Leon Van Loo
Leon Van Loo (1841–1907) was an American photographer and art promoter.
Born 12 August 1841, in Ghent, Belgium, he moved to Cincinnati, Ohio in 1858, when he opened a photography gallery. After doing well in the cotton trade after the Civil War, he retired early in 1866. He subsequently spent time travelling to Europe and collecting art, which he displayed in Cincinnati.
He took the first portrait photograph of Ulysses S. Grant after Grant was given command of the Union army during the American Civil War.[1]
In 1875, he introduced a new kind of photography he called "ideal." Photographs using this technique are printed on zinc oxide applied to blackened sheet-iron and present a pearly, transparent surface.
In 1890, he was a founding member of the Cincinnati Art Club and served as president from 1894 to 1896 and 1903–1904.
He made much of his wealth from cotton speculation.[2]
Van Loo died on 10 January 1907.
References
- ↑ "Check out 'Oldest Cincinnati,' other history books". Cincinnati Enquirer. No. A6. Cincinnati, Ohio: Gannett Media Corp. 19 January 2022. ISSN 2575-5706. ProQuest 2620931010. Retrieved 13 August 2026.
- ↑ "American Art News, Vol. 5, no. 16". American Art News. 5 (16): 2. 1907. ISSN 1944-0227. JSTOR 25590245. Retrieved 13 August 2026.
External links
Media related to Leon Van Loo at Wikimedia Commons- Leon Van Loo profile at Luminous Lint
- Cincinnati Art Club Archived 28 June 2020 at the Wayback Machine
- 1841 births
- 1907 deaths
- Belgian emigrants to the United States
- American photographers
- 19th-century Belgian photographers
- 19th-century American photographers
- 19th-century American male photographers
- Photographic techniques
- Artists from Cincinnati
- People from Ghent
- Burials at Spring Grove Cemetery
- Belgian artist stubs
- European photographer stubs