(Robert) Julian Onderdonk (July 30, 1882 – October 27, 1922) was a

Texan Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by bo ...

Impressionist painter, often called "the father of Texas painting."

Early years

Julian Onderdonk was born in

San Antonio ("Cradle of Freedom") , image_map = , mapsize = 220px , map_caption = Interactive map of San Antonio , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name = United States , subdivision_type1= U.S. state, State , subdivision_name1 = Texas , s ...

, Texas, to

Robert Jenkins Onderdonk Robert Jenkins Onderdonk (January 16, 1852 – July 2, 1917) was an American painter and art teacher, born in Catonsville, Maryland. An important artist in the first stage of Texas art, he was a long-time art teacher in San Antonio and Dallas, wh ...

, a painter, and Emily Gould Onderdonk. He was the brother of Eleanor Onderdonk, also a prominent Texas painter, sculptor, and art administrator. His grandfather Henry Onderdonk was the Headmaster of Saint James School in Maryland, from which Julian's father Robert graduated. He was raised in South Texas and was an enthusiastic sketcher and painter. As a teenager Onderdonk was influenced and received some training from the prominent Texas artist Verner Moore White who also lived in San Antonio at the time. He attended the

West Texas Military Academy TMI Episcopal is a private school in San Antonio. Previously known as Texas Military Institute, TMI is a selective coeducational Episcopal college preparatory school with a military tradition in San Antonio, Texas for boarding and day students. ...

, now the TMI Episcopal, graduating in 1900.

Career

At 19, with the help of a generous neighbor, Julian left Texas in order to study with the renowned

American Impressionist American Impressionism was a style of painting related to European Impressionism and practiced by American artists in the United States from the mid-nineteenth century through the beginning of the twentieth. The style is characterized by loose b ...

William Merritt Chase William Merritt Chase (November 1, 1849October 25, 1916) was an American painter, known as an exponent of Impressionism and as a teacher. He is also responsible for establishing the Chase School, which later would become Parsons School of Design. ...

. Julian's father, Robert, had also once studied with Chase. Julian spent the summer of 1901 on

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...

at Chase's

Shinnecock Hills Summer School of Art The Shinnecock Hills Summer School of Art was summer school of art in Shinnecock Hills, Long Island that existed from 1891 to 1902. The director was William Merritt Chase. The school was one of the first and most popular ''plein air'' painting sch ...

. He studied with Chase for a couple of years and then moved to

New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...

to attempt to make a living as an ''

en plein air ''En plein air'' (; French for 'outdoors'), or ''plein air'' painting, is the act of painting outdoors. This method contrasts with studio painting or academic rules that might create a predetermined look. The theory of 'En plein air' painting ...

'' artist. While in New York he met and married Gertrude Shipman and they soon had a daughter, Adrienne. Onderdonk returned to San Antonio in 1909, where he produced his best work. His most popular subjects were bluebonnet landscapes. President

George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...

decorated the

Oval Office The Oval Office is the formal working space of the President of the United States. Part of the Executive Office of the President of the United States, it is located in the West Wing of the White House, in Washington, D.C. The oval-shaped room ...

with three of Onderdonk's paintings. The

Dallas Museum of Art The Dallas Museum of Art (DMA) is an art museum located in the Arts District of downtown Dallas, Texas, along Woodall Rodgers Freeway between St. Paul and Harwood. In the 1970s, the museum moved from its previous location in Fair Park to the Art ...

has several rooms dedicated exclusively to Onderdonk's work. His art studio currently resides on the grounds of the

Witte Museum The Witte Museum was established in 1926 and is located in Brackenridge Park in San Antonio, Texas. It is dedicated to telling the stories of Texas, from prehistory to the present. The permanent collection features historic artifacts and photograp ...

. Harry A. Halff and Elizabeth Halff spent twenty years gathering his works into a book they published called ''Julian Onderdonk: A Catalogue Raisonne''. The

San Antonio Museum of Art The San Antonio Museum of Art (SAMA) is an art museum in Downtown San Antonio, Texas, USA. The museum spans 5,000 years of global culture. The museum is housed in the historic former Lone Star Brewery (1886) on the Museum Reach of the San Antonio ...

created an exhibit to coincide with the publication of the book which included 25 of Onderdonk's paintings from January 20-April 23, 2017.

Death

Onderdonk died of an acute

intestinal obstruction Bowel obstruction, also known as intestinal obstruction, is a mechanical or functional obstruction of the intestines which prevents the normal movement of the products of digestion. Either the small bowel or large bowel may be affected. Signs an ...

and

appendicitis Appendicitis is inflammation of the appendix. Symptoms commonly include right lower abdominal pain, nausea, vomiting, and decreased appetite. However, approximately 40% of people do not have these typical symptoms. Severe complications of a rup ...

on October 27, 1922, in San Antonio. He was buried in Alamo Masonic Cemetery.

Paintings

File:Julian Onderdonk - Blue Bonnet Field, Early Morning, San Antonio Texas (1914).jpg, Blue Bonnet Field, Early Morning, San Antonio Texas, 1914 File:Julian Onderdonk - Road to the Hills, 1918.jpg, ''Road to the Hills'',1918,

File:Julian Onderdonk - Early Spring—Bluebonnets and Mesquite - Google Art Project.jpg, Early Spring—Bluebonnets and Mesquite, 1919 File:Julian Onderdonk - Coreopsis, Near San Antonio, Texas, 1919.jpg, Coreopsis, Near San Antonio, Texas, 1919 File:Julian Onderdonk (1882-1922) - Dawn In The Hills (1922).jpg, Dawn in the Hills, 1922 File:Julian Onderdonk - Fall Landscape.jpg, Fall Landscape File:Julian-Onderdonk-landscape-with-figure-on-path.jpg, "Landscape with Figure on Path", c. 1908

References

External links

Texas Bluebonnet Painters Web Site
AskArt auction results for Julian Onderdonk
{{DEFAULTSORT:Onderdonk, Julian 1882 births 1922 deaths 19th-century American painters 19th-century American male artists TMI Episcopal alumni American male painters 20th-century American painters American Impressionist painters People from San Antonio American people of Dutch descent Artists from Texas 20th-century American male artists