Anni von Westrum Baldaugh (August 10, 1881 – August 8, 1953) was an American painter of Dutch birth. The daughter of Anthonius Hendricus Schade van Westrum, Baldaugh was the youngest of eight in a well-to-do family. She spent much of her youth in the

Dutch East Indies The Dutch East Indies, also known as the Netherlands East Indies ( nl, Nederlands(ch)-Indië; ), was a Dutch colony consisting of what is now Indonesia. It was formed from the nationalised trading posts of the Dutch East India Company, which ...

where her father, a naval officer, was stationed for work; returning to Europe, she studied art under Petrus Johannes Arendzen in

Haarlem Haarlem (; predecessor of ''Harlem'' in English) is a city and municipality in the Netherlands. It is the capital of the province of North Holland. Haarlem is situated at the northern edge of the Randstad, one of the most populated metropoli ...

, Theodor Zaschke in Vienna, and Lothar von Kunowsky in Munich. She also studied in Paris before moving to the United States in the 1910s. At some point she married Frank Baldaugh, a German army officer, and the couple moved to Los Angeles in the early 1920s. Both had suffered financial losses during World War I, and they were to remain in reduced circumstances for the rest of their lives. In Los Angeles, Baldaugh joined the California Watercolor Club, the

California Society of Miniature Painters California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...

, the Bookplate Association International, the Laguna Beach Art Association, and the San Diego Fine Arts Society. At some point during her career she also was a member of the

Connecticut Academy of Fine Arts Connecticut () is the southernmost state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is bordered by Rhode Island to the east, Massachusetts to the north, New York to the west, and Long Island Sound to the south. Its capita ...

. She collected a number of awards before moving with her husband to San Diego late in the 1920s. During the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

she taught art to supplement her income, taking studio space first in the New Mexico Building and then the Spanish Village area of Balboa Park while living in the Casa de Bandini in

Old Town In a city or town, the old town is its historic or original core. Although the city is usually larger in its present form, many cities have redesignated this part of the city to commemorate its origins after thorough renovations. There are ma ...

; Frank took a job as an instructor at a Civilian Conservation Corps camp in the Laguna Mountains. Baldaugh was forced to vacate her studio during World War II when the United States Navy took over the property. During the war she taught art to wounded soldiers. Baldaugh died in El Cajon. Her output, which consisted largely of portraits, tended towards the Impressionistic, although at times she seemed to embrace

Fauvism Fauvism /ˈfoʊvɪzm̩/ is the style of ''les Fauves'' (French language, French for "the wild beasts"), a group of early 20th-century modern artists whose works emphasized painterly qualities and strong colour over the Representation (arts), repr ...

as well. Several of her works may be found in the collection of the San Diego Museum of Art.

References

1881 births 1953 deaths American women painters 20th-century American painters 20th-century American women artists Dutch emigrants to the United States Artists from San Diego Painters from California American portrait painters American Impressionist painters Dutch people of the Dutch East Indies {{US-painter-1880s-stub