Julian Onderdonk (American, 1882 to 1922)
Julian Onderdonk was a native of San Antonio and the son of the artist Robert Jenkins Onderdonk. In 1901, at the age of nineteen, he moved to New York City and attended several art schools. He then studied plein-air painting with William Merritt Chase at his summer school in Shinecock, New York. After returning home to Texas in 1909, he enjoyed considerable success during his lifetime.
He became best known for his paintings of bluebonnets, but he also loved to depict the Texas Hill Country in all its incarnations. Unfortunately, he suffered an early death at the age of forty. In 2008, the Dallas Museum of Art held an exhibition entitled Bluebonnets and Beyond: Julian Onderdonk, American Impressionist which has further established his work as the most admired and sought-after of the early Texas artists.
Information courtesy of Heritage Auction Galleries, January 2009
Julian Onderdonk was a native of San Antonio and the son of the artist, Robert Jenkins Onderdonk. In 1901, at the age of nineteen, he moved to New York City and attended several art schools. He also studied plein-air painting with William Merritt Chase at his summer school in Shinecock, New York. After returning home to Texas in 1909, Onderdonk enjoyed considerable success during his lifetime. He became best known for his paintings of bluebonnets, but he also loved to depict the Texas Hill Country in all its many incarnations. Unfortunately, he suffered an early death at the age of forty. In 2008, the Dallas Museum of Art held an exhibition entitled Bluebonnets and Beyond: Julian Onderdonk, American Impressionist which has further established his work as the most admired and sought after of any Early Texas artist.
Information courtesy of Heritage Auction Galleries, July 2009.