Extraordinary Gifts: Selected Paintings from The Procter and Gamble Collection at the Cincinnati Art Museum February 15, 2003 to September 12, 2004 Extraordinary Gifts: Selected Paintings from The Procter and Gamble Collection at the Cincinnati Art Museum Cincinnati Art Museum logo
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Herman Wessel (1878–1969)
Mount Adams from Eden Park, ca. 1935
oil on canvas
24 x 29 in.

Raised in rural Vincennes, Indiana, Wessel came to Cincinnati to study art with Frank Duveneck. Upon completing his education, he became an instructor at the Art Academy of Cincinnati, where he taught for thirty-nine years.

This view of Mount Adams was most likely painted somewhere near the Krohn Conservatory, facing east. Teaching at the academy and living on the edge of Eden Park gave Wessel many opportunities to paint the surrounding region. Wessel painted many views of Eden Park, but the freshness and broad brushstrokes found in this particular landscape stand out. The forms of the clouds and trees were made with quick, loaded brushstrokes, giving the painting an energetic, spontaneous quality. Perhaps this canvas was made as a demonstration for his students. Painting such views from Eden Park is still a common practice at the academy, where one can often see students with easels outdoors.