Robert Jenkins Onderdonk (January 16, 1852 – July 2, 1917) was an American

painter Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ai ...

and art teacher, born in

Catonsville, Maryland Catonsville is a census-designated place (CDP) in Baltimore County, Maryland, United States. The population was 41,567 at the 2010 census. The community lies to the west of Baltimore along the city's border. Catonsville contains the majority of th ...

. An important artist in the first stage of

Texas Texas (, ; Spanish language, Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central United States, South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2 ...

art, he was a long-time art teacher 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 ...

and

Dallas Dallas () is the List of municipalities in Texas, third largest city in Texas and the largest city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of metropolitan statistical areas, fourth-largest metropolitan area in the United States at 7.5 ...

, where he formed art associations and leagues; for his contributions to the culture of art and painting in

he is known as the "Dean of Texas's Artists."

Biography

Robert Onderdonk - Sketch for Fall of The Alamo

Robert came from a "distinguished and cultured Dutch family." His father was the Headmaster of Saint James School near Hagerstown, MD, between 1869 and his death in 1895, and had served as the President of the Maryland Agricultural College (now the

University of Maryland The University of Maryland, College Park (University of Maryland, UMD, or simply Maryland) is a public land-grant research university in College Park, Maryland. Founded in 1856, UMD is the flagship institution of the University System of M ...

) between 1861 and 1864. His great uncles were bishops of the Episcopal Church. Robert Jenkins Onderdonk studied art 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 fin ...

and the

Art Students League of New York The Art Students League of New York is an art school at 215 West 57th Street in Manhattan, New York City, New York. The League has historically been known for its broad appeal to both amateurs and professional artists. Although artists may stu ...

in the 1870s. Among his teachers were

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. ...

and

James Carroll Beckwith James Carroll Beckwith (September 23, 1852 – October 24, 1917) was an American landscape, portrait and genre painter whose Naturalist style led to his recognition in the late nineteenth and very early twentieth century as a respected figure in ...

. R. J. Onderdonk went to Texas in 1878. William Robert Negley, a friend from Maryland, had already moved to Texas to begin ranching. Robert married Emily Gould in 1881 and they had three children. He hoped to execute portraits for rich Texas citizens and make enough money to travel to Europe. He eventually stayed in

for thirty-eight years, where he painted and taught. Robert was a founder of the first art clubs in Texas. He assisted in organizing "The Brass Mug Club," a group of

artists that would go out into the Texas Hill Country to paint. The club included

José Arpa José Arpa y Perea (1858–1952), was an artist of Spanish birth who worked in Spain, Mexico, and Texas and was noted for his Costumbrista studies and his landscapes of Texas. Life and career Arpa was born in Carmona, Spain on 19 February 1858, ...

, Leo Cotton, Rolla Taylor, Tom Brown and Ernst Raba. In San Antonio, he founded an art association for women painters, the Van Dyck club, which later became the San Antonio Arts League; his daughter Eleanor was an important member and organizer. In 1893 in Dallas, he co-founded the Art Students League of

, pupils of which displayed their paintings each year at the

State Fair of Texas The State Fair of Texas is an annual state fair held in Dallas at historic Fair Park. The fair has taken place every year since 1886 except for varying periods during World War I and World War II as well as 2020, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It ...

. Onderdonk's masterpiece, the 1903 painting ''Fall of the Alamo'', was displayed at the 1904

Louisiana Purchase Exposition The Louisiana Purchase Exposition, informally known as the St. Louis World's Fair, was an World's fair, international exposition held in St. Louis, Missouri, United States, from April 30 to December 1, 1904. Local, state, and federal funds tota ...

St. Louis St. Louis () is the second-largest city in Missouri, United States. It sits near the confluence of the Mississippi and the Missouri Rivers. In 2020, the city proper had a population of 301,578, while the bi-state metropolitan area, which e ...

, and is now held in the Texas State Archives. Occupying central position in the painting is

Davy Crockett David Crockett (August 17, 1786 – March 6, 1836) was an American folk hero, frontiersman, soldier, and politician. He is often referred to in popular culture as the "King of the Wild Frontier". He represented Tennessee in the U.S. House of Re ...

, a depiction reproduced countless times in print; Crockett is portrayed in iconic style, "swinging his flintlock over his head to club the Mexicans advancing through a hanging cloud of gun smoke." According to Fisk's ''A History of Texas Artists'', he would have been ranked one of America's finest artists if he had spent more time painting rather than teaching. Two of R. J. Onderdonk's three children also made their mark in Texas art: Eleanor (1884–1964) was a respected miniaturist, and Julian Onderdonk (1882–1922) became known as the " bluebonnet painter." Julian 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. ...

founded in 1893 and, like his father Robert, studied painting in

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

with

before returning to Texas in 1909. Robert died in 1917 at the age of sixty-five at his home in San Antonio. His works are in the collections 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 ...

, the

Stark Museum of Art The Stark Museum of Art in Orange, Texas, houses one of the nation's most significant collections of American Western art. The Western Art collection conveys the artistic interpretation of the western region over two centuries. It spans the explo ...

, 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 ...

, and the Texas State Library.

Artwork

File:Robert Jenkins Onderdonk (attrib.) - Portrait of a Seated Woman.jpg, ''Portrait of a Seated Woman'', pencil on paper, private collection. File:Robert Jenkins Onderdonk - A Portrait of a Boy.jpg, ''A Portrait of a Boy'', pencil on paper, private collection. File:Robert Onderdonk, Early Texas Landscape, oil on canvas.jpg, ''Early Texas Landscape'', oil on canvas, private collection. File:Robert Onderdonk landscape watercolor on paper.png, ''Landscape'', watercolor on paper, private collection. File:Robert Jenkins Onderdonk Fandango 1881 Dallas Museum of Art 01.jpg, ''Fandango'', watercolor, 1881,

. File:Robert Jenkins Onderdonk - Mexican Jacal (^) - 1960.197 - Dallas Museum of Art.jpg, ''Mexican Jacal'', oil on panel, 1887,

. File:Robert Jenkins Onderdonk - Landscape with Figure and Stream (1897).jpg, ''Landscape with Figure and Stream'', watercolor on paper, 1897, private collection. File:'Buffalo Hunt' by Robert Jenkins Onderdonk, c. 1898.JPG, ''Buffalo Hunt'', oil on canvas, 1898,

El Paso Museum of Art Founded in 1959, The El Paso Museum of Art (EPMA) is located in downtown El Paso, Texas. First accredited in 1972, it is the only accredited art museum within a 250-mile radius and serves approximately 100,000 visitors per year. A new building ...

. File:Robert Jenkins Onderdonk - Farm Near Kerrville - 1959.15 - Dallas Museum of Art.jpg, Farm Near Kerrville, oil on canvas, 1901,

. File:Robert Jenkins Onderdonk - Roses and Mahogany - 1904.2 - Dallas Museum of Art.jpg, ''Roses and Mahogany'', oil on canvas, ca.1900,

. File:Robert Jenkins Onderdonk - Untitled (Roses).jpg, ''Untitled Roses'', oil on canvas, ca. 1905-15,

References

Additional bibliography

* Diana Church, ''Guide to Dallas Artists, 1890-1917'' (Plano, Texas, 1987) * Esse Forrester-O'Brien, ''Art and Artists of Texas'' (Tardy, 1935) * Cecilia Steinfieldt, ''The Onderdonks'' (San Antonio: Trinity University Press, 1976) {{DEFAULTSORT:Onderdonk, Robert Jenkins 1852 births 1917 deaths Painters from Maryland Painters from Texas People from Catonsville, Maryland People from San Antonio American people of Dutch descent Davy Crockett 19th-century American painters 19th-century male artists American male painters 20th-century American painters Saint James School (Maryland) alumni National Academy of Design alumni Art Students League of New York alumni