Oscar Bluemner (June 21, 1867 – January 12, 1938), born Friedrich Julius Oskar Blümner and after 1933 known as Oscar Florianus Bluemner, was a Prussian-born American Modernist painter.

Early life

Bluemner was born as Friedrich Julius Oskar Blümner in Prenzlau, Kingdom of Prussia (now Germany), on June 21, 1867. He studied painting and architecture at the Royal School of Art in Berlin.

Architecture

Bluemner moved to Chicago in 1893 where he freelanced as a draftsman at the World's Columbian Exposition. After the exposition, he attempted to find work in Chicago. In 1901, he relocated to New York City where he also was unable to find steady employment. In 1903, he created the winning design for the

Bronx Borough Courthouse The Bronx Borough Courthouse, commonly referred to as the Old Bronx Borough Courthouse, is a building in the Melrose neighborhood of the Bronx, New York City. The courthouse was built between 1905 and 1914 near Boston Road, Third Avenue, St. ...

in New York, although it is credited to

Michael J. Garvin Michael John Garvin, also known as Michael J. Garvin and M. J. Garvin (1861–1918), was an American architect from The Bronx, New York. A graduate of Manhattan College, he served as the first Building Commissioner of the borough (1897–190 ...

. The scandal that arose around this took down borough president

Louis Haffen Louis Francis Haffen (November 6, 1854 – December 25, 1935) was an American engineer and politician who was the first Bronx Borough President. He was elected four times and was known as the "Father of the Bronx." He was a member of the Democra ...

for corruption and fraud.

Painting

Oscar Bluemner - Evening Tones - Google Art Project

In 1908 Bluemner met

Alfred Stieglitz Alfred Stieglitz (January 1, 1864 – July 13, 1946) was an American photographer and modern art promoter who was instrumental over his 50-year career in making photography an accepted art form. In addition to his photography, Stieglitz was kno ...

, who introduced him to the artistic innovations of the European and American avant-garde. By 1910, Bluemner had decided to pursue painting full-time rather than architecture. He exhibited in the 1913 Armory Show. He said that the Americans' contribution failed to match that of the Europeans because the American selection process reflected rivalries and compromises rather than curatorial judgment, resulting in a "melée of antagonistic examples". Then in 1915 Stieglitz gave him a solo exhibition at his gallery,

291 __NOTOC__ Year 291 ( CCXCI) was a common year starting on Thursday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Tiberianus and Dio (or, less frequently, year 1044 ''A ...

. Despite participating in several exhibitions, including solo shows, for the next ten years Bluemner failed to sell many paintings and lived with his family in near poverty. He created paintings for the Federal Arts Project in the 1930s.

Later life

After his wife's death in 1926, Bluemner moved to South Braintree, Massachusetts. From there in 1932 he contributed a letter to an ongoing debate in the '' New York Times'' on the question "What is American Art?". He wrote: He had a successful one-man show in 1935 at the

Marie Harriman Gallery Marie Harriman ( ''née'' Norton, formerly Whitney; April 12, 1903September 26, 1970) was an American art collector and First Lady of New York from 1955 to 1958. She was the second wife of former New York Governor and diplomat Averell Harriman. ...

in New York City. In the ''New York Times'',

Edward Alden Jewell Edward Alden Jewell (March 10, 1888 – October 11, 1947) was an American newspaper and magazine editor, art critic and novelist. He was the New York Times art editor from July 1936 until his death. Early life Born in Grand Rapids, Michigan, ...

called it Bluemner's "apotheosis". He wrote: Bluemner died by suicide on January 12, 1938.

Legacy

Stetson University holds more than 1,000 pieces of Oscar Bluemner's work bequeathed in 1997 by his daughter, Vera Bluemner Kouba. In 2009 the Homer and Dolly Hand Art Center at Stetson opened with a primary mission of housing a providing exhibition space for the Kouba Collection. Often overlooked in his lifetime, Bluemner now is widely acknowledged as a key player in the creation of American artistic Modernism, with better-known colleagues such as Georgia O'Keeffe and

John Marin John Marin (December 23, 1870 – October 2, 1953) was an early American modernist artist. He is known for his abstract landscapes and watercolors. Biography Marin was born in Rutherford, New Jersey. His mother died nine days after his birth, ...

. In 2013, the Montclair Art Museum in New Jersey presented an exhibition of Bluemner's works depicting the landscapes and industrial areas of Paterson, painted between 1910 and 1917, drawn from the Stetson holdings. It marked the centenary of the

Paterson silk strike The 1913 Paterson silk strike was a work stoppage involving silk mill workers in Paterson, New Jersey. The strike involved demands for establishment of an eight-hour day and improved working conditions. The strike began in February 1913, and ende ...

, which had inspired his politics. An oil painting by Bluemner, ''Illusion of a Prairie, New Jersey (Red Farm at Pochuck)'' (1915) sold at

Christie's Christie's is a British auction house founded in 1766 by James Christie (auctioneer), James Christie. Its main premises are on King Street, St James's in London, at Rockefeller Center in New York City and at Alexandra House in Hong Kong. It is ...

, New York, for $5,346,500 on November 30, 2011.

Artworks

Notes

References

External links

A finding aid to the Oscar Bluemner papers, 1886-1939, 1960, in Archives of American Art, Smithsonian InstitutionBluemner's Cat Florianus
*Oscar Bluemner works

{{DEFAULTSORT:Bluemner, Oscar Florianus 1867 births 1938 suicides 20th-century American painters American male painters Modern painters American watercolorists Artists from New York (state) Public Works of Art Project artists People from Braintree, Massachusetts Painters who committed suicide Suicides in Massachusetts Artists from Massachusetts 1938 deaths 20th-century American male artists Prussian emigrants to the United States