Original Painting of Northern New Mexico Fall Scene [SOLD]

Carl Von Hassler was born in Germany in 1887. When he was sixteen years old, Buffalo Bill's Wild West Show visited his home town of Bremen. For the rest of his life he was fascinated and captivated by romantic lure of the American West. After spending time in the naval service and six years at the Düsseldorf Art Academy, Von Hassler left for the US in 1912. He spent a brief time in New York City but when the war broke out in 1917, he enlisted in the US Army and fought against not only the Germans, but against his own brother, who had enlisted in the German Army. When his brother was killed in the war, his mother disowned him. Von Hassler never returned to live in Germany. After the war, he moved west and settled in Albuquerque and continued his lifelong fascination with the west; learning, studying and painting every aspect of his new home. He learned everything he could about the people, places and cultures by traveling and observing. His keen sense of observation is reflected in the composition and color of his paintings. The attention to detail and his ability to capture the true essence of a place is what makes him one of New Mexico's finest artists.

In this painting, Von Hassler has captured the magic of a New Mexico autumn day. The yellow cottonwood in the foreground has the ever slightest hint of oranges and purples in the shadows. The contrast of the yellow against the blue of the sky and the mountains is breathtakingly beautiful. Von Hassler used various media when painting and had developed secret methods of keeping the colors bright and vibrant. His “secret, magic” mixture of fast acid tempera on paper is used in this piece. Most tempera paint contains pigments, clay and a binder. Egg yolk and vinegar are sometimes added. The vinegar as an acid ingredient is known to enhance color. As Von Hassler never shared his “secret ingredients,” we will never know what he really did to create the paints that he used to record not only the colors of an autumn day, but the feeling that one gets when gazing at a golden cottonwood on a New Mexico fall day.

Dated: 1947

Provenance: Exhibited at the “Santa Fe Tribute to Carl Von Hassler” June 2009 at adobe gallery santa fe.