H. Lyman Sayen Paintings

Spending his life as a scientist and artist, H. Lyman Saÿen’s (1875-1918) works are a vivacious blend of both schools of thought. He is best known for patenting a design for X-ray tubes that proved to be a major breakthrough in medical care in those days. He was born to Edward M. Saÿen and Annie T. Saÿen in Philadelphia on 25th April, 1875. Long before H. Lyman Sayen paintings became popular, his early days were spent nurturing his passion in the field of science and technology. In 1891, he graduated from the Central Manual Training School and started working for James W. Queen & Company. His growth in the field of science was quick and remarkable. At the age of 18, the Columbian Exposition in Chicago cited him for the design of an induction coil. By the age of 20, he had started working on producing X-ray equipment. Two years later, in 1897, patented a design for X-ray tubes. During the Spanish-American war, he was worked on creating the first military X-ray laboratory.

During his military stint, he fell prey to typhoid fever, which is when his interest in arts piqued. He was discharged from the army in 1898 and the next year, he joined the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts. He was 24 when he started his artistic career at the academy under the tutelage of Thomas Anshutz. H. Lyman Sayen artworks established their humble roots under the guidance of Anshutz, who was a realist painter. Sayen quickly gained momentum and produced an array of H. Lyman Sayen paintings that were commercial yet academic in nature. 1903 was an important year for him. Sayen was commissioned to make four lunettes for a room in the capitol building. Today these H. Lyman Sayen famous paintings can be seen in room H-143, used by the House Committee of Appropriations. The H. Lyman Sayen paintings in this room were: Rule of Tyranny, Rule of Justice, Primitive Agriculture, and Good Government. This was also the year when he got married to Jeannette Hope, a fellow student at the academy, where the saga of H. Lyman Sayen artworks began.

In 1906, the couple moved to Paris where Jeanette had been hired to write for The North American, a newspaper by Thomas Wanamaker, on French fashion. He went on to contribute H. Lyman Sayen artworks by designing catalogues and posters for Wanamakers stores. Adelyn Brees kin, a curator of contemporary art said, “Sayen went to Paris as an academician and he returned a confirmed modernist.” This is perhaps where the artistic seed for H. Lyman Sayen most famous artworks were sown. However, he never let go of his scientific roots and before leaving Paris in 1914, when he released a patented billiards ball made of steel. In those days Le Dome Cafe was a popular hotspot for Anglo-American intellectuals. Here, Sayen met Leo Stein who acquainted him with works of Henri Matisse. Gradually, Sayen and his wife began frequenting Gertrude Stein’s night salon and even designed a lighting system for his collection. As he flourished in the avant garde movement of Paris, his vision for H. Lyman Sayen artworks and H. Lyman Sayen paintings grew clearer.

At the beginning of World War I, the couple shifted back to the United States in August 1914 with their only child, Ann. Most of H. Lyman Sayen famous paintings were created in the last decade of his life. Back in Philadelphia, he ended his contract with Wanamakers to focus on his artistic pursuits, while his wife worked as a fashion journalist with The North American publication. One of the earliest H. Lyman Sayen paintings, Notre Dame (1907) consists of a geometric colour pattern and portrays an impressive understanding of Fauvism. Another one of H. Lyman Sayen most famous artworks is Trees (1912-1914). This is one of the most remarkable of H. Lyman Sayen artworks from his Paris days. The H. Lyman style of landscapes took shape during his stay in the Pennsylvanian countryside during World War I. Most H. Lyman Sayen paintings created during this time were Fauvist landscapes. The use of colour has a certain lyricism to it which sets him apart from his contemporaries. In the last two years of his life, H. Lyman Sayen paintings shifted from Fauvism to Cubism. One of H. Lyman Sayen most famous painting, Thundershower (1916-1918) is an example of this shift., along with Daughter in a Rocker (1917-1918). He passed away at the young age of 43 but left behind a rich legacy of H. Lyman Sayen art in the form of several H. Lyman Sayen paintings.

Rooftops and Clouds, Paris is a unique piece of H. Lyman Sayen art that shows dense clouds spreading their wings across the city. Other H. Lyman Sayen artworks like Garden, Wings and Landscape, Bridge, Huntingdon Valley are fine examples of his landscape paintings. However, when you look at his Abstract Painting, it’s a very different style of landscape. With continuous exposure to natural light for a long time, these paintings may lose their natural lustre. However, at Bimba, we bring you high quality framed Giclee prints which retain their shine, thanks to exceptional ink quality and museum-grade paper. Further, each print comes framed in an acrylic plexiglass which produces minimal glare, so even the sun doesn’t shine brighter than your artwork!