131

Van Soelen, Theodore (1890 - 1964)

Currency:USD Category:Art Start Price:50,000.00 USD Estimated At:50,000.00 - 70,000.00 USD
Van Soelen, Theodore (1890 - 1964)
<strong>Van Soelen, Theodore </strong>
(1890 - 1964)

<strong>Cowboys</strong>

oil on board
19 7/8 x 23 3/4 inches
signed lower center: <i>Van Soelen</i>

Theodore Van Soelen was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, and initially went west for health reasons, after contracting tuberculosis. He spent time in Utah and Nevada in 1910, working on the Western Pacific Railroad. He returned east to study at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, and from 1913-1914 traveled to Europe to study art on scholarships he won while at the academy. In 1916, he moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico, and found work at the ranch headquarters of the Fernandez Company in San Mateo. From 1920-1921, he lived among the Indians at their trading post in San Ysidro. He eventually moved to Santa Fe and then settled north of town in the village of Tesuque. He firmly believed in living among the people he painted and took pride in his experiences at the trading post and as a ranch-hand. As an artist, one of his goals was to preserve the vanishing era of the cowboy.

In this oil, he depicted five cowboys, encircling the campfire at night. He captured the quiet, tired
mood of the men after a long day, still in their work clothes. The light from the fire illuminates their
faces and draws the viewer's eye directly to the center of the intimate composition. A kettle is
hanging over the fire, as the man seated on the right stokes the flames. Van Soelen achieved success on a national level; during his lifetime, his works were included in exhibitions at prominent museums in New York, Chicago, and Washington D.C. He was elected an associate member of the National Academy of Design in 1933 and was promoted to an Academician in 1940. As an artist, he was a talented draftsman who eschewed sentimentality in favor of realistic depictions of Western life, and <i>Cowboys</i> is indicative of his success.—DW






Theodore Van Soelen was born in St. Paul, Minnesota, but he initially went west
for health reasons, after contracting tuberculosis. He spent time in Utah and
Nevada in 1910, working on the Wstern Pacific Railroad. He returned east to
study at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, and from 1913-1914 traveled
to Europe to study art on scholarships he won while at the academy. In 1916, he
moved to Albuquerque, New Mexico, and found work at the ranch headquarters of
the Fernandez Company in San Mateo. From 1920-1921, he lived among the Indians
at their trading post in San Ysidro. He eventually moved to Santa Fe and then
settled north of town in the village of Tesuque. He firmly believed in living
among the people he painted and took pride in his experiences at the trading
post and as a ranch-hand.

As an aritst, one of his goals was to preserve the vanishing era of the cowboy.
In this oil, he depicted five cowboys, encircling the campfire at night. He
captured the quiet, tired mood of the men after a long day, still in their work
clothes, hats, spurs, and all. The light from the fire illuminates their faces,
and draws the viewer's eye directly to the center of the intimate composition.
A kettle is hanging over the fire, as the man seated on the right strokes the
flames. Van Soelen achieved success on a national level; during his lifetime,
his works were included in exhibitions at prominent museums in New York,
Chicago, and Washington D.C. He was elected an associate member of the National
Academy of Design in 1933 and was promoted to an Academician in 1940. As an
artist, he was a talented draftsman who eschewed sentimentality in favor of
realistic depictions of Western life, and Cowboys is indicative of his
success. DAW

Provenance:
Private Collection, New Mexico

Literature:
Van Deren Coke, <i>Taos and Santa Fe: THe Artist's Environment (1882-1942)</i>Albuquerque, New Mexico: University of New Mexico Press, 1963
Ed Ainsworth, <i>The Cowboy in Art,</i> New York, New York and Cleveland, Ohio: World
Publishing Company, 1968
Doris Ostrander Dawdy, <i>Artists of the American West: A Biographical Dictionary,</i> 3 vols. Chicago, Illinois: Swallow Press, Inc., 1974
Peggy and Harold Samuels, <i>The Illustrated Biographical Encyclopedia of Artists of the American West,</i> Garden City, New York: Doubleday & Company, Inc., 1976
Dorothy Harmsen, <i>American Western Art,</i> Denver, Colorado: Harmsen Publishing
Co., 1977.
<i>New Mexico Painters,</i> ex. cat., with an essay by Robert R. White, Santa Fe, New Mexico: Gerald Peters Gallery, 1999