Special Winter Feature:
Clara Langenbach (1871-1964)
Exhibition:
Saturday, February 22, 2014-Saturday, March 15, 2014
Clara Emma Langenbach (1871-1964)
Clara Langenbach was born near Stratford Ontario and moved to Buffalo with her family as a child. After graduating from high school, her formal art education continued at the Art Students’ League, NYC, Pratt Institute, and the Art League of Woodstock, NY. Clara’s keen interest and aptitude in painting flourished under the tutelage of artists including John F. Carlson, Frank Swift Chase and William Merritt Chase.
The Buffalo Public School system employed Clara as an art teacher for 43 years at various sites, where she not only imparted the basics in art education, but also taught children to think, to observe and to grow in general knowledge. In 1914, inspired by her student’s family experiences, she created a patriotic poster to support the World War I war efforts, which took first prize in a national competition.
Concurrently with her teaching, Clara actively pursued her own painting career by building a home with a large studio to accommodate her growing body of work and painting supplies. During summer vacations, travel destinations included Cape Ann and Gloucester, MA, Guatemala, and Europe where she was able to appreciate the culture with her knowledge of the French and German languages. She exhibited canvases of seasonal landscapes and seascapes with the Buffalo Society of Artists at the Albright Art Gallery in Buffalo, at Rochester, NY exhibits, at numerous shows in New England and the Smithsonian in Washington, DC.
In 1933 during the Depression, Clara supported FDR’s “New Deal” to foster preservation of the arts and assistance to working artists. Also during the 30’s she advocated for groups called “Sanity in Art” and the “The Rationalists” who rejected modernist and contemporary movements of the time in favor of the traditional disciplines of the Old Masters.
Clara Langenbach is listed in numerous reference publications including
Who’s Who in American Art and the
Encyclopedia of American Biography. She died at the age of 93 having spent a lifetime helping others to interpret and appreciate the universal language of color, light and texture through her paintings of nature’s beauty.
More can be read on Clara's artist page link.
Catalog of Exhibition:
Please contact the gallery concerning availability of works from past exhibits.
1.
Pink House with Scotty Dog
12 x 16, oil, slr
900.00 (sold)
2.
A Couple in Nantucket
12 x 15, oil, sll
1000.00 (sold)
3.
“Under Protest”
20 x 24, oil, 1941, slr
3200.00 (sold)
4.
The Story Teller
10 x 8, oil, slr
500.00 (Sold)
5.
Leading His Horse to the Barn
20 x 16, oil, 1952, slr
1200.00 (sold)
6.
“Snow on the Hills”
32 x 40, oil, 1939, sll
5500.00 (sold)
7.
A Winter Scene
16 x 12, oil, slr
900.00 (sold)
8.
“Chapel at Chichicastenango Guatemala”
24 x 20, oil, 1949, slr
2000.00 (sold)
9.
“Winter Sunshine”
32 x 40, oil, 1934, sll
5500.00 (sold)
10.
Apple Blossom Time
12 x 15, oil, slr
900.00
11.
“A Neighborly Chat”
12 x 16, oil, uns
Private Collection
12.
“Feeding the Chickens”
12 x 16, oil, sll
1100.00 (sold)
13.
Dripping Gold
7 x 5, watercolor, slr
210.00
14.
Where Violets Grow
15 x 11, watercolor, slr
450.00 (sold)
15.
“Winged Victory Stands Guard”
24 x 20, oil, 1948, sll
1650.00
16.
“Circus on Parade”
30 x 38, oil, 1944, sll
4000.00
• All dimensions are in inches, height precedes width.
• Titles in quotes have been titled by the artist.
• sll= signed lower left; slr= signed lower right; uns= unsigned.
• “Character in Art: The Work and Career of Clara E. Langenbach”, by Sam Haney, is a featured article in the 2014 Winter Issue of
Western New York Heritage Magazine wnyheritagepress.org.
