Oscar Schafft

Bison in a landscape - 20th century pencil drawing by Oscar Schafft

Graphite drawing of seagulls perched on rocks. The work is done by Houston, Texas artist Stella Sullivan. It is signed and dated by her. The piece is f...

Study of a cow strapped into a cow holder with one of its hine leg lifted. The work is stamped by the artist. The work is not framed. Artist Biography: Emile Lejeune...

Carl Friedrich Deiker (1838 Wetzlar - 1892 Düsseldorf). Vigilant fox. Pencil drawing on brown paper, 18 × 29.5 cm (inside measurement), 31.5 x 43.5 cm (mount), signed and dated "Deiker [18]54" at lower right. - a little bit stained, with a light water stain at lower right About the artwork Carl Friedrich Deiker's consummate ability to depict animals is already evident in this early work. He brought a whole new psychological dimension to animal painting, so that one could literally speak of animal portraits. The naturalistic appearance of the fox alone makes it seem alive. Every strand of muscle, even every hair, is captured, which requires an intensive artistic study of animal anatomy and physiology. But the fox's real liveliness comes not from its natural appearance, but from its internal movement: Stretched out, it has been brought out of rest. It turns around and, with its ears pricked up, looks intently in the direction from which it has seen something. His mouth is slightly open and his pointed teeth are bared, as if he were growling. Tension gradually takes hold of his whole body. While the hind legs were still in a relaxed position, closely observed by Deiker, one front leg was already raised, ready to begin a rising movement. The fox seems so alarmed with all its senses that one gets the impression that, at any moment, its tail will move jerkily and the animal will jump up. While wild animals have traditionally been portrayed as beasts or anthropomorphised, often for caricatural purposes, Deiker explores their inherent nature by attempting to capture their psychic impulses. The wild animal is neither bestial nor human, but a creature in its own right, valued by Deiker for its own sake. In this way, he brought the dignity of the animal into representation and raised animal painting to a whole new artistic level. About the artist Carl Friedrich Deiker was the son of the drawing teacher Christian Friedrich Deiker and the younger brother of the animal painter Johannes Deiker. In addition to the family art lessons, Christian Friedrich shared a studio with his brother Johannes at Braunfels Castle, Deiker attended the drawing academy in Hanau, and from 1858 he was a student at the Karlsruhe Art Academy, where he studied under the landscape painter Johann Wilhelm Schirmer. Carl Friedrich Deiker was already in demand as an artist during his first year: Grand Duke Frederick I of Baden, Margrave Max of Baden and Grand Duke Michael of Russia bought hunting scenes by him. In 1859 he went on a study trip to the Reinhardswald. Just as the Barbizon School had rediscovered the landscape, Deiker opened up the forest for animal painting. From 1861-64 Deiker had his own studio in Karlsruhe, then moved to Düsseldorf, where his brother Johannes followed four years later. Deiker married a daughter of the landscape painter Karl Hilger and remained in Düsseldorf until his death. In 1868 he finally achieved international fame with his painting 'Pursued Noble Deer' and was regarded as a virtuoso new founder of animal painting. "Deiker brought for the first time a truly great artistic quality to animal painting [...]". - Hans Vollmer From 1870 he participated in the academic art exhibitions in Berlin, Dresden, Munich and Hanover. He was also very busy as an illustrator. He drew for the Gartenlaube, the Salon, the Universum, and produced many of the finely illustrated hunting and animal books of the period. He also worked as a printmaker, while his oil paintings circulated as reprints by Franz Dinger. From 1865 to 1892 Deiker was a member of the artists' association Malkasten. Carl Friedrich Deiker's life's work was honoured with a large posthumous memorial exhibition at the Düsseldorf Kunsthalle in 1892. His son Carl Deiker, born in 1879, also became a painter. Selection of art museums that own works by Carl Friedrich Deiker: Hamburger Kunsthalle / Kunsthalle Karlsruhe / Kunstmuseum Düsseldorf / Wallraff Richartz Cologne. Selected Bibliography H. Schmidt: Johannes and...

Naturalistic portrait of a horse in colored pencil on paper. The drawing is framed in a wooden frame with a cream trim. The work is signed and dated by the artist in the bottom right corner. Dimensions Without Frame: H 13.5 in. x W 10.5 in. Artist Biography: William Robert Stevenson was born in 20 May 1925 in Eugene, Oregon. His family moved to Minneapolis, MN but he promptly returned to Oregon and Washington during the Great Depression to work in the Works Progress Administration (WPA). Hoping to study Art, his future was sidetracked when he was drafted into the United States Army at age 17 years old in early 1942. Being a strong swimmer, and having worked at stables as a child, he initially served in the last US Cavalry Corps, and also as a Swimming Instructor for the United States Army. Upon the abolition of the Cavalry Corps, he was trained as a Gunnar and Tank Commander for the M-4 Sherman Tank under General Patton...

Artist Commentary: A stunning, colorful Texas sunset. Keywords: Landscape & Nature Artist Biography: Judith grew up 15 miles north of Milwaukee in the ...

Charles Frederick de Brocktorff (1775–1850) ‘Camelopard – a present from the Pacha of Egypt to the King – at Malta on its way to England’ Signed and dated C.F. de Brocktorff. / 1827. lower right, inscribed as titled in the painted margins lower centre. Pencil and watercolour heightened with gold paint and gum arabic on paper, 36.8 x 27.9 cm A gift so majestic, it made kings blush, and a gift so grand, it would startle Europe into a craze. Pasha Muhammad Ali of Egypt (1805-1848) did it in 1827: he sent to Europe three magical spotted, horned creatures, each with a neck reaching the skies and legs as long as a house is high. One giraffe to King Charles X of France, one to Francis I of Austria and the most fabled one to King George IV of England. A curious sight for Europeans, who had not seen such a beast since the Medici giraffe in 1487. Few animals created more of a stir in Europe than these royal...