George Gunther Hartwick (1817-1899) American
Birthplace/Origin: N/A
Biography/Statement:
Also known as Gunther Hartwick (1817-1899, the artist was active between 1847 and 1869. Hartwick carried on the landscape traditions of the seventeenth-century Dutch, George Henry Durrie and Thomas Birch. He was in New Haven, Connecticut in the 1840s. Outstanding compositions, contrasting textures and considerable animation distinguish his works. He achieved a great, powdery softness when brushing in areas of fallen snow on trees. One particular motif that Hartwick used was a hole cut through a frozen river surrounded by small blocks of ice. He exhibited two landscapes in the American Art-Union in 1849.
Hartwick’s canvases may be found in the following institutions: the Chicago Historical Society, the Western Reserve Historical Society, and the Malden (MA) Public Library, but most are in private collections.