Otto Edward Philip Gaertner

OTTO EDWARD PHILIP GAERTNER 1845-1909

Otto Edward Philip Gaertner was born in Berlin, Germany, on August 5, 1845, he was a son of the artist Eduard Johann Philipp Gaertner (sometimes spelled Gärtner) and Henriette Karel Gaertner.

He attended the University of Berlin and studied at the Koniglichen, or Royal Academy of Fine Arts. He also spent some months studying art in Paris.

In 1870 Otto, spent a year visiting and traveling throughout Japan with his two brothers. He was inspired by Japanese culture which greatly influenced his later work.

In 1871 he left Japan for America. eventually settling in New York City in 1872

and began to pursue a career in art. His first contact was with the well-known firm of decorators, R. Loforte, on West 54th Street and 6th Avenue. In 1880, Otto Gaertner, was elected president of the German Arts Club of New York City.

In 1892 while he was in Dayton, Ohio doing a commission for a decorative painting job for a church, he also created paintings of rural scenes of the area. He liked Dayton and thought of establishing himself in business there with a partner, but decided that New York City was better for his type of art. The Dayton Art Institute, Dayton Ohio has 3 paintings by Otto Gaertner in its collection. all dating from 1892.

Otto Gaertner's great talent was both as a church decorator, and in painting mural and frescos for private dwellings and other buildings. In 1895 Gaertner did the decorations for the New Orleans Cathedral. In 1902 when President Theodore Roosevelt was in office, Gaertner redecorated parts of the interior of the White House. President Roosevelt admired Gaertner's work that was done for his residence in Oyster Bay, Long Island, New York. While Otto was in Washington, he also painted several water colors depicting landscapes and genre scenes of the area. During 1902 he was engaged by Mr. J. B. Haggin to paint murals at his residence, known as "Elmendorf," in Lexington, Kentucky. Mr. Haggin was well known for raising race horses. Gaertner also painted a scene which depicted the Kentucky home and property of Mr. Haggin.

In 1907 Otto was one of the leading artists for the Jamestown Exposition in Virginia. In that same year he was commissioned by the daughter of Jay Gould, Miss Helen Gould, to create decorations and murals at her mansion on the Hudson known as 'Lyndhurst' at Irvington, in Tarrytown New York. Gould's daughter made many improvements and added several notable buildings to the estate. Lyndhurst is one of America's finest Gothic Revival mansions and is now a museum.

Miss Gould also bought paintings by Gaertner that depicted scenes in the Tarrytown area and one of her estate at Irvington. Two of these paintings are in the collection at Lyndhurst. In 1908 Otto was commissioned by Mr. John D. Rockefeller Senior, to decorate his villa at Pocantico Hills, New York, on the Hudson River.

Gaertner was commissioned to decorate the mansions of many leading citizens in Pennsylvania, South Carolina, West Virginia and elsewhere. His decorative work was done in the city residences and the country estates of other noted personages like the Belmont's, Vanderbilt's and others. His smaller more personal paintings can be found in museum collections around the country including the Smithsonian, Washington, DC; Dayton Art Institute, Dayton, Ohio; and the Lyndhurst Museum, Tarrytown, New York

Otto Gaertner's productive career reached its peak with the decoration of the magnificent homes that graced the heights along the Hudson River.

Gaertner lived and worked in New York City during the "the Gilded Age." His career reached its peak with the decoration of the magnificent homes that graced the Hudson River at that time.

All through his career as a painter of decorative frescos and murals, Otto Gaertner, also painted oils and watercolors. His subject matter included landscapes, still life, flowers, birds and midwest genre scenes. His studies for his wall decorations are beautifully detailed.

Gaertner became a naturalized American Citizen On June 16, 1891. He died in New York, NY, on February 10, 1909.

Otto Edward Philip Gaertner wrote a book titled, 'Decorations for Dwellings' which contain 15 original designs for murals in watercolor. The book is in the collection of the Library of Congress.

A book on Otto Edward Philip Gaertner, written by his daughter Ethel G. Pyne in 1968 titled. Otto Gaertner, Artist In Painting, Painter/Designer/ Muralist. Published by Vantage Press, Inc.