Portrait of George Hetzel, Sr.

Object number86.1.171

Date1850

MediumOil on canvas

Credit LineGift of Western Pennsylvania Conservancy

DescriptionFramed oil painting. Bust portrait of balding man with a beard. He is wearing a dark jacket, white shirt, white vest and a multi-colored tie pinned with round tie tack. Black background.Dimensions32.7499 x 28.4999 in. (83.2 x 72.4 cm)
Signednone
MarksBack of painting:
Upper left: Pgh Historical Society
Center:77-71/George Hetzel Sr/(The Artists Father)
Lower right: No.4.1972.36/Artist Hetzel/Owner Kantner
Label TextGeorge Hetzel, Jr. (1826-1899) painted these portraits of his parents, George Hetzel, Sr. and Catherine Siegrist Hetzel in 1850. In 1828, infant George Hetzel, Jr. and his parents sailed to America from Bremerhaven, Germany and eventually settled in Allegheny City, where George Hetzel, Sr. worked as a tailor. George Hetzel, Jr. began his career as an artist in 1839 with an apprenticeship at a house and sign painting business and worked mostly at lettering and decorating signs for the next four years. In 1847, he was sent to study portrait and still-life painting at Dusseldorf Academy in Germany, internationally known for its lucid style of landscape and genre painting. Upon his return to Pittsburgh, he became a popular portrait artist in the area and was even better known for his landscapes and still-life paintings. He was also a leading figure in the loose-knit group of artists who painted in the Scalp Level area East of Pittsburgh.

Related institution Pittsburgh School of Design

Related institution Dusseldorff Academy

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