Leonard Ochtman (October 21, 1854 – October 27, 1934) was a Dutch- American Impressionist painter who specialized in landscapes. He was a founding member of the Cos Cob Art Colony and the Greenwich Society of Artists.

Biography and career

He was born in

Zonnemaire Zonnemaire is a village in the municipality of Schouwen-Duiveland in the Dutch province of Zeeland. It lies about southwest of Hellevoetsluis. In 2021, Zonnemaire had a population of 755. History Zonnemaire was named after ''Sonnemare'', the ...

Netherlands ) , anthem = ( en, "William of Nassau") , image_map = , map_caption = , subdivision_type = Sovereign state , subdivision_name = Kingdom of the Netherlands , established_title = Before independence , established_date = Spanish Netherl ...

as the son of a decorative painter. His family moved to

Albany, New York Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York C ...

in 1866. Starting at a young age, Ochtman worked as a draftsman at a wood-working firm in Albany. In 1879, Ochtman moved from Albany to New York City where he roomed with fellow painter, Charles Warren Eaton. In New York City, Ochtman worked with a group of artists who were important in the development of the

impressionist movement Impressionism was a 19th-century art movement characterized by relatively small, thin, yet visible brush strokes, open composition, emphasis on accurate depiction of light in its changing qualities (often accentuating the effects of the passage ...

in the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

. Although he took classes at the Art Students League of New York in 1879, he was primarily self-taught. For several years Ochtman's studio in New York City was located in the same building as that of

George Inness George Inness (May 1, 1825 – August 3, 1894) was a prominent American landscape painter. Now recognized as one of the most influential American artists of the nineteenth century, Inness was influenced by the Hudson River School at the s ...

, the dean of the

Tonalism Tonalism was an artistic style that emerged in the 1880s when American artists began to paint landscape forms with an overall tone of colored atmosphere or mist. Between 1880 and 1915, dark, neutral hues such as gray, brown or blue, often domina ...

movement, and the two painters admired each other's work. In 1882 he began to exhibit landscapes at the

National Academy of Design The National Academy of Design is an honorary association of American artists, founded in New York City in 1825 by Samuel Morse, Asher Durand, Thomas Cole, Martin E. Thompson, Charles Cushing Wright, Ithiel Town, and others "to promote the f ...

. He traveled to Europe in 1886, where he was influenced by the Dutch

Hague School The Hague School is a group of artists who lived and worked in The Hague between 1860 and 1890. Their work was heavily influenced by the realist painters of the French Barbizon school. The painters of the Hague school generally made use of relati ...

painters

Jacob Maris Jacob Hendricus Maris (August 25, 1837 – August 7, 1899) was a Dutch painter, who with his brothers Willem and Matthijs belonged to what has come to be known as the Hague School of painters. He was considered to be the most important and influen ...

and

Anton Mauve Anthonij "Anton" Rudolf Mauve (18 September 18385 February 1888) was a Dutch realist painter who was a leading member of the Hague School. He signed his paintings 'A. Mauve' or with a monogrammed 'A.M.'. A master colorist, he was a very signific ...

. He returned to New York in 1887. He became a National Academician in 1904. His most characteristic pictures are scenes on Long Island Sound and the Connecticut countryside. ] Ochtman and his wife, the accomplished American Impressionist painter Mina Fonda Ochtman (1862–1924), moved to Mianus, Connecticut in 1891, where they became founding members of the Cos Cob Art Colony. Other members of the colony included

John Henry Twachtman John Henry Twachtman (August 4, 1853 – August 8, 1902) was an American painter best known for his impressionist landscapes, though his painting style varied widely through his career. Art historians consider Twachtman's style of American Impr ...

Childe Hassam Frederick Childe Hassam (; October 17, 1859 – August 27, 1935) was an American Impressionist painter, noted for his urban and coastal scenes. Along with Mary Cassatt and John Henry Twachtman, Hassam was instrumental in promulgating Impressioni ...

, Julian Alden Weir, Elmer Livingston MacRae, and

Theodore Robinson Theodore Robinson (June 3, 1852April 2, 1896) was an American painter best known for his Impressionist landscapes. He was one of the first American artists to take up Impressionism in the late 1880s, visiting Giverny and developing a close frien ...

. From Grayledge, the house that he built overlooking the

Mianus River The Mianus River is a river in Westchester County, New York, and Fairfield County, Connecticut, in the United States. It begins in the town of North Castle, New York (east of Armonk) in a series of ponds at about altitude. Flowing northeast ...

, Ochtman instructed younger artists boarding at the nearby Bush-Holley House. In 1910 and 1911, Ochtman held classes for the New York Summer School at Grayledge. Ochtman's students included

Clark Voorhees Clark Greenwood Voorhees (1871 – 1933) was an American Impressionist and Tonalist landscape painter and one of the founders of the Old Lyme Art Colony. Biography The son of a stockbroker, Voorhees was born on May 29, 1871, in New York Cit ...

and Harriet Randall Lumis. In 1912, Ochtman and his friend, the sculptor Edward Clark Potter, formed the Greenwich Society of Artists and the Bruce Museum. Ochtman served as the first vice president of the society in 1912, and President of the society from 1916–1932, and as first art curator of the Bruce Museum. Ochtman's daughter, Dorothy Ochtman (1892–1971), studied under her two artist parents and became an accomplished painter of still lifes. Leonard Ochtman died at his home in

Greenwich, Connecticut Greenwich (, ) is a town in southwestern Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States. At the 2020 census, the town had a total population of 63,518. The largest town on Connecticut's Gold Coast, Greenwich is home to many hedge funds and other ...

on October 27, 1934.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Ochtman, Leonard 1854 births 1934 deaths 19th-century American painters 19th-century American male artists American male painters 20th-century American painters American Impressionist painters Dutch emigrants to the United States People from Zonnemaire National Academy of Design members 20th-century American male artists