Featured Artists' Biographies (V)

View larger image and more information for Anthony Vaiksnoras's original watercolor, Night Scene on the Western Front.

Anthony Vaiksnoras (Cleveland, Ohio, Born, 1923): After the bombing of Pearl Harbor in 1941 the U.S. Corps of Engineers recruited a number of younger men and women to form the Army Map Service. Those selected all had considerable artistic talents which could be utilized for accurate map making. Anthony Vaiksnoras was recruited in June of 1942. In a little over one year, his abilities had been fully recommended and he was one of the principal draftsmen in charge of executing landing chart maps for the invasion of Normandy. Vaiksnoras remained with the United States Army as it marched through France and into Germany to end the European War.

Tony Vaiksnoras's paintings and drawings of the war gained a large reputation. After the war's end, the Cleveland Museum of Art had an exhibition of his work (May, 1945) and purchased seven of his paintings. Also, he illustrated John Mason Brown's 1946 book, To All Hands.

View larger image, more information and other original works of art by Theodore Valerio.

Theodore Valerio (Herserange, 1819 - Vichy, 1879): A famous French etcher, painter and lithographer, Theodore Valerio was a pupil and lifelong friend of Charlet. Displaying considerable talent at an early age, Valerio began exhibiting his art at the Paris Salon in 1838 at age nineteen. As a young man he both studied and etched in Germany, Switzerland and Italy. Shortly thereafter Valerio made his first of many trips to the Hungarian Empire and to the Baltic States. He was immediately drawn to the customs and lives of these peoples and thereafter devoted most of his art to them.

From 1853 to 1865 Valerio recorded the dress, customs and habitations of the Hungarian and Baltic peoples with several brilliant series of original etchings. Although these etchings faithfully render each and every detail, these are no mere costume plates. Both Valerio's gifted talents and his deep reverence for the persons he portrayed make these etchings major works of art. Indeed, one has to search all the way back to the seventeenth century studies of Wenzel Hollar to find anything so accomplished in this medium.

View larger image and more information for Frank Ivo Van Damme's Original Linocut, Ex-Libris Design.

Frank Ivo Van Damme (Belgium Modern Artist): A famous Belgium masters of ex-libris is Frank Ivo Van Damme. Since 1960 he has exhibited his linocuts, woodcuts and drawings throughout major European venues. He has created over 350 commissioned ex-libris plates as well as illustrating a number of books in Flemish and other languages, such as Bijwijlen lief, bijwiljen leed (1981) and Bevrijd van alle nood (1984).

Ex-Libris etchings, engravings and woodcuts date all the way back to the mid fifteenth century. Their function was initially quite utilitarian as miniature prints used to signify the ownership of books. As private libraries and their owners gained more wealth and prestige, however, so did their ex-libris bookplates. Pictorial imagery became as important as the wording and titles and the finished work of art came to stand as the owner's claim to posterity. Before long, famous artists were commissioned by prominent collectors to make their ex-libris art and during the centuries such masters as Durer, Holbein, Manet, Toulouse-Lautrec and Rockwell Kent all contributed significantly to this great form of art.

View larger image and more information for Emile Louis Vernier's original etching, Rue Saint-Nicolas, Blois.

Emile Louis Vernier (Lons-le-Saulnier, (Jura) 1829 - Paris, 1887): A French painter, lithographer and etcher, Emile Louis Vernier was best known for his landscapes and marine scenes. He studied art in Paris, under Colette, and first exhibited there at the Salon in 1857. He achieved a strong reputation for his lithographs after the works of Corot, Rousseau, Daubigny, Millet and Courbet. As an original artist, Emile Vernier painted scenes of the Norman and Breton coasts and views of London, Paris and Venice. Rue Saint-Nicolas, Blois is one of several original etchings the artist created in the 1860's.

In 1881 Emile Louis Vernier received the cross of the Legion of Honour. Today museums in Arras, Besancon, Carpentras, Montreal, Nantes and Paris include examples of the art of Vernier in their permanent collections.

View larger image and more information for Marcel Vertes's original lithograph, Rope Dancer.

Marcel Vertes (Budapest, 1895 - Paris, 1961): An outstanding twentieth century painter, printmaker and illustrator, Marcel Vertes moved from his native Hungary to Paris during the First World War. Living and working in the famous Latin Quarter, Vertes quickly established himself as one of the most important artists of the Paris scene, thus continuing in the footsteps of Boutet, Forain, Toulouse-Lautrec and others. The art of Marcel Vertes was at its peak during the vibrant and somewhat wild decade of the 1920's. Concentrating upon scenes of Paris street life, portrayals of women and depictions of circus and cabaret acts, Vertes left a legacy of original lithographs and drawings that superbly capture the spirit of 1920's Paris.

Like many other artists, the devastation of the Second World War forced Vertes to move to the United States. Settling in New York his reputation as a great artist had been firmly established and he continued his fine work, most particularly in the field of book illustration. Ten years later, he returned to his beloved Paris and spent the remaining years of his life there.

View larger image, more information and other original works of art by Pierre Eugene Vibert.

Pierre Eugene Vibert (Geneva, 1875 - 1937): A highly skilled wood engraver, etcher and painter, Pierre-Eugene Vibert came to Paris in 1893 and spent most of his career there. He began exhibiting his art at the prestigious Paris Salon in 1900 and was awarded a gold medal at the 1903 Exposition Universalle. As a leading wood engraver, Vibert was equally well respected for his landscapes, figure studies and portraits. In this latter category, he engraved the heads of Stendhal, Anatole France, Verhaeren, Gourmont and Constantin Meunier. This portrait of the famous French sculptor, Constantin Meunier (1831 - 1905) is typical of Vibert's subtle art, particularly in the beautiful blendings of greens and blacks. Many of his wood engravings were printed in multiple colours, but he also created some outstanding works in black and white. Nude, one of his finest original woodcuts in this medium, showcases the atmospheric and textural elements that made his art famous.

In 1914, Vibert was appointed Professor at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts, Paris. His art and technique thus influenced a large number of rising French printmakers in the 1920's and 1930's.

View larger image and more information for Frede Vidar's original lithograph, Sleeping Woman.

Frede Vidar (Denmark, 1911 - Ann Arbor, Michigan, 1967): Born in Denmark, Frede Vidar came to America at the age of twelve. After finishing his artistic studies in New York, he was awarded the Chaloner Foundation prize for three years of residency and study in Paris (1935). Vidar returned to the United States shortly before the outbreak of World War Two and during the ensuing struggle worked in an official capacity as a combat artist. At the end of the war, Vidar received the prestigious Simon Guggenheim fellowship (1946).

Equally well received for his landscape, genre and figure studies in oils, murals and lithographs, Vidar's art was the subject of one man shows in Paris, New York, Detroit, Barcelona, Brussels and Melbourne. Frede Vidar was also an artist and correspondent for Life and Fortune magazines. From 1950 until his death in 1967 he was Professor of Art at the University of Michigan. Today, examples of Vidar's art are housed in many important collections, including the Museum of Modern Art, New York, and the National Gallery, Denmark.

View larger image, more information and other original works of art by Thomas Vivares.

Thomas Vivares (London, 1735 - 1821): Thomas Vivares studied engraving under his father, the artist, Francois Vivares (1709 - 1780). It is a wonder that this elder Vivares had time for any teaching as it is reputed that thomas was but one of thirty-one children in the Vivares family, Nevertheless, Thomas Vivares showed early promise as an engraver and was awarded a prize from the society of Arts in 1761. Vivares gained his reputation largely upon his figure studies and architectural plates,. He exhibited at both the royal Academy and the Society of Artists from 1764. some of his best work was created at a time in life when most persons are incapable.

William Young Ottley (Thatcham, 1771 - London, 1836) will forever be remembered both as an artist and as an art scholar. Having studied art under Cuitt and then in the Schools of the Royal Academy, London, Ottley went to Italy in 1791 where he resided for ten years, researching and collecting works of Renaissance art. During his life Ottley became the greatest authority on the art of the Italian Renaissance and, upon returning to London, published a number of portfolios and books upon this subject. Apart from the biographical and scholarly information Ottley unearthed, the most valuable product of his researches was the meticulously detailed and artistic etchings and engravings he published. Either in their large folio size or in the smaller miniatures, these outstanding masterpieces of original printmaking have been admired for almost two centuries. Later in his life (1833), Ottley was appointed to the prestigious post of Keeper of the Prints for the British Museum.

View larger image and more information for Rudolf Von Alt's original etching, Der Doppel Erker der Alten Burg in Klosterneuburg.

Rudolf Von Alt (Vienna, 1812 - 1905): An outstanding Austrian 19th century artist of architecture, Rudolf Von Alt was equally accomplished in the mediums of etching, lithography, painting and watercolour. He first studied under his father, Jacob Alt (1789-1872), and then completed his education at the Academy of Vienna. He then traveled extensively through Austria, Italy and Switzerland and began exhibiting his art in 1834 in such major cities as Berlin, Munich, Vienna, Dresden and Paris. Rudolf von Alt was a full member of both the Berlin and Vienna Academies.

In total, Alt created twenty-nine original lithographs and twenty original etchings during his career. This charming etching was commissioned by the Viennese publisher, Vervielfaltigende Kunst, in 1876.

View more information for Urd Von Hentig's original engraving, Olivenernte (Harvesting Olives)

Urd Von Hentig (Germany, born, 1933): A well respected contemporary German painter, printmaker and illustrator, Urd Von Hentig had already established an international reputation by 1955. In the following year he was invited to participate in the Contemporary German Graphics Exhibition at the Contemporary Arts Museum, Houston, Texas, along with such artists as Paul Wunderlich, Willi Titze and Wolf Hoffmann. Since that time, many museums around the world have included Von Hentig's art in their permanent collections and exhibitions.

A distinguishing characteristic of Von Hentig's art is the inspiration he draws from his passion for travel and his experiences of different cultures. A major artist of the book, he has illustrated works in German, English, Norwegian and Swedish. He has even illustrated three books of folklore in the native dialect of Eritrea! In 1978, Von Hentig was commissioned to produce an important portfolio of landscape etchings and engravings of America, entitled, Urd Von Hentig: Amerikanische Landschafton. A full monograph has been written by Cornelius Steckner -- Urd Von Hentig: Werkverzeichnis 1952-1990, Heidleberg, 1991.

View larger image, more information and other original works of art by Sir Hubert Von Herkomer.

Sir Hubert Von Herkomer (Bavaria, 1849 - Hertfordshire, 1914): A prominent member of the Royal Academy, Royal Water-Colour Society and the Royal Engravers, Sir Hubert Von Herkomer left Bavaria for Southampton in 1857 and studied at the Royal College of Art, London. Herkomer was equally well received for his paintings, sculptures and etchings. In this latter medium he was a tireless experimenter and he became accomplished in all forms of original graphic art. He founded and directed the Herkomer School of Art at Bushey, Herfordshire (1883-1904) and was the Slade Professor of Art at Oxford University from 1885 to 1894. Herkomer also wrote a great deal upon the arts. His most famous book, Etchings and Mezzotint Engraving, was published in 1892. In 1896 he was Knighted by Queen Victoria.

View larger image and more information for Jan Vondrous's original etching, Bruges #5.

Jan Vondrous (Bohemia, 1884 - Prague, 1956): Born in Czechoslovakia, Jan Vondrous moved to the United States at an early age. He studied in New York at the National Academy of Design, taking classes there in etching under James D. Smillie. His first etchings were published during the First World War and were mainly architectural views of New York and vicinity. After the end of the war (1918), Vondrous spent much of the following decade etching architectural scenes of major European cities, particularly Bruges and Venice. He still maintained both his permanent home and studio in Long Island at this time.

Jan Vondrous was a full member of the Chicago Society of Etchers, the Print Makers' Society of California and the Hollar Society of Prague. Examples of his original etchings are included in the following collections; the Modern Gallery of Prague, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Congressional Library, Washington, DC, the New York Public Library, the Kupferstich Kabinett, Berlin, and the Victoria and Albert Museum and the British Museum, London.