Carl Krafft

Art Brokerage: Carl R. Kraftt American Artist: b. 1884-1938. Carl R. Krafft was born in Reading, Ohio, on August 23, 1884. At the time, his father was serving as a preacher for the Johannes Evangelical Lutheran Church. The Reverend Carl F. L. Krafft had been born in 1847 in Regensburg, Bavaria, the son of Pastor Carl Krafft. They were descendants of Adam Krafft, the sculptor of the sixteenth century whose works can still be found about the old town of Nuremberg. At the age of nineteen, Carl immigrated to America to attend a seminary in Marthasville, Missouri. He was ordained as a minister in 1872 in St. Charles, Missouri. He married Wilhemina Meier of New Melle, whose father Henry Meier, was a pioneer who had come to that territory in 1860. In 1912, while visiting relatives in Missouri, Carl was told of the beautiful mountains close by. He hired a horse and buggy and follow the dirt roads into the Ozark Mountains. He became fascinated by the colors in the scenery, the changing of them by the mists, clouds, sun, or time of day. He returned to the Ozarks every fall for years, sometimes alone, sometimes with his family. He stayed for a month or more to record nature's transition from fall to the first snows of winter. Carl painted many canvasses in the Ozarks and many other artists were influenced by them. He organized the Society of Ozark Painters. An art critic wrote, "The American novelist, Harold Bell Wright, wrote of life in the Ozarks in his books Shepherd of the Hills and The Winning of Barbara Worth. What Mr. Wright did in words in his novels of life in the Ozark Mountains, Carl Krafft did with his visual portrayal of life and scenery through his paintings." Carl joined the Palette and Chisel Club in Chicago and found new ideals and companionship that furthered his artistic talents. His first exhibition was held at the Palette and Chisel Club in 1914. He then entered a canvas in the Chicago Artists Exhibition at the Chicago Art Institute and it was accepted. Because he didn't want to be classified as an oil painter of landscapes, he purposely painted a variety of sill lifes, marine painting, portraits, nudes and figure compositions. Listings wanted by Art Brokerage.