Frank Nuderscher
Encyclopedia
Frank Bernard Nuderscher (July 19, 1880 – October 7, 1959) was an American illustrator
, muralist, and painter
of the American Impressionism
style. He was called the "dean of St. Louis
artists" for his leadership in the Missouri
art community.
. His father wanted him to join the family business, but Nuderscher always had an interest in art. Legend has it that Nudersher finally convinced his father to support his aspirations when at age 12 he earned two dollars sketching a bas-relief for a stone mason, therefore convincing his father that he could earn a living as an artist.
Nuderscher is frequently credited for being self-taught as an artist. However, it was reported that he took art classes in New York
, Philadelphia, and Provincetown
, that he studied art while traveling in Europe
, and that he was enrolled at the School of Fine Arts (now called the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts
at Washington University in St. Louis
).
In 1904, Nudersher first attracted the attention of the fine arts community with his painting of the Eads Bridge
which won first prize in the Artist’s Guild Competition. With artists from all over the world in St. Louis for the 1904 World’s Fair
, it was a particularly competitive field. W.K. Bixby, a nationally recognized art patron and philanthropist
, purchased the work for his own collection and encouraged the young artist. The Eads Bridge would become a repeated theme for Nuderscher and his future Granite Building studio at Fourth and Market Streets in downtown St. Louis would look out over the iconic structure.
, Nuderscher created the designs and drawings for the floats in the Veiled Prophet
Parade between 1945 and 1954.
atmosphere of St. Louis in the first half of the 20th century. Nuderscher captured industrial scenes, streetscapes, and monuments of urban progress such as the Eads Bridge. Nuderscher painted structures without sharply defined outlines and his tonalistic
style conveyed the smoky air, filtered sun, and misty haze of the industrial city.
Sometime after 1910, Nuderscher discovered that his ability to paint the subtleties of the urban atmosphere lended it’s self to depicting the hazy air, fog, and light that was characteristic of the hills and valleys of the Ozark Mountains
. His Ozark landscapes became his most characteristic work and were easily recognized by their peaceful serenity and by their muted, often pastel, colors. Nuderscher so loved painting in the Ozarks that he purchased a house in Arcadia
, Missouri and moved his family there. The Nuderscher family spent most of the 1920s in Arcadia, and Nuderscher even served as the village’s mayor
.
While Nuderscher may have become better known as a painter of Ozark landscapes, he did not abandon his earlier urban themes. He continued to paint both urban St. Louis and the rural Arcadian Valley and saw no conflict in exhibiting them together.
Nuderscher paintings are in the collections of the Saint Louis Art Museum
, Missouri History Museum
, the Missouri Governor’s Mansion
, the National Park Service
Museum of Westward Expansion, the Museum of Art and Archaeology
at the University of Missouri
, the St. Louis Mercantile Library
at the University of Missouri - St. Louis, the Arkansas Arts Center
, and the Saint Louis University
Museum of Art.
in the Missouri State Capitol
. He sketched a few different designs for the project before deciding on one of his favorite subjects, the Eads Bridge. Completed in 1922, The Artery of Trade (originally titled The Great Crossing) is a favorite of capitol visitors because of the optical illusion
of the bridge moving as the viewer walks past.
Nuderscher painted murals all over the United States
including in New York
, Atlanta, and San Francisco. He remained in high demand as a muralist, particularly in Missouri, where he created works in bank
s, school
s, museum
s, and in private place
mansions. Notable commissions included murals in the Missouri Building at the 1939 New York World’s Fair
, the Missouri Pacific
Museum, the Saint Louis Zoo, and St. Louis City Hospital.
In 1955, one of Nuderscher’s murals made national headlines with regard to the civil rights movement. His mural, The Apotheosis of St. Louis, that adorned the St. Louis Board of Education
assembly room had featured only white
children. In light of the controversy of racial integration
in St. Louis public schools
, Nuderscher volunteered to repaint two of the children in the mural to be African-American and thus integrate the mural in a symbolic act.
, Nuderscher “was the most significant Impressionist painter to spend his whole career in Missouri.” In the Midwest
, Nuderscher was appreciated as such in his lifetime, and he used his influence to mentor other artists and to promote the arts in the region.
Nuderscher was the last surviving artist of the Riverfront Art Colony in St. Louis. He was a member of the National Society of Mural Painters
, the St. Louis Artist Guild (where he won 10 first prizes), was president of the Independent Artists of St. Louis, and was the state chairman of the American Artists Professional League. Nuderscher also co-founded the Society of Ozark Painters with Carl Krafft and Rudolph Ingerle.
Nuderscher was the founder and director of the Nuderscher School of Art in St. Louis, the Ozark School of Art in Arcadia, and ran a summer school in Kimmswick
, Missouri. In the 1930s, he was the area supervisor for the WPA
Federal Arts Project in the St. Louis region. During his long tenure as a working artist and teacher, Nuderscher trained multiple generations of Missouri painters.
After a career of over 50 years, Nuderscher died of heart disease
in his Clayton
, Missouri home at age 79.
Illustration
An illustration is a displayed visualization form presented as a drawing, painting, photograph or other work of art that is created to elucidate or dictate sensual information by providing a visual representation graphically.- Early history :The earliest forms of illustration were prehistoric...
, muralist, and painter
Painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...
of the American Impressionism
American Impressionism
Impressionism, a style of painting characterized by loose brushwork and vivid colors, was practiced widely among American artists in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.-An emerging artistic style from Paris:...
style. He was called the "dean of St. Louis
St. Louis, Missouri
St. Louis is an independent city on the eastern border of Missouri, United States. With a population of 319,294, it was the 58th-largest U.S. city at the 2010 U.S. Census. The Greater St...
artists" for his leadership in the Missouri
Missouri
Missouri is a US state located in the Midwestern United States, bordered by Iowa, Illinois, Kentucky, Tennessee, Arkansas, Oklahoma, Kansas and Nebraska. With a 2010 population of 5,988,927, Missouri is the 18th most populous state in the nation and the fifth most populous in the Midwest. It...
art community.
Background and training
Nuderscher was born in St. Louis, the son of a successful building contractorGeneral contractor
A general contractor is responsible for the day-to-day oversight of a construction site, management of vendors and trades, and communication of information to involved parties throughout the course of a building project.-Description:...
. His father wanted him to join the family business, but Nuderscher always had an interest in art. Legend has it that Nudersher finally convinced his father to support his aspirations when at age 12 he earned two dollars sketching a bas-relief for a stone mason, therefore convincing his father that he could earn a living as an artist.
Nuderscher is frequently credited for being self-taught as an artist. However, it was reported that he took art classes in New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, Philadelphia, and Provincetown
Provincetown, Massachusetts
Provincetown is a New England town located at the extreme tip of Cape Cod in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 3,431 at the 2000 census, with an estimated 2007 population of 3,174...
, that he studied art while traveling in Europe
Europe
Europe is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally 'divided' from Asia to its east by the watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
, and that he was enrolled at the School of Fine Arts (now called the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts
Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts
The Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts is the visual arts and design degree granting branch of Washington University in St. Louis. The Sam Fox School was created in 2005 by merging the existing Colleges of Art and Architecture; the Sam Fox School of Design & Visual Arts combines the strengths...
at Washington University in St. Louis
Washington University in St. Louis
Washington University in St. Louis is a private research university located in suburban St. Louis, Missouri. Founded in 1853, and named for George Washington, the university has students and faculty from all fifty U.S. states and more than 110 nations...
).
In 1904, Nudersher first attracted the attention of the fine arts community with his painting of the Eads Bridge
Eads Bridge
The Eads Bridge is a combined road and railway bridge over the Mississippi River at St. Louis, connecting St. Louis and East St. Louis, Illinois....
which won first prize in the Artist’s Guild Competition. With artists from all over the world in St. Louis for the 1904 World’s Fair
Louisiana Purchase Exposition
The Louisiana Purchase Exposition, informally known as the Saint Louis World's Fair, was an international exposition held in St. Louis, Missouri, United States in 1904.- Background :...
, it was a particularly competitive field. W.K. Bixby, a nationally recognized art patron and philanthropist
Philanthropist
A philanthropist is someone who engages in philanthropy; that is, someone who donates his or her time, money, and/or reputation to charitable causes...
, purchased the work for his own collection and encouraged the young artist. The Eads Bridge would become a repeated theme for Nuderscher and his future Granite Building studio at Fourth and Market Streets in downtown St. Louis would look out over the iconic structure.
Illustrations
Early is his career, Nuderscher did more illustration work than he did later in his career when his reputation as a painter allowed him to focus primarily in the fine arts. As an illustrator, he created commercial advertisements, architectural drawings, book illustrations, and magazine covers. Succeeding Oscar E. BerninghausOscar E. Berninghaus
-Further reading:*Sanders, Gordon E. Oscar E. Berninghaus, Taos, New Mexico: Master Painter of American Indians and the Frontier West. Taos Heritage Publishing Company, 1985. ISBN 0-9615-1771-9-External links:* * Paintings* *...
, Nuderscher created the designs and drawings for the floats in the Veiled Prophet
Veiled Prophet Ball
The Veiled Prophet Ball is a dance held each December in St. Louis, Missouri, USA, by a secret society named the "Veiled Prophet Organization" , first founded by prominent St. Louisans in 1878, and originally part of the Veiled Prophet Fair , which today is Fair St. Louis...
Parade between 1945 and 1954.
Paintings
Nudersher’s early oil paintings reflected the vibrant urbanUrban area
An urban area is characterized by higher population density and vast human features in comparison to areas surrounding it. Urban areas may be cities, towns or conurbations, but the term is not commonly extended to rural settlements such as villages and hamlets.Urban areas are created and further...
atmosphere of St. Louis in the first half of the 20th century. Nuderscher captured industrial scenes, streetscapes, and monuments of urban progress such as the Eads Bridge. Nuderscher painted structures without sharply defined outlines and his tonalistic
Tonalism
Tonalism was an artistic style that emerged in the 1880s when American artists began to paint landscape forms with an overall tone of colored atmosphere or mist. Between 1880 and 1915, dark, neutral hues such as gray, brown or blue, often dominated compositions by artists associated with the style...
style conveyed the smoky air, filtered sun, and misty haze of the industrial city.
Sometime after 1910, Nuderscher discovered that his ability to paint the subtleties of the urban atmosphere lended it’s self to depicting the hazy air, fog, and light that was characteristic of the hills and valleys of the Ozark Mountains
The Ozarks
The Ozarks are a physiographic and geologic highland region of the central United States. It covers much of the southern half of Missouri and an extensive portion of northwestern and north central Arkansas...
. His Ozark landscapes became his most characteristic work and were easily recognized by their peaceful serenity and by their muted, often pastel, colors. Nuderscher so loved painting in the Ozarks that he purchased a house in Arcadia
Arcadia, Missouri
Arcadia is a city in Iron County, Missouri, United States. The population was 567 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Arcadia is located at .According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , all of it land....
, Missouri and moved his family there. The Nuderscher family spent most of the 1920s in Arcadia, and Nuderscher even served as the village’s mayor
Mayor
In many countries, a Mayor is the highest ranking officer in the municipal government of a town or a large urban city....
.
While Nuderscher may have become better known as a painter of Ozark landscapes, he did not abandon his earlier urban themes. He continued to paint both urban St. Louis and the rural Arcadian Valley and saw no conflict in exhibiting them together.
Nuderscher paintings are in the collections of the Saint Louis Art Museum
Saint Louis Art Museum
The Saint Louis Art Museum is one of the principal U.S. art museums, visited by up to a half million people every year. Admission is free through a subsidy from the cultural tax district for St. Louis City and County.Located in Forest Park in St...
, Missouri History Museum
Missouri History Museum
The Missouri History Museum is located in St. Louis, Missouri in Forest Park. The museum is operated by the Missouri Historical Society and was founded in 1866...
, the Missouri Governor’s Mansion
Missouri Governor's Mansion
The Missouri Governor's Mansion is a historic U.S. residence in Jefferson City, Missouri. It is located at 100 Madison Street. On May 21, 1969, it was added to the U.S...
, the National Park Service
National Park Service
The National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...
Museum of Westward Expansion, the Museum of Art and Archaeology
Museum of Art and Archaeology
The Museum of Art and Archaeology, in Columbia, Missouri, is the art museum of the University of Missouri. It is located in Pickard Hall, which also houses the Department of Art History and Archaeology. The Museum is open to the public six days per week and does not charge an admission...
at the University of Missouri
University of Missouri
The University of Missouri System is a state university system providing centralized administration for four universities, a health care system, an extension program, five research and technology parks, and a publishing press. More than 64,000 students are currently enrolled at its four campuses...
, the St. Louis Mercantile Library
St. Louis Mercantile Library
The St. Louis Mercantile Library, founded in 1846 in St. Louis, Missouri, was originally established as a subscription library, and is the oldest extant library west of the Mississippi River. Since 1998 the library has been housed at the University of Missouri-St. Louis...
at the University of Missouri - St. Louis, the Arkansas Arts Center
Arkansas Arts Center
One of the leading cultural institutions in the state, the Arkansas Arts Center is located on the corner of 9th and Commerce streets in MacArthur Park, Little Rock, Arkansas, USA. The Arkansas Arts Center was founded in 1960, but the idea began in 1914, when the Fine Arts Club of Arkansas formed...
, and the Saint Louis University
Saint Louis University
Saint Louis University is a private, co-educational Jesuit university located in St. Louis, Missouri, United States. Founded in 1818 by the Most Reverend Louis Guillaume Valentin Dubourg SLU is the oldest university west of the Mississippi River. It is one of 28 member institutions of the...
Museum of Art.
Murals
By the early 1920s, Nuderscher’s reputation as a painter earned him high-profile mural projects such as the commission to paint a lunetteLunette
In architecture, a lunette is a half-moon shaped space, either filled with recessed masonry or void. A lunette is formed when a horizontal cornice transects a round-headed arch at the level of the imposts, where the arch springs. If a door is set within a round-headed arch, the space within the...
in the Missouri State Capitol
Missouri State Capitol
The Missouri State Capitol is located in the U.S. state of Missouri. Housing the Missouri General Assembly, it is located in the state capital of Jefferson City at 201 West Capitol Avenue. The domed building was designed by the New York architectural firm of Tracy and Swartwout and completed in 1917...
. He sketched a few different designs for the project before deciding on one of his favorite subjects, the Eads Bridge. Completed in 1922, The Artery of Trade (originally titled The Great Crossing) is a favorite of capitol visitors because of the optical illusion
Optical illusion
An optical illusion is characterized by visually perceived images that differ from objective reality. The information gathered by the eye is processed in the brain to give a perception that does not tally with a physical measurement of the stimulus source...
of the bridge moving as the viewer walks past.
Nuderscher painted murals all over the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
including in New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, Atlanta, and San Francisco. He remained in high demand as a muralist, particularly in Missouri, where he created works in bank
Bank
A bank is a financial institution that serves as a financial intermediary. The term "bank" may refer to one of several related types of entities:...
s, school
School
A school is an institution designed for the teaching of students under the direction of teachers. Most countries have systems of formal education, which is commonly compulsory. In these systems, students progress through a series of schools...
s, museum
Museum
A museum is an institution that cares for a collection of artifacts and other objects of scientific, artistic, cultural, or historical importance and makes them available for public viewing through exhibits that may be permanent or temporary. Most large museums are located in major cities...
s, and in private place
Private place
A private place is a self-governing enclave whose common areas are owned by the residents, and whose services are provided by the private sector....
mansions. Notable commissions included murals in the Missouri Building at the 1939 New York World’s Fair
1939 New York World's Fair
The 1939–40 New York World's Fair, which covered the of Flushing Meadows-Corona Park , was the second largest American world's fair of all time, exceeded only by St. Louis's Louisiana Purchase Exposition of 1904. Many countries around the world participated in it, and over 44 million people...
, the Missouri Pacific
Missouri Pacific Railroad
The Missouri Pacific Railroad , also known as the MoPac, was one of the first railroads in the United States west of the Mississippi River. MoPac was a Class I railroad growing from dozens of predecessors and mergers, including the St. Louis, Iron Mountain and Southern Railway , Texas and Pacific...
Museum, the Saint Louis Zoo, and St. Louis City Hospital.
In 1955, one of Nuderscher’s murals made national headlines with regard to the civil rights movement. His mural, The Apotheosis of St. Louis, that adorned the St. Louis Board of Education
Board of education
A board of education or a school board or school committee is the title of the board of directors or board of trustees of a school, local school district or higher administrative level....
assembly room had featured only white
White people
White people is a term which usually refers to human beings characterized, at least in part, by the light pigmentation of their skin...
children. In light of the controversy of racial integration
Racial integration
Racial integration, or simply integration includes desegregation . In addition to desegregation, integration includes goals such as leveling barriers to association, creating equal opportunity regardless of race, and the development of a culture that draws on diverse traditions, rather than merely...
in St. Louis public schools
St. Louis Public Schools
St. Louis Public Schools is the school district that operates public schools in the city of St. Louis, Missouri, United States. With a 2005 enrollment of approximately 33,000 students it is the largest public school district in the state of Missouri. Its headquarters is in Downtown St...
, Nuderscher volunteered to repaint two of the children in the mural to be African-American and thus integrate the mural in a symbolic act.
Dean of St. Louis artists
According to art historian William H. GerdtsWilliam H. Gerdts
William H. Gerdts is an American art historian and Professor Emeritus of Art History at the CUNY Graduate Center. Dr. Gerdts is the author of over twenty-five books on American art. An expert in American Impressionism, he is also well known for his work on nineteenth-century American still life...
, Nuderscher “was the most significant Impressionist painter to spend his whole career in Missouri.” In the Midwest
Midwestern United States
The Midwestern United States is one of the four U.S. geographic regions defined by the United States Census Bureau, providing an official definition of the American Midwest....
, Nuderscher was appreciated as such in his lifetime, and he used his influence to mentor other artists and to promote the arts in the region.
Nuderscher was the last surviving artist of the Riverfront Art Colony in St. Louis. He was a member of the National Society of Mural Painters
National Society of Mural Painters
The National Society of Mural Painters is an American artists' organization founded in 1895, originally known as The Mural Painters. The charter of the society is to advance the techniques and standards for the design and execution of mural art for the enrichment of architecture in the United...
, the St. Louis Artist Guild (where he won 10 first prizes), was president of the Independent Artists of St. Louis, and was the state chairman of the American Artists Professional League. Nuderscher also co-founded the Society of Ozark Painters with Carl Krafft and Rudolph Ingerle.
Nuderscher was the founder and director of the Nuderscher School of Art in St. Louis, the Ozark School of Art in Arcadia, and ran a summer school in Kimmswick
Kimmswick, Missouri
Kimmswick is a city in Jefferson County, Missouri, United States. The estimated population in 2007 was 102. It was 94 at the 2000 census.-Geography:Kimmswick is a fourth class city located at...
, Missouri. In the 1930s, he was the area supervisor for the WPA
Works Progress Administration
The Works Progress Administration was the largest and most ambitious New Deal agency, employing millions of unskilled workers to carry out public works projects, including the construction of public buildings and roads, and operated large arts, drama, media, and literacy projects...
Federal Arts Project in the St. Louis region. During his long tenure as a working artist and teacher, Nuderscher trained multiple generations of Missouri painters.
After a career of over 50 years, Nuderscher died of heart disease
Heart disease
Heart disease, cardiac disease or cardiopathy is an umbrella term for a variety of diseases affecting the heart. , it is the leading cause of death in the United States, England, Canada and Wales, accounting for 25.4% of the total deaths in the United States.-Types:-Coronary heart disease:Coronary...
in his Clayton
Clayton, Missouri
Clayton is an inner-ring suburb of St. Louis and the county seat of St. Louis County, Missouri. The population was 15,939 at the 2010 census. The city was organized in 1877 and is named after Ralph Clayton, who donated the land for the courthouse.-Geography:...
, Missouri home at age 79.