William Henry von Herwig (1901 – 1947): 1925 Oil on Art Board P767

Provenance: NA

A charming study of a Mexican peasant family, the father steadying the goat while the mother milks it, their child close by. A young man’s work, very influenced by the artistic ideas and social ferment of his time, in the center of everything that was new and exciting on the western edge of America, his full maturation cut short by his early death. 16? x 20?

Born in Los Angeles, CA on June 1, 1901 of Bavarian parents. Called Hench by his friends, Herwig and his sister, Mary, were active in the local art scene as members of the Younger Painters. A portrait of the Herwig family by Edouard Vysekal is in the LACMA. Exh: Palos Verdes Library, 1933; Rose Book Shop (LA), 1933.

He is quoted from the “Independents” catalog for an exhibition held at the Palos Verdes Public Library & Art Gallery Oct. 31st to Dec. 31, 1933 as saying: “The marked influence of the East on our younger painters I believe is indicative of a new & greater expression in Art, blending the best of the East with the knowledge of the West. I regard the Pacific Coast as the scene of the new impetus.” William von Herwig died in Los Angeles in 1947 at the age of 46.

This item ships from Los Angeles, CA.