William Wendt (February 20, 1865, Bentzen,

Kingdom of Prussia The Kingdom of Prussia (german: Königreich Preußen, ) was a German kingdom that constituted the state of Prussia between 1701 and 1918. Marriott, J. A. R., and Charles Grant Robertson. ''The Evolution of Prussia, the Making of an Empire''. ...

– December 29, 1946,

Laguna Beach Laguna Beach (; ''Laguna'', Spanish for "Lagoon") is a seaside resort city located in southern Orange County, California, in the United States. It is known for its mild year-round climate, scenic coves, environmental preservation efforts, and a ...

) was a German-born

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, pe ...

landscape painter. He was called the "Dean of

Southern California Southern California (commonly shortened to SoCal) is a geographic and cultural region that generally comprises the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. It includes the Los Angeles metropolitan area, the second most populous urban a ...

landscape painters."Biography
@ the William Wendt Gallery. Associated with the Eucalyptus School, his work is more closely aligned with the Arts and Crafts Movement in California than the French or American Impressionists. Being the only son of his parents William Wendt and Williamina Ludwig, he underwent an apprenticeship for cabinetmaking in his youth but was left unsatisfied by the experience. He later emigrated by himself to the United States in 1880. From 1894 to 1896, he traveled extensively with his friend,

George Gardner Symons George Gardner Symons (1861-1930) was an American impressionist painter. Biography He was born in either 1861 or 1863 in Chicago, Illinois. Attending the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Symons also studied in Europe and won awards at th ...

. He married the sculptor, Julia Bracken in 1906 and moved to California shortly thereafter. Wendt was a founding member of the

California Art Club The California Art Club (CAC) is one of the oldest and most active arts organizations in California. Founded in December 1909, it celebrated its centennial in 2009 and into the spring of 2010. The California Art Club originally evolved out of The ...

, along with his wife Julia, and served as its first president for six years. Wendt built his studio in Laguna Beach, California. A Laguna street, Wendt Terrace, bears his name.

Early life and education

Wendt's first painting experience was reportedly as a staff painter for a commercial art shop where he was responsible for applying a single pigment to a painting in a production line of many artists. Working six days per week, he used his one day off to go into the field, surrounded by nature and painting to satisfy his own creative talents. He was largely self-taught, having only attended two terms of evening classes at the Art Institute of Chicago.

Awards

*Sole winner of an award at the first Chicago and vicinity annual exhibition,

Chicago Art Institute The Art Institute of Chicago in Chicago's Grant Park, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the world. Recognized for its curatorial efforts and popularity among visitors, the museum hosts approximately 1.5 mill ...

, 1897A Golden Anniversary for Chicago Art. Katharine Kuh. ''Bulletin of the Art Institute of Chicago'' Vol. 40, No. 4, Part I (Apr. – May, 1946), pp. 40–46; p. 41. Published by: The Art Institute of Chicago

/ref> *Bronze Medal,

Buffalo Exposition The Pan-American Exposition was a World's Fair held in Buffalo, New York, United States, from May 1 through November 2, 1901. The fair occupied of land on the western edge of what is now Delaware Park, extending from Delaware Avenue to Elmwood A ...

, 1901 *Cahn Prize, Art Institute of Chicago, 1904 *Fine Arts Building Prize of the Chicago Society of Western Artists, 1913 *Kirchberger Prize, Chicago Art Institute, 1913 *Silver Medal, San Francisco Exposition, 1915 *Black Prize, California Art Club, 1916 *Ranger Purchase Prize,

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 ...

, 1926 *Yerkes Prize, 1893 *Young Fortnightly Club Prize, 1897

Selected paintings

File:61255609445 D0DDA31E-3E4C-40F5-881D-575743CA780E.jpg, Huddled Houses, Steven Stern

Galleries and public collections

William Wendt Gallery of Art
*

Bowers Museum The Bowers Museum is an art museum located in Santa Ana, California. The museum's permanent collection includes more than 100,000 objects, and features notable strengths in the areas of pre-Columbian Mesoamerica, Native American art, the art of A ...

, Santa Ana, California * Art Institute of Chicago, Illinois *

Laguna Art Museum The Laguna Art Museum (LAM) is a museum located in Laguna Beach, California, on Pacific Coast Highway. LAM exclusively features California art and is the oldest cultural institution in the area. It has been known as the Laguna Beach Art Associati ...

*Irvine Museum, Irvine, California *

Pasadena Art Museum The Norton Simon Museum is an art museum located in Pasadena, California, United States. It was previously known as the Pasadena Art Institute and the Pasadena Art Museum and displays numerous sculptures on its grounds. Overview The Norton ...

, California *

Richmond Art Museum The Richmond Art Museum was founded in 1898 as the Art Association of Richmond, Indiana. Artist John Elwood Bundy and author and attorney William Dudley Foulke were instrumental in the founding. Permanent collection Its collection includes imp ...

, Indiana * William A. Karges Fine Art

References

Sources

*Edan Milton Hughes, ''Artists in California, 1786–1940'', self-published, 1989 * *John Alan Walker, ''Documents on the Life & Art of William Wendt'', self-published, 1992. *Ruth Lily Westphal, ''Plein Air Painters of California: The Southland'', self-published, 1996

External links

William Wendt Gallery of Art-Many Wendt paintings shownArtNet: More works by Wendt.

Archival collections

Guide to the William Wendt Letters to Guy and Lucia Edwards.
Special Collections and Archives, The UC Irvine Libraries, Irvine, California.
William Wendt Oil Paintings at AllPainter.com
1865 births 1946 deaths 19th-century American painters 19th-century American male artists American male painters 20th-century American painters American landscape painters Painters from California German emigrants to the United States 20th-century American male artists {{US-painter-1860s-stub