William Wendt (American, 1865-1946) Patriarchs of the Grove Price realized: $345,000 William Wendt was born in 1865 in Germany, emigrated to Chicago at fifteen years of age, but is claimed by California as its pre-eminent landscape painter. Wendt had two permanent studios in California; one at Laguna Beach, and one in Los Angeles. As is true of many landscape artists, Wendt was self- taught, going directly to nature and uncovering its beauty little by little. He has sometimes been called a “painters’ painter meaning an artist whose keenness of perception goes hand in hand with his mastery of the brush. He paints serenely, securely, and with freedom; a true master of his craft. His work always shows a masculine robustness, and though he paints through all the seasons of the year, his particular love is for the greens of California’s winter. No other painter known to the southland is so faithful in the reproduction of the colors, the lights and the shadows of nature. He is the painter of the countryside, rarely painting the sea or the high mountains. As for the artistic merit of his canvases, the medals they have received and the galleries in which they hang are testimonials of the most eminent critics of his time. “Patriarches of the Grove” was awarded the Mrs. Henry E. Huntington prize at the exhibition of the California Art Club in 1922. Towering sycamores hold the foreground. The more distant trees are golden in hue, and the hills still farther away shine like amethysts. A canvas that is at once dignified and beautiful, one of the finest of this master’s creations for the things God hath wrought. (Excerpts from William Wendt and his Work, 1926) Have a William Wendt painting you or someone you know are considering selling? Contact us at 585-243-1000 or matt@cottoneaucitons for a free evaluation. cottoneauctions #cottoneauctions #williamwendt #paintings #antiques #antiqueauction #geneseony #syracuseny #rochesterny #buffalony
Posted on: Mon, 23 Jun 2014 15:49:23 +0000
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