Frederick Ferdinand Schafer (1839-1927)
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Frederick Ferdinand Schafer was a landscape painter born in Braunschweig, Germany. He emigrated to the United States at the age of 37, and during his stay, created at least 500 landscape paintings of the American western frontier.
Schafer’s initial training in Germany is unknown, though art critics say that his work is similar to that of German painter Düsseldorf. Schafer held studios in San Francisco, Almeda and Oakland, and traveled fairly extensively throughout the states visiting Alaska, Idaho, Montana, Oregon, Utah, Washington, Wyoming and British Columbia. Many of his paintings bear titles indicating which of these states he may have painted his landscapes in. It is thought by art historians that most of his paintings depict summer scenes because it may have been difficult to paint at those locations in winter.
His landscapes have been hailed as being similar in quality to those of Albert Bierstadt and Thomas Cole, and are praised for his depictions of mountains, forests and rivers. Schafer’s “Mount Shasta” has caused speculation in the art world because it bears such a resemblance to other paintings by Albert Bierstadt. So close, in fact, that one Schafer’s paintings was initially attributed to Bierstadt in 1964 after being acquired by the Oakland Museum…the two artists even signed their work similarly.
Small figures sometimes decorate the midground of his landscapes, and they are usually Native Americans, or occasionally hunters, prospectors or even large animals like deer and bear. Other components such as teepees and campfires are also present, but these small details only enhance the natural surroundings rather than take away from them.
Schafer died in Oakland, California at the age of 87, and his works are still highly prized today by collectors of western American art. His work is housed in public and private collections all over the United States, including in the Yosemite National Park Museum, and perhaps in your own home. Still wondering about a 19th or early 20th century American landscape painting in your family estate? Contact us…it could be by Frederick Ferdinand Schafer.