Gerard R. Hardenbergh (1855-1915)
Quail
signed "G.R. Hardenbergh" lower left
oil on canvas, 12 by 18 in.
"The Van Nostrand Family Collection" label on back

Gerard Rutgers Hardenbergh was born in New Brunswick, New Jersey, in 1856, and was a descendant of early Dutch settlers. He was an early lover of birds, and spent significant time on the Jersey Shore, painting in a floating art studio named the "Pelican," a houseboat he moored near Bay Head and throughout Barnegat Bay. Though self-taught as an artist, Hardenbergh exhibited to acclaim at the Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia in 1876. He also supplied bird specimens to Princeton University's Biology Department. Morven Museum & Garden in Princeton, New Jersey, held the first exhibition on the artist, "In Nature's Realm: The Art of Gerard Rutgers Hardenbergh," in 2021.

In 1897 and 1898, Hardenbergh traveled to North Carolina on a hunting trip with fellow artist George Endicott. This important early depiction of two quail reveals the artist at the height of his craft.

Provenance: Van Nostrand Family Collection

Literature: Patricia H. Burke, "Gerard Rutgers Hardenbergh: Artist and Ornithologist," NJ, 2017, p. 31, illustrated.

Exhibited: Princeton, New Jersey, "In Nature's Realm: The Art of Gerard Rutgers Hardenbergh," Morven Museum & Garden, February 19, 2021-January 9, 2022.

Please email condition report requests to leah@copleyart.com. Any condition statement given is a courtesy to customers, Copley will not be held responsible for any errors or omissions. The absence of a condition statement does not imply that the lot is in perfect condition.