Volume 1, Issue 9, November 2009
Header
Gallery Information | Artist List | Contact Us
____________________________________________
Dear Friends,

As the joyous days of the winter season and the holidays are just around the bend, we are pleased to present The Sledding Party by Theodor Kleehaas for your consideration.

While Theodor Kleehaas may not be as immediately familiar as our own Norman Rockwell, or his British and French contemporaries Frederick Morgan or Victor Gilbert, it is worth noting that a 19th century painting's subject and quality play an equal or even greater role than artist celebrity in determining value and desirability. Theodor Kleehaas is widely appreciated and collected internationally. At the June 2007 Bonham's & Butterfield's 19th Century European Paintings auction, Theodor Kleehaas's Preparing the Attack sold for $71,000. The painting depicts a scene of youthful folly true to Kleehaas's style and of comparable size and quality to our presently featured The Sledding Party. Large, tightly painted works of children engaged in winter pass-times are a true rarity in the market.

Price: $39,000 
Sincerely,

Joyce and Kevin Anderson


We invite you to "become a fan" of Anderson Galleries on facebook.com
Visit our Page:

facebook button 1
____________________________________________
THEODOR KLEEHAAS
German, 1854-1914
Kleehaas - The Sledding Party UF
click to view painting framed
The Sledding Party
Oil on canvas
39 1/4 x 29 1/2 inches (48 3/4 x 38 1/2 inches framed)
Signed lower right
Kleehaas - Sledding Party Signature 1Theodor Kleehaas (also written 'Kleehaus') was born on November 9, 1854 in Germersheim. A painter of genre scenes and flowers, he studied for several years in New York at the Cooper Institute. From 1879 to 1887, he trained at the Fine Art Academy in Munich under A. Strahuber, J. Benczur, and Al. v. Wagner, Kleehaas, and was awarded two medals during that time. From 1893 to 1914, Kleehaas exhibited in Berlin and abroad, including the Crystal Palace in London in 1897. He studied in Italy, France, and Belgium, where he found inspiration for his genre scenes portraying the rural population of the Rheinpfalz, the Black Forest and upper Bavarian and Tyrolean farm life. Kleehaas is perhaps best known for his lively scenes depicting the world of children, famous for works such as On to the Dance, The Love of Brothers and Sisters, Orphans and Girl in the Garden.


Kleehaas - Sledding Party Detail 2The present painting displays Kleehaas's favorite subject, a jovial group of boys who embark on a sledding adventure. The Sledding Party blends youthful nostalgia with an air of seasonal wonder. The boys, reminiscent of cherubim Victorian children with their rosy complexions, are humorously precocious. One fallen comrade can be seen further up the hill, precariously lying in the path of an oncoming sled. Had the scene portrayed events several moments later, it may have included a pile-up of toboggans. The sledding escapade makes a comical contrast to the calm pastoral winter wonderland that envelopes Kleehaas's young subjects.


Kleehaas painted in a style not completely aligned with his Munich contemporaries of the 1880s. The present winterscape is painted with an Impressionist authority; pinks and greens light in the shadows of dappled snow drifts and clouds. His figures are more traditionally rendered, though painted with a light touch to complement the luminosity of the scene.


The Sledding Party beautifully conveys a spirit of innocence and wonder that Kleehaas infused in many of his most successful works depicting the world of children.
AndersonGalleries.com
Footer