Charles Alvah Walker

Brookside

1889

Born in Bohemia in what is now the Czech Republic, Rudolph Ruzicka emigrated to the United States when he was ten years old. His family settled in Chicago, where Ruzicka worked as a ...

Unframed

William Mason Brown was born in Troy, New York, where he studied for several years with local artists, including the leading portraitist there, Abel Buel Moore. In 1850, he moved to ...

Oil and India ink on canvas, 34 1/4 x 54 1/4 in. Signed (at lower right): Joseph Lee Painted about 1876 EX COLL.: Captain Oscar Conrad Kustel (1834–1921), ...

The career of William Stanley Haseltine spans the entire second half of the nineteenth century. During these years he witnessed the growth and decline of American landscape painting, the new concept of plein-air painting practiced by the Barbizon artists, and the revolutionary techniques of the French Impressionists, all of which had profound effects on the development of painting in the western world. Haseltine remained open to these new developments, selecting aspects of each and assimilating them into his work. What remained constant was his love of nature and his skill at rendering exactly what he saw. His views, at once precise and poetic, are, in effect, portraits of the many places he visited and the landscapes he loved. Haseltine was born in Philadelphia, the son of a prosperous businessman. In 1850, at the age of fifteen, he began his art studies with Paul Weber, a German artist who had settled in Philadelphia two years earlier. From Weber, Haseltine learned about Romanticism and the meticulous draftsmanship that characterized the German School. At the same time, Haseltine enrolled at the University of Pennsylvania, and took sketching trips around the Pennsylvania countryside, exploring areas along the Delaware and Susquehanna rivers. Following his sophomore year, Haseltine transferred to Harvard University. After graduating from Harvard in 1854, Haseltine returned to Philadelphia and resumed his studies with Weber. Although Weber encouraged Haseltine to continue his training in Europe, the elder Haseltine was reluctant to encourage his son to pursue a career as an artist. During the next year, Haseltine took various sketching trips along the Hudson River and produced a number of pictures, some of which were exhibited at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in the spring of 1855. Ultimately, having convinced his father that he should be allowed to study in Europe, Haseltine accompanied Weber to Düsseldorf. The Düsseldorf Academy was, during the 1850s, at the peak of its popularity among American artists. The Academy’s strict course of study emphasized the importance of accurate draftsmanship and a strong sense of professionalism. Landscape painting was the dominant department at the Düsseldorf Academy during this period, and the most famous landscape painter there was Andreas Achenbach, under whom Haseltine studied. Achenbach’s realistic style stressed close observation of form and detail, and reinforced much of what Haseltine had already learned. His Düsseldorf training remained an important influence on him for the rest of his life. At Düsseldorf, Haseltine became friendly with other American artists studying there, especially Emanuel Leutze, Worthington Whittredge, and Albert Bierstadt. They were constant companions, and in the spring and summer months took sketching trips together. In the summer of 1856 the group took a tour of the Rhine, Ahr, and Nahe valleys, continuing through the Swiss alps and over the Saint Gotthard Pass into northern Italy. The following summer Haseltine, Whittredge, and the painter John Irving returned to Switzerland and Italy, and this time continued on to Rome. Rome was a fertile ground for artists at mid-century. When Haseltine arrived in the fall of 1857, the American sculptors Harriet Hosmer, Chauncey B. Ives, Joseph Mozier, William Henry Rinehart...

Signed (at lower right): DJ [monogram]; (on back): David Johnson 1865

Dramatic imagery from FILM NOIR series of black and white monotypes, blending surrealistic mindscapes with stark realism About Tom Bennett: With quick brushstrokes, Tom Bennett crea...

Dramatic imagery from FILM NOIR series of black and white monotypes, blending surrealistic mindscapes with stark realism About Tom Bennett: With quick brushstrokes, Tom Bennett crea...

This series of cyanotype triptychs showcases the beauty of nature scenes, including stunning beaches and oceans, as well as the intricate textures of w...

Anton Schutz, 'Philadelphia – Broad Street', etching, edition not stated, circa 1927. Signed in pencil. Annotated 'Philadelphia Broad St. Showing City Hall', in another hand, in the ...

Anton Schutz, 'U.S. Chamber of Commerce', etching, edition not stated, 1928. Signed in pencil. Annotated 'U.S. Chamber of Commerce S/516', in another hand, in the bottom right margin...

Anton Schutz, 'Cleveland Public Square', etching, edition not stated, 1927. Signed in pencil. Signed and dated in the plate, lower left. Annotated 'Cleveland Public Square S489', in another hand, in the bottom right margin. A fine, richly-inked impression, in brown/black ink, with skillfully-controlled plate tone, on cream wove Japan paper; the full sheet with margins (1 5/8 to 3 inches), in excellent condition. Archivally sleeved, unmatted. Image size 11 7/8 x 8 7/8 inches; sheet size 17 1/4 x 12 1/8 inches. ABOUT THIS IMAGE 'Public Square' is the two-block (formerly four-block) central plaza of downtown Cleveland, Ohio. Based on an 18th-century New England model, it was part of the original 1796 town plan overseen by Moses Cleveland and remains today as an integral part of the city's center. The 10-acre (4.0 ha) square is centered on the former intersection of Superior Avenue and Ontario Street.[2] Cleveland's three tallest buildings, Key Tower, 200 Public Square, and the Terminal Tower, face the square. Public Square was part of the Connecticut Land Company's original plan for the city, overseen by Moses Cleveland in the 1790s. The square is signature of the layout for early New England towns, which Cleveland was modeled after. While it initially served as a common pasture for settlers' animals, less than a century later in 1879 Public Square became the first street in the world to be lit with electric street lights—arc lamps designed by Cleveland native Charles F. Brush. The square was added to the National Register of Historic Places on December 18, 1975. Public Square is often the site of political rallies and civic functions, including a free annual Independence Day concert by the Cleveland Orchestra...