Oscar Edmund Berninghaus Animal Paintings

Oscar E. Berninghaus (American, 1874-1952) "Winter Pasture" Oil on Canvas Unframed: 20 x 24 inches Framed: 25.5 x 29.5 inches Provo: Noonan-Kocian Gallery, St. Louis, Missouri, Dec. 23, 1954 (Copy of Original Receipt Included) * Will be included in Kodner Gallery's upcoming Oscar E. Berninghaus Research Project on the artist We guarantee the authenticity of this painting and would be pleased to provide you with a formal, certified insurance appraisal. "Winter Pasture" was originally purchased from one of the Oscar E. Berninghaus' principal dealers, Noonan-Kocian in St. Louis, and the painting retains its original 1954 invoice along with a signed affidavit from the grandson of the original owner (see images). As with many artists of the period, Berninghaus sometimes created works intended for reproduction in calendars, books, or advertising. He completed commissions for Brown & Bigelow, the prominent Minneapolis-based calendar and publishing company, which often requested that works remain unsigned for reproduction purposes. This practice explains the absence of a visible signature on certain compositions. ------------------- A founder in 1898 of the Taos Society of Artists, Oscar Berninghaus excelled at drawing animals and figures in contemporary garb in Southwestern landscapes. Many of his early paintings were Impressionistic, "suffused with color and light". (Gerdts 254) He was born in St. Louis, Missouri and developed an interest in art through his family's lithography business. He attended night classes at the St. Louis School of Fine Art. In 1898, he was on an illustration assignment for "McClure's" magazine, which took him for the first of many times into New Mexico and Arizona. He had heard of the special beauty of Taos and there met Bert Geer Phillips, who was already a resident, and Phillips invited him to return. This visit began a tradition of spending the winter months in St. Louis and the summers in Taos. He remained active in both communities, and for many years designed the costumes and floats for the Veiled Prophet parade, a famous annual event in St. Louis. He also did a series of western scenes commissioned by the Anheuser-Busch Brewing Association to promote a manly, ruggedness theme in their products and to enhance their image as good Americans, an image that was being attacked by suffragettes. In this capacity and without visiting the area, Berninghaus did a painting titled "Old Faithful, Yellowstone" in 1914, which was used as a calendar illustration in the series. Berninghaus was a sketch artist for the Denver and Rio Grande Railroad to depict landscape of Colorado...