran/ | contribution = Francis Davis Millet and Millet Family Papers Online | publisher = Smithsonian | title = Archives of American Art | access-date = March 11, 2008 | archive-date = December 6, 2010 | archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20101206031358/http://www.aaa.si.edu/collectionsonline/millfran/ | url-status = dead }}.
* {{Art UK bio}}

{{RMS Titanic}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Millet, Francis Davis}}
[[Category:1848 births]]
[[Category:1912 deaths]]
[[Category:19th-century American painters]]
[[Category:20th-century American painters]]
[[Category:Union army surgeons]]
[[Category:American male painters]]
[[Category:American muralists]]
[[Category:Artists from Massachusetts]]
[[Category:People from Mattapoisett, Massachusetts]]
[[Category:American war correspondents]]
[[Category:Harvard University alumni]]
[[Category:People of Massachusetts in the American Civil War]]
[[Category:Royal Academy of Fine Arts (Antwerp) alumni]]
[[Category:Deaths on the RMS Titanic]]
[[Category:Artists of the Boston Public Library]]
[[Category:19th-century American male artists]]
[[Category:20th-century American male artists]]