Karl Albert Buehr

BORN: February 14, 1866 Feuerbach, Wuertenberg, Germany

DIED:  September 22, 1952 Chicago

MARRIED: June 28, 1899 Mary Guion Hess[1]

TRAINING

1886 Art Institute of Chicago, evenings

1888-1894 Graduated with honor[2], 1896-1897, Art Institute of Chicago[3]

1899 Paris with Frank Duveneck[4]

1901, 1902, 1908-1913[5]Académie Julian with Raphael Collin

1902 Académie Colarossi[6]

1905 Academy of Rome

1907-1909 London School of Art with Frank Brangwyn and Swan[7]

ART RELATED EMPLOYMENT

1881 Apprentice to lithograph company near Art Institute of Chicago

1882 Errand boy, shipping department, Art Institute of Chicago[8]

1886 Engraver

1899 Designed coat of arms, Armour Chapter, Omicron Kappa Pi, Chicago; St. Louis

1902 Poster Illustration, Chrysanthemum exhibit, held at Art Institute of Chicago[9]

TEACHING

1894-1939 Art Institute of Chicago[10]: 1894-1898, 1902-1903 Antique & object, evenings; 1898-1900 Antique & object; 1903-1905, 1914[11]-1918 Drawing & painting life & still life; 1903-1905 Life & antique, evenings; 1916-1918 Women’s nude life painting; 1918-1919 Men’s & women’s life class; 1919-1920 Life and portrait painting; 1920-1922 Portrait & nude painting; 1922-1932 Painting; 1927-1929 Landscape painting; 1932-1934 Advanced life drawing; 1934-1938 Life; 1938-1939 Life drawing & portrait painting

1897-1898 Palette & Chisel Club[12]

1920-1939 Business Men’s Art Club[13]

1928 Stanford University, artist in residence

1928 University of California, Berkeley[14]

1920s- 1930s Palette & Chisel Club

RESIDENCES

1866-1881 Germany

1881-1952 Chicago[15]

TRAVEL

1894 Burlington, Wisconsin[16]

1895 Canada[17]

1897 Nantucket and Cape Cod, Massachusetts

1897 Boston; New York City[18]

1899 Amsterdam

1900-1902 Laren, North Holland[19]

1901,[20] 1902 Paris 

1906 Hillside Farm, Wyoming, New York[21]

1906-1909 London[22]

1906, 1907 Taormina,  Sicily[23]

1907 Paris[24]

1908 Venice

1910-1912 Giverny[25]

1913 Sainte-Geneviève[26]

1914 Hillside Farm, Wyoming, New York

1915 Hillside Farm, Wyoming, New York[27]

1917 Hillside Farm, Wyoming, New York[28]

1923 Hillside Farm, Wyoming, New York (summer)[29]

1924 Hillside Farm, Wyoming, New York (summer)[30]

1925 Europe (summer)[31]

1925-1938 Windsor, Vermont (summers)

1926 Des Moines, Iowa (summer)[32]

1928 Europe[33]

1931-1937 Taos, New Mexico (summers)

1935 Mexico[34]

Niles, Michigan[35]

MEMBERSHIPS/OFFICES

Association of Chicago Painters & Sculptors (director)[36]

Business Men’s Art Club (founder)

Chicago Society of Artists (vice president 1915-1917[37])

Grand Central Art Galleries

Municipal Art League of Chicago

Society of Western Artists (treasurer 1903[38]-1907)

HONORS

1890 Second Prize, Evening Class, School of the Art Institute of Chicago[39]

1891 Two Honorable Mentions, School of the Art Institute of Chicago

1892 Three Honorable mentions, School of the Art Institute of Chicago

1892 Second Prize, Evening School, School of the Art Institute of Chicago

1893 Honorable Mention oil nude and watercolor head, School of the Art Institute of Chicago

1894 Class Honors, School of the Art Institute[40]

1901 Gold Medal, Académie Julian[41]

1904 Bronze Medal, Universal Exposition, St. Louis[42]

1904 School Committee on Honors and Recognition, School of the Art Institute of Chicago[43]

1907 Prize, Art Students’ League of Chicago

1908 Second Prize, Chase Scholarship, London School of Art[44]

1908 First Prize, head study, London School of Art[45]

1910 Honorable Mention, Salon Société des Artistes Français[46]

1912 Honorable Mention, Society of Western Artists

1914 Silver Medal, The National Conservation Exhibition, Knoxville[47]

1914 Chicago Society of Artists Silver Medal, Art Institute, Chicago & Vicinity[48]

1915 Silver Medal, Panama-Pacific Exposition, San Francisco[49]

1915 Chicago Municipal Art Commission Prize, Art Institute, Chicago & Vicinity

1916 Chicago Municipal Art Commission Prize, Art Institute, Chicago & Vicinity

1919 Mr. & Mrs. Frank G. Logan Second Medal, Art Institute, Chicago & Vicinity[50]

1919 Edward B. Butler Chicago Public Schools Purchase Prize, Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago & Vicinity[51]

1920 Harry A. Frank Figure Composition Prize, Art Institute, Chicago & Vicinity[52]

1920 Silver Medal, Peoria Society of Allied Arts, Paintings by Illinois Artists[53]

1920 Downers Grove Municipal Art Purchase Prize, Art Institute, Chicago & Vicinity

1920 Medal, All American Society of Fine Arts

1922 Associate, National Academy of Design[54]

1922 Mrs. William Ormonde Thompson Prize,[55] Art Institute, Chicago & Vicinity[56]

1922 Charles S. Peterson Purchase Prize, Art Institute Chicago & Vicinity[57]

1922 Norman Waite Harris Bronze Medal, Art Institute of Chicago, American Annual[58]

1924 Municipal Art League Purchase Prize, Art Institute, Chicago & Vicinity[59]

1925 Mr. & Mrs. Jule F. Brower Prize, Art Institute, Chicago & Vicinity[60]

1926 William Ormand Thompson Prize, Art Institute, Chicago & Vicinity

1926 (Mar.) Sixth Purchase Prize, Chicago Galleries Association

1926 (Dec.) Fifth Purchase Prize, Chicago Galleries Association

1927 Businessmen’s Art Club Prize, Art Institute, Chicago & Vicinity[61]

1926 Edward MacDowell Association of Allied Arts of Evanston First Prize, Woman’s Club of Evanston, Annual Exhibition of Evanston and North Shore Artists[62]

1930 (Dec.) First Purchase Prize, Chicago Galleries Association[63]

1931 Evanston Civic Prize, Woman’s Club of Evanston, Annual Exhibition of Evanston and North Shore Artists

1931 Anonymous Prize, Woman’s Club of Evanston, Annual Exhibition of Evanston and North Shore Artists

1933 Municipal Art League Portrait Prize, Art Institute, Chicago & Vicinity[64]

1933 Mrs. James A. Patten First Prize, Woman’s Club of Evanston, Annual Exhibition of Evanston and North Shore Artists

1935 Award, Woman’s Club of Evanston, Annual Exhibition of Evanston and North Shore Artists

1938 Mr. & Mrs. Charles F. Grey Prize, Woman’s Club of Evanston, Annual Exhibition of Evanston and North Shore Artists

1945 First Prize, Woman’s Club of Evanston, Annual Exhibition of Evanston and North Shore Artists

JURIES SERVED

Art Institute of Chicago, American Annual 1914, 1923

Art Institute of Chicago, American Watercolors 1919, 1920

Art Institute, Chicago & Vicinity 1903, 1904, 1906, 1916-1918, 1920-1923

Art Students’ League of Chicago 1905, 1917, 1918

Bohemian Arts Club, Chicago, 3rd annual exhibit 1920

Chicago Galleries Association prizes 1927

Columbus, OH Art League annual 1934

Hoosier Salon 1928, 1935,[65] 1936

Indianapolis Art Museum, Annual Indiana Artists 1924[66]

Maywood Arts Club annual 1938

Minneapolis Institute of Art, Minneapolis and St. Paul Artists 1927

Minnesota State Fair, Mankato 1906[67]

Municipal Art League prizes 1904-1905

North Shore Art League 1936[68]

Palette & Chisel Club annual, Municipal Art League Awards panel 1924

Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts annual 1918, 1921, 1923, 1925, 1929

Society of Western Artists, Fine Arts Building Prize 1913

St. Louis Artists’ Guild, jury of awards 1922

Swedish-American artists annual, Chicago 1936[69]

Wisconsin Painters & Sculptors Society 1923

GROUP EXHIBITIONS

All-Illinois Society of Fine Art annual 1945

American Art Association of Paris (first reopening) 1912

American Federation of Arts 1912

American Federation of Arts, Traveling Exhibition of Chicago Artists 1931-1932

American Salon, Paris, 1911[70]

American Watercolor Society annual 1902, 1903

Arché Salon, Arché Club of Chicago 1896

Art Institute of Chicago, A Century of Progress 1933, 1934

Art Institute of Chicago, Alumni Association 1918,[71] 1949

Art Institute of Chicago, American Annual 1894-1897, 1899, 1901, 1902[72], 1907, 1910-1915, 1917, 1922-1924

Art Institute of Chicago, American Watercolors 1894, 1896, 1897, 1905, 1914-1916, 1920

Art Institute of Chicago, Benefit for French Artists: Appui aux Artistes 1916

Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago Society of Artists: 33 Paintings 1914

Art Institute of Chicago, Half Century of American Art 1939

Art Institute of Chicago, Nine Chicago Artists 1915[73]

Art Institute of Chicago, Paintings By Contemporary Chicago Artists 1936

Art Institute of Chicago, Summer Exhibition of works of Artists of Chicago 1904, 1936[74]

Art Institute of Chicago, Work by Teachers in the School of the Art Institute 1929[75]

Art Institute of Chicago, Young Fortnightly Competition 1898

Art Institute, Chicago & Vicinity 1897, 1900, 1902-1904, 1907, 1909, 1915-1916,[76] 1917-1925, 1926-1928, 1930, 1931, 1933, 1935-1937, 1941

Art Students’ League of Chicago annual 1895[77]-1897[78], 1899[79], 1904

Association of Chicago Painters & Sculptors annual 1925, 1927-1929

Aurora Art League, Prominent American Artists 1920, 1921, 1926

Berry-Hill Galleries, The Giverny Luminists: Frieseke, Miller and Their Circle 1995

Better Community Conference, University of Illinois Art Extension Committee Rotary Exhibit 1921

Brooklyn Museum, Chicago Artists 1932 (6/28)

Bryn Mawr Woman’s Club, Stoney Island Avenue Window Display 1923

Carnegie Institute International annual 1920

Charcoal Club of Baltimore, Annual Exhibition of American Art 1924

Carson, Pirie, Scott & Co. Gallery, Chicago Artists 1933 (2/25)

Carson, Pirie, Scott & Co. Gallery, Twelve Chicago Painter     1920

Carson, Pirie, Scott & Co. Gallery, Works by Chicago Artists 1918

Casa del Loma tearoom, Chicago, Contemporary Artist 1931

Central Art Association, Loan Exhibition 1897

Chicago Galleries Association semi-annual 1926-1931

Chicago Galleries Association, Faculty of the Art Institute 1931 (10/1)

Chicago Galleries Association 1926-1931

Chicago Garden and Flower Show, Sherman Hotel

Chicago Society of Artists annual 1896[80]

Chicago Society of Artists traveling show 1915-1916

Cincinnati Art Museum annual 1920

Corcoran Gallery of Art Biennial 1912, 1923

Cosmopolitan Club annual 1896, 1897

Des Plaines, Illinois Women’s Club 1917

Detroit Institute Arts, Annual Exhibition of Art by American Artists 1922[81]

Devambez Gallery, Paris, American Artists in Paris 1911[82]

Elgin, Illinois Art Association           1917

Galerie de Vambez, Paris, American Artists 1911[83]

Galerie Walker, Paris, Exposition Annuelle d'Art Moderne 1912

Gallery of Contemporary Art, English Grill Room Merchandise Mart, Chicago, inaugural exhibition 1932[84]

Garfield Park Gallery, Municipal Art League Collection 1936

Glasgow; Liverpool; Belfast; Public Art Gallery 1912-1913

Hamilton Club, Chicago, Painters of the Forest Preserve of Cook County 1920

Illinois State Fair, Loan from the Art Institute 1917

Illinois State Federation of Women’s Clubs   1920

Illinois Woman’s Athletic Club, Beidler Gallery, Men Painters of Chicago and Illinois 1927, 1928

Independent Society of Artists, Chicago 1917

Iowa State University, Chicago Artists 1928

J. W. Young, Galleries, Chicago, Exhibition and Auction          1919

Joliet Woman’s Club, Important American Artists 1927

London Royal Academy 1909

Memphis Brooks Museum of Art, Exhibition by Chicago Artists 1920, 1923

Minneapolis Institute of Arts              1920

Minnesota State Art Society               1905

Montclair Art Museum 1920

National Academy of Design annual 1919, 1921, 1922, 1947

Nebraska Art Association annual 1914, 1916

New Gallery of the Academy of Fine Arts, Chicago, Chicago Artists 1907, 1909

O’Brien Art Galleries, Chicago 1913

O’Brien Art Galleries, Chicago, Chicago Artists 1924

Oak Park Art League 1929

Panama-Pacific Exposition, San Francisco, Illinois State Building 1915

Peabody Institute, The Charcoal Club 1941

Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts 1908, 1911-1913, 1918, 1921, 1922, 1925, 1926, 1929

Richmond Art Association Annual 1903, 1907

Rockford Art Club, American Painters 1921

Salon Société des Artistes Français 1901, 1902, 1910,[85] 1911, 1912, 1913

Scottish Royal Academy 1913

Seattle Art Museum, Paintings from Seattle’s private collections 1997

Shawnee Country Club, Chicago Artists 1929

Shawnee Country Club, Wilmette, Illinois, Five Chicago Artists 1930[86]

Society of Western Artists annual 1902-1905,[87] 1911, 1912

St. Louis Art Museum, American Annual 1897, 1908

St. Louis Art Museum, American Annual 1908

Terre Haute Art Association 1915

Thurber Art Galleries, Chicago, Sale of American Paintings 1917

Toledo Museum of Art 1926

Tree Studio Artists 1896[88]

University Guild, Evanston, Association of Chicago Painters and Sculptors 1928

Walker Art Gallery, Liverpool, Autumn Exhibit of Modern Art 1912

West End Woman’s Club, Salon Day 1897

Woman’s Club of Evanston, Annual Exhibition of Evanston and North Shore Artists 1925-1933, 1935-1942

Woman’s Club of Evanston, Loan Exhibit 1914

ONE, TWO OR THREE MAN EXHIBITIONS

1895 Art Institute of Chicago, Sketches From Canada[89]

1911 O’Brien Art Gallery, Chicago

1912 Madison, WI Art Association, University of Wisconsin

1913 O’Brien Art Gallery, Chicago[90]

1917 Carson Pirie Scott and Company Galleries, Chicago[91]

1919 (4/15) Rogers Park Woman’s Club

1923 (12/7) Art Institute of Chicago, school exhibition hall

1925 Anderson Galleries, Chicago[92]

1928 Art Institute of Chicago, Summer exhibitions[93]

1930 Shawnee Country Club, Chicago[94]

1933 The Buehrs of Chicago, Woman’s Club of Wilmette

1933 Horticulture Building, A Century of Progress Exposition, Chicago[95]

1974 Karl Albert Buehr A Retrospective 1865-1952, Columbus, GA Museum of Arts and Crafts

1978 A Touch of Class Gallery, Carmel, CA

PERMANENT COLLECTIONS (not confirmed)

Art Institute of Chicago; Bethany College, Bethany, WV; Commission For Encouragement of Local Art[96]; Cornell University; Des Moines Historical Museum; Downers Grove, IL; Evanston Woman's Club; Evanston, IL Francis Willard House; Evanston, IL Township High School; Gary, IN Public Schools; Iowa State House; Louisville, KY Woman's Club; Nettie J. McKinnon Collection, La Grange, IL; New Trier High School, Winnetka, IL; Northwestern University; Rockford Art Museum; Senior Center of Metropolitan Chicago, Hull House Affiliate; Tomah, WI Public Library; Union League Club, Municipal Art League; Univ. of Chicago; Vanderpoel Art Assoc.; Vassar College

INTERESTING NOTES

His first job, at the age of 14, was at Kirk's Soap factory and his second job was in the Kranz Candy factory, both in Chicago.

His graduating class was considered by many the strongest ever and included Pauline Palmer and Anna Lee Stacey. An exhibition of students’ work was hung in the south wing at the Art Institute. A critic noted, “Karl Albert Buehr is one of the strongest of the Art Institute’s pupils.” Further commenting on one work, “…can safely be placed among the best exhibited, and would hold its own in any collection composed of the works of painters of established reputation.”[97]

From 1898 to 1899 served during the Spanish-American War. He enlisted in the United States army in the 1st Illinois Cavalry, troop K.[98] He did some sketching of military life.[99] While serving a group of Art Institute students raised some funds for a gold watch by the Art as recognition of his service in the military and to replace a timepiece that never kept accurate time.[100] In July 1898 he was postmaster of the first Illinois Calvary at Chickamauga.[101]

He became close friends with Frederick Frieseke whom he knew in Chicago and Richard Miller, the leading members of the art community in Giverny. While his children played with Monet’s grandchildren, the two never met.

Eleanor Jewett, the noted Chicago Tribune art critic said his name was “synonymous with sunshine on a summer day... Clear lovely women who smile from a fresh canvas and a quantity of flowers.”[102]

Critical acclaim noted the many Giverny influences in his work. “There is a zest akin to smartness in attire about these very modern outdoor figure studies of such men as Buehr, Frieseke and Richard Miller. They are so true to the life of the moment with its keen appreciation of outdoor life that they might almost be considered most truly representative of our days. Mr. Buehr finds contrast in textures as agreeable and interesting as contrasts in color and presents them with all the love and rapture that he feels for them. Landscape is another field of art in which he excels by reason of a certain delicately vibrating quality. There is something indescribable about his painting of foliage that makes it seem to dance and flutter in the breeze as it glistens in the sun.”[103]

“Mr. Buehr finds that he must get out of the city and be alone with nature for some time before he can begin to do good pictures. His is a cheerful, wholesome art, full of sun and color. Every picture in his exhibition was either a spring or a summer study. The dying glories of autumn and the sad greys [sic] of winter snows do not arouse his genius to pictorial effort. But the tender green of spring, its quivering billows of fruit tree blooms and the rich lush sappy greens of summer, its golden heat, its tremulous blue shade, its bright flowers and vacation pleasures strike responsive chords in a heart that is attuned to happiness.

The artificial and much corseted women of old Impressionist days are not one-half so charming out under the sky as are the hatless, athletic girls of today in the gay and graceful, easy-fitting, sport attire of summer costumes.”[104] 

“The posing of the figure in the sunlight out of doors or on a porch became the favorite problem of a group of American artists, headed by Richard Miller, who worked in Giverny, France in prewar times. Mr. Buehr's treatment of this theme is decidedly individual. Mr. Buehr worked with this group for a while, as did Pauline Palmer. Mr. Buehr brought to his painting of this theme a skill in painting textures. He had mastered the art of painting fabrics before he began his favorite porch pictures. His handling of the dresses, stockings, drapery and chinaware show his cleverness in this direction.”[105]

Buehr came to Giverny because of his association with Henry Salem Hubbell.[106] The two shared the patronage of Lydia Avery Coonley Ward, who in 1897 had married Henry Augustus Ward, of Rochester, NY. She financed his travels in Europe from 1905 to 1913.[107] [108]

“Mr. Miller is now virtually the leader of a school of painting, and his influence is widespread. One can recognize it even in the work of artists of other nationalities. Some of his American pupils are drawing curiously near to him, and people are even known to mistake their work for his. One of the most remarkable of these is Mr. Karl A. Buehr, of Chicago, both of whose exhibits in this Salon, although hung above the line, are of prime excellence.”[109] In 1951 he was represented by Grand Central Gallery, New York.[110]

Henry Salem Hubbell and Buehr shared the same patron, Lydia Coonley Ward. The Hubbell papers are located at Cornell University. Ref. American Art Review, Vol. X, No. 5, 1998, pp.170ff.

In Dennis Barrie, interviewer, “Oral History Interview with Archibald Motley,” 1/23/1978, p.4, Archives of American Art: “Carl [sic] Buehr, my instructor in portrait painting – you know they used to have what they called the concours, that would be each month when they marked the paintings. After the marking of the painting Buehr always had his entire class, regardless of who you were, if you were in his class you were invited to his home where he’d have a nice dinner for you and sort of a party every month. He was just that type of person.” According to Motley, Buehr felt that each artist developed a style that was natural and right for him and the teacher encouraged the students to develop and retain their individual styles.

Buehr had three children, Mary, George and Lydia who died in 1918.[111] George became head of museum education at the Art Institute of Chicago until 1960.[112]

[1]Mary Hess was a miniature painter. They met as she was an assistant in the decorative art classes at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago where he taught. “Art Matters,” Sunday Chicago Tribune, 7/2/1899, p.37.

[2]“Danced and Feasted: Closing Exercises at the Art Institute,” Daily Inter Ocean, 6/16/1894, p.7.

[3]Buehr worked as a watchman to earn tuition. He was considered extremely talented as a student as witnessed by this quote from “Work of Chicago Art Students,” Chicago Tribune, 6/23/1895, p.43, “Mr. Buehr is considered by the authorities at the institute as one of their most promising artists.” His matriculation record at the Art Institute of Chicago is incomplete and covers only a period of 1890-1893.

[4]“Biographical Data on Artist,” Handwritten by Karl A. Buehr, Ryerson Library Archives, Art Institute of Chicago, 1942. Duveneck was in Paris at this time to serve on the jury of the Paris Salon.

[5]Op. cit., “Biographical Data on Artist.” Apparently he continued his classes throughout his European stay.

[6]Biography, teaching record, School of the Art Institute of Chicago.

[7]Op. cit., “Biographical Data on Artist” and Mae J. Evans, “What Chicago Artists Have Accomplished This Summer,” Sunday Inter Ocean, 9/13/1908, Magazine Section, p.2.

[8]Karl Albert Buehr A Retrospective 1865-1952, (Columbus, GA: Columbus Museum of Arts and Crafts, 4/20-5/26/1974).

[9]“Flower Show Posters Out,” Chicago News, 11/1/1902 in Art Institute of Chicago Scrapbooks, vol. 17, p.75.

[10]William M. R. French Letters, roll 27, 8/11/1913, Ryerson Library, Art Institute of Chicago, p.787.  The school almost lost his services when he was offered a position at the St. Louis School of Fine Art upon returning from France.

[11]His appointment upon return from Europe was announced in “New Instructors,” Bulletin of the Art Institute of Chicago, Vol. 8, No. 2, October 1914, p.21.

[12]Frank Holme, “The Palette & Chisel Club,” Brush and Pencil, Vol. 2, No. 1, April 1898, p.41. He taught a Saturday afternoon class.

[13]Evelyn Marie Stuart, “Chicago,” American Art News, 5/29/1920. He taught figure painting. See also: “Business Men’s Art,” in “News Of The Art World,” supplement, Chicago Evening Post, 6/7/1921, p.9.

[14]“Buehr Will Teach Coast Art Classes,” The Chicago Evening Post Magazine of the Art World, 3/27/1928, p.6. Eleanor Jewett, “Prizes for Paintings May Be Bait or Reward: Off on Vacations,” Chicago Tribune, 7/8/1928, p.G4.

[15]Letter to Frank Werner from Karl A. Buehr, CELA Archives, Ryerson Library, Art Institute of Chicago, 12/27/1914. In this letter Buehr states, “I have been a resident of Chicago since 1881.” He became a naturalized citizen in 1888, see: Peter C. Merrill, German Immigrant Artists In America, (Lanham, MD: Scarecrow Press, 1997), p.33.

[16]“Back To The Studios,” Chicago Tribune, 11/4/1894, p.25.  During this time he shared a studio with William Wendt.

[17]Apparently he and Wendt shared a studio in Chicago as well: “William Wendt is still away, but his studio companion, Carl Beuhr, is back from a long trip in Canada. “In the Studio,” Chicago Tribune, 9/29/1895, p.38.  See also: “In Black and White,” Daily Inter Ocean, 12/13/1895, in AIC Scrapbooks, Vol. 6, p.72. His work was shown in the Art Students League annual and described as: “simply charming in their daintiness and beauty…They are sketchy, breezy, everything that is delightful.”

[18]Isabel McDougall, “Art And Artists,” Chicago Evening Post, 9/11/1897, p.10. He had been traveling to see completed mural commissions and planned to see the Congressional Library as well.

[19]Chicago Chronicle, 5/13/1901 in Art Institute of Chicago Scrapbooks, vol. 14, p.56. Also in Art Institute of Chicago Scrapbooks, vol. 15, col. 3, p.158. James W. Pattison, “Pattison’s Art Talk,” Chicago Journal, 1/17/1903, p.3. Laren became a popular destination for artists in the 1880s. There was a very large art colony there. Henry Ward Ranger stated it was “One of the most ideal spots which it was ever the pleasure of a painter to discover… The people are all peasants, and both they and their homes are very picturesque… Now each season finds it full of artists from all parts of the earth…” H. W. Ranger, “Artist Life By the North Sea,” Century Magazine, Vol. 45, 1893, p.753. For an in-depth discussion of the art colony there see: Annette Stott, American Painters Who Worked in the Netherlands, 1880-1914, “III. The Egmond School,” Doctoral dissertation, Boston: Boston University, 1986, pp.179-220.

[20]Lena M. McCauley, “Art And Artists,” Chicago Evening Post, 6/8/1901, p.8.

[21]“Hillside” was the country estate of Lydia Coonley Ward.  Buehr visited here often throughout his career and often offered free art classes to the townspeople.

[22]Letter to Karl A. Buehr from William M. R. French, French Letters, Ryerson Library, Art Institute of Chicago, September 1906, Roll 11, p.496. French indicates Buehr will be going abroad and is asking him for which artist should take over his classes.  As this letter is in the fall, the beginning of the new term, we assume Buehr left for London sometime shortly thereafter.  French was extremely complimentary in saying “I scarcely thought anybody could carry forward [John C.] Johansen’s class so successfully.  Johansen was a well liked and highly respected teacher in Chicago at the time. A newspaper account has him going to Paris for a year, rather than London, see: “Art And Artists,” Chicago Evening Post, 11/3/1906, p.7. In 1907 it was reported he would stay abroad another year. Lena M. McCauley, “Art and Artists,” Chicago Evening Post, 6/22/1907, p.10. This trip was financed by his patron, Mrs. Lydia Coonley Ward of Chicago.

[23]Letter  to Karl A. Buehr from William M. R. French, French Letters, Ryerson Library, Art Institute of Chicago, p.540, 3/25/1907. That he was in Sicily was mentioned in Lena M. McCauley, “Art,” Chicago Evening Post, 5/18/1907, p.10.

[24]Chicago Record-Herald, 7/14/1907 in Art Institute of Chicago Scrapbooks, vol. 23.

[25]In Giverny he rented from Lawton Parker and was close friends of Mr. and Mrs. Henry Hubbell. Letter to William H. Gerdts from Mary Smart, 8/26/1991, p.5, IHAP Library. Smart’s information is compiled from the papers of Mary and Frederick MacMonnies. Smart authored A Flight with Fame, The Life and Art of Frederick MacMonnies (1863-1937), With a Catalogue Raisonne of Sculpture, (Madison, CT: Sound View Press, 1996).

He installed a press at the house and was then engaged by Mary C. Wheeler to teach printmaking. David Sellin, “Frieseke in Le Pouldu and Giverny: The Black Gang and the Giverny Group,” in Frederick Carl Frieseke: The Evolution of an American Impressionist, (Princeton: Princeton University Press, 2001), p.85. Sellin’s information comes from numerous conversations with now deceased Janet Johnston Farr whose father William B. Johnston purchased the house after Buehr had finished renting it.

[26]This village is adjacent to Giverny

[27]“Art and Artists,” Chicago Evening Post, 5/8/1915, p.10.

[28]Lena M. McCauley, “Among the Dealers,” in “News Of The Art World,” supplement, Chicago Evening Post, 4/17/1917, p.9.

[29]“Chicago Artists Off For Vacation,” Chicago News, 6/29/1923 in Art Institute of Chicago scrapbooks, vol.45. Inez Cunningham, “Art And Artists,” Chicago Tribune, 7/1/1923, p.D3, mentions that he had a summer studio there. He stayed an extra month on leave from his teaching post to catch the full fall colors. Eleanor Jewett, “Art And Artists,” Chicago Tribune, 10/21/1923, p.C11.

[30]Eleanor Jewett, “Art and Artists,” Chicago Tribune, 10/5/1924, p.F7, and 10/19/1924, p.F9.

[31]A photograph of him at work before leaving was illustrated in the Chicago Daily News, 6/27/1925, in the Art Institute of Chicago scrapbooks, vol. 50. “The Buehrs Go Abroad,” The Chicago Evening Post Magazine of the Art World, 5/26/1925, p.2. They were to spend most of their time in Italy, including Milan, and also traveled to Switzerland. Eleanor Jewett, “Art And Artists,” Chicago Tribune, 8/23/1925, p.D4. In Rome they dined with Dudley Crafts Watson. “Watson-Eames Party in Rome,” in the 7/28/1925 issue, p.6. Buehr remained after his family returned to paint autumn scenes in Europe. “Buehr to Meet Class,” The Chicago Evening Post Magazine of the Art World, 10/27/1925, p.8.

[32]“Institute Instructors Scatter for Summer,” The Chicago Evening Post Magazine of the Art World, 7/6/1926, p.4.

[33]“Sidewalks of Chicago,” Chicago Herald & Examiner, 6/29/1928, in Art Institute of Chicago scrapbooks, vol. 55, p.47.

[34]C. J. Bulliet, “Around the Galleries: Instructors on Painting Tours,” Chicago Daily News, 6/22/1935, Art, Antiques and The Artists section, p.9. Eleanor Jewett, “Far Flung Roads of Travel Lure Chicago Artists,” Chicago Tribune, 6/30/1935, part 8, p.7.

[35]Title from an undated painting, c.1920s-1940s

[36]Eleanor Jewett, “Art And Artists,” Chicago Tribune, 4/15/1923, part 7, p.14.

[37]“Artists’ Society Elects,” Chicago Tribune, 4/4/1916, p.15.

[38]James W. Pattison, “Pattison’s Art Talk,” Chicago Journal, 12/26/1903, p.4.

[39]“Prizes at the Art Institute,” Chicago Tribune, 6/7/1890, in AIC Scrapbooks, Vol. 4, p.143.

[40]“About The Studios,” Sunday Inter Ocean, Vol. XXIII, No. 85, 6/17/1894, Part 3, p.27.

[41]Chicago Chronicle, 5/13/1901 in Art Institute of Chicago Scrapbooks, vol. 14, p.56, and op. cit., Biographical Data Card.

[42]“Chicago Artists Awarded Prizes At St. Louis Fair,” Chicago Tribune, 11/2/1904, p.4.

[43]Letter to Karl A. Buehr from William M. R. French, French Letters, Ryerson Library, Art Institute of Chicago, 5/11/1904. Buehr was joined on this committee by teachers Ralph Clarkson, John Vanderpoel and director William French. The group was charged with responsibility for changing the method of graduation from a diploma to a system of “honors and recognition.”

[44]“The chief prize at the London School of Art...,” International Studio, Vol. 36, November 1908, pp.75-76.

[45]Op. cit., International Studio, November 1908, pp.75-76.

[46]Chicago Record-Herald, 7/10/1910 in Art Institute of Chicago Scrapbooks, vol. 26. “‘Press View Day’ At Salon,” Chicago Tribune, 10/15/1910, p.3. The work was later exhibited at the American Annual, at the Art Institute and termed in the press as a “fresco,” and was titled as such in the exhibition catalogue.

[47]W. M. Goodman, editor, The First Exposition of Conservation and its Builders: An Official History of the National Conservation Exposition, held at Knoxville, Tenn., in 1913 and of its Forerunners, the Appalachian Expositions of 1910-11; Embracing A Review Of The Conservation Movement In The United States From Its Inception To The Present Time, (Knoxville, TN, 1914), p.281: “After two years the Appalachian Exposition was followed by the National Conservation Exposition and a separate building was given to the Art Department… The exhibition was much larger than heretofore and a standard of excellence of exhibits was maintained, thereby insuring a general degree of merit. Again an exhibit was secured from the American Federation of Art, and not only oil paintings but water colors, illustrations and sculpture were shown. There were names in the list exhibiting which stand highest in American art… The Gold medal for best oil painting was awarded to Geo. H. Maerum for his painting, ‘The Pile Driver.’ Silver medal for second best oil painting to K. A. Buehr, ‘Dejeuner sur L’Herbe,’ and bronze medal to Richard E. Miller on his ‘At the Window’.” The painting had been previously exhibited at the Fourth Exhibition Oil Paintings by Contemporary American Artists, (Washington, D. C.: The Corcoran Gallery of Art, 12/17/1912-1/26/1913), #181.

[48]“Art Medal To Karl Buehr,” Daily Inter Ocean, 2/17/1914, p.2. “Members of the Chicago Society of Artists by unanimous vote awarded the silver medal of the society to Karl Buehr, a Chicago artist, for the most meritorious work at the annual art exhibit of the organization. Buehr was represented by seven landscapes.”

[49]Anne Ellis, “Art,” Chicago Tribune, 7/25/1915, p.E4. One of his works, Le djeuner sur ‘lherbe, had previously been shown at the Corcoran in 1912, and won a Silver Medal in Knoxville in 1914.

[50]This prize was awarded his Farson’s Creek. Eleanor Jewett, “Art: Meritorious Work Shown in Exhibit of Chicago Artists,” Chicago Tribune, 2/16/1919, p.D2.

[51]Evelyn Marie Stuart, “Exhibition By The Chicago Society Of Artists,” International Studio, Vol. 67, April 1919, p.57. This prize was awarded his painting Wild Rose Inn, illustrated in the article on p.54.

[52]A discussion of the sitter and the painting appears in “The Young Hostess,” Chicago News, 2/7/1920. Prizes were announced in Eleanor Jewett, “Art: Pleasing Pictures in Exhibition of Chicago Artists,” Chicago Tribune, 2/1/1920, p.F6. The work was illustrated some eight years latter in Eleanor Jewett, “Acclaim Chicagoan for Biblical Painting,” Chicago Tribune, 8/19/1928, p.G3.

[53]His painting Farson’s Creek wa a prize winner. “Awards at Peoria,” in “News of the Art World,” supplement, Chicago Evening Post, 11/16/1920, p.10.

[54]Eleanor Jewett, “Art and Artists,” Chicago Tribune, 6/18/1922, p.G12.

[55]This award was given for “surpassing merits in color effects.”

[56]The award was given his painting Girlhood, illustrated in American Magazine of Art, Vol. 13, March 1922, p.102. Eleanor Jewett, “Art And Artists,” Chicago Tribune, 1/29/1922, part 9, p.9.

[57]The prize was awarded his The Maple Wears a Gayer Scarf, the Fields a Scarlet Gown. Eleanor Jewett, “Art And Artists,” Chicago Tribune, 2/5/1922, part 8, p.12.

[58]The prize was awarded his painting Storyland. Eleanor Jewett, “Benson Wins First Prize in Art Exhibit,” Chicago Tribune, 11/2/1922, p.21.

[59]The collection purchased his If I Were Queen. Eleanor Jewett, “Art And Artists,” Chicago Tribune, 3/16/1924, p.H10. The work is now in the collection of the Union League Club of Chicago.

[60]The award was given his Sunday Afternoon. Eleanor Jewett, “Art And Artists,” Chicago Tribune, 2/1/1925, part 9, p.6. Mr. Brower was the consul general of Guatemala in Chicago. The work was illustrated in the catalogue. It was illustrated in Eleanor Jewett, “Art And Artists,” Chicago Tribune, 2/15/1925, part 9, p.4, and was later illustrated in The Chicago Evening Post Magazine of the Art World, 9/4/1928, p.3.

[61]“Buehr Wins Business Men’s Art Club Prize,” The Chicago Evening Post Magazine of the Art World, 2/22/1927, p.13. The prize was awarded his The Woodsman’s Path.

[62]“Evanston Artists Exhibit,” The Chicago Evening Post Magazine of the Art World, 12/14/1926, p.6. The prize was awarded his Delphinium. The MacDowell society sponsored an artist colony at Peterboro, New Hampshire. For further information on their work see: Lena M. McCauley, “Painting at Peterboro,” The Chicago Evening Post Magazine of the Art World, 12/10/1929, p.8.

[63]Irwin St. John Tucker, “Art Prizes Voted by the Artists,” Chicago Herald & Examiner, 1/4/1931, in AIC Scrapbooks, Vol.58. The prize was awarded his painting The Young Hostess. Eleanor Jewett, “Buehr Captures $1,000 Prize in Chicago Show,” Chicago Tribune, 1/6/1931, p.19.

[64]The prize was awarded his Portrait of Arthur Cummings Jr. Eleanor Jewett, “Municipal Art League Valued Asset to City,” Chicago Sunday Tribune, 3/12/1933, part 6, p.7. For controversy over the awarding of prizes see, Eleanor Jewett, “Moderns Win Dispute Over Art Awards: Carry Off Prizes in Show of City's Artists,” Chicago Tribune, 1/12/1933, p.15; “First Glimpse of Annual Show by Artists of Chicago and Vicinity,” 1/15/1933, part 8, p.3.

[65]Eleanor Jewett, “News of Interest to Art Lovers,” Chicago Sunday Tribune, 12/8/1935, part 8, p.5.

[66]Op. cit., Jewett, Chicago Tribune, 3/16/1924, p.H10.

[67]Lena M. McCauley, “Art and Artists,” Chicago Evening Post, 4/14/1906, p.9.

[68]“ North Shore Art League Awards Prizes at Salon,” Chicago Sunday Tribune, 5/10/1936, part 1, p.9.

[69]“Notes of Art and Artists,” Chicago Sunday Tribune, 4/5/1936, part 8, p.3.

[70]Their first show was held at Galerie de Vambeg in 1911. “American Salon Admired In Paris,” New York Times, 2/19/1911, p.14.

[71]He showed Le dejeuner sur l’herbe, First Exhibition of Work by the Alumni of the Art Institute of Chicago, 1/8/1918-2/7/1918. The work was shown at the Corcoran gallery and was a prize winner in 1912 in Knoxville.

[72]He was second in balloting for the prestigious Martin B. Cahn prize. His painting Reverie, was illustrated in: The painting was illustrated in: James Ford Buell, “Chicago's Fifteenth Annual Art Exhibition,” Brush and Pencil, Vol. 11, No. 4, January 1903, p.306 and discussed on p.302.

[73]They were otherwise known at the “Great Nine.” Anne Ellis, “Art,” Chicago Tribune, 5/13/1915, p.15.

[74]His The Green Hills, was illustrated in Chicago Sunday Tribune, 9/13/1936, part 8, p.8. 

[75]Eleanor Jewett, “Interesting Exhibits for Art Lovers,” Chicago Tribune, 1/5/1930, p.F4 and, “Teachers of Art at Institute Show Their Own Paintings,” 1/2/1930, p.I7.

[76]“Karl A. Buehr has to my mind presented the most charming pictures in the exhibition, and, aside from personal taste, they merit eulogy and inspire thought. Anne Ellis, “Art,” Chicago Tribune, 2/13/1916, p.G4.

[77]“Mr. Buehr’s work is equal to, if not stronger, than any exhibited.” “Four Exhibits In One,” Chicago Times-Herald, 12/13/1895, in AIC Scrapbooks, Vol. 6, p.76.

[78]“Of the full-length studies, a seated woman by Karl A. Buehr is among the best.” “The Fine Arts,” Sunday Inter Ocean, 6/20/1897, p.35.

[79]“Art,” Chicago Times-Herald, 12/24/1899 in Art Institute of Chicago Scrapbooks, vol. 11, p.153. “Carl [sic] Albert Buehr contributes two landscapes that are reminiscent of Monet... ”

[80]“News Of Current Art,” Chicago Times-Herald, not dated, in Art Institute of Chicago Scrapbooks, vol. 7, p.42. “The most attractive single figure subject in the Chicago Society of Artists’ exhibit is Albert K. Beuhr [sic] portrait of a fascinating young woman in a soft, light, greenish-blue costume and a drab cloak, which rests on her well-modeled shoulders. She is seated; her hands rest in her lap. Her soft brown hair is brushed back from her white brow and arranged in a simple coiffure.  The flesh tones are lifelike and beautiful.”

[81]His painting,  The Young Hostess, was used as the catalogue cover illustration.

[82]Leroy C. Breunig editor, Apollinaire on Art: Essays and Reviews 1902-1918, (NY: The Viking Press, 1972), pp.138-139.

[83]Dejeuner sur L’Herbe was exhibited, Fourth Exhibition Oil Paintings by Contemporary American Artists, (Washington, D. C.: The Corcoran Gallery of Art, 12/17/1912-1/26/1913), #181.

[84]Edward Millman, “Art Notes: Highlights and Smudges,” The Chicagoan, December 1932, p.66.

[85]Harriet Monroe, “Art Supremacy of France Threatened,” Chicago Sunday Tribune, 9/18/1910, part 8, p.5.

[86]“Shawnee Artists Show,” The Chicago Evening Post Magazine of the Art World, 11/18/1930, p.2.

[87]His painting Mother and Child was illustrated in James Spencer Dickenson, “The Society Of Western Artists,” World To-Day, Vol. 10, March 1906, p.300, and “Society of Western Artists to Open Exhibit on Tuesday,” Chicago Tribune, 12/2/1905, p.5.

[88]“Artists’ Work Shown,” Chicago Times Herald, 12/15/1896, p.9.

[89]Isabel McDougall, “At The Poster Show,” Chicago Evening Post, 12/14/1895, p.7. This was part of the annual Art Student’s League show where Buehr had a small wall to himself; see notes on his travel to Canada above.

[90]Lena M. McCauley, “Art & Artists,” Chicago Evening Post, 9/25/1913, p.8.

[91]A small review of the exhibition appears in “Among the Dealers,” in “News of the Art World,” Chicago Evening Post, 4/24/1917, p.9, accompanied by an illustration.

[92]His painting Sunday Afternoon, was illustrated to publicize the exhibit in The Chicago Evening Post Magazine of the Art World, 3/24/1925, p.2.

[93]His painting If I Were Queen, was illustrated with the article by R. A. Lennon, “Buehr and Wuermer Exhibit at Institute,” The Chicago Evening Post Magazine of the Art World, 8/14/1928, p.2. A small review given by Eleanor Jewett, “Exhibit by Karl A. Buehr,” Chicago Tribune, 7/29/1928, p.G4.

[94]He shared this exhibition with fellow artists Frank C. Peyraud, Paul Trebilcock, Rudolph Ingerle and Roy Collins. Eleanor Jewett, “Figures Lead in American Show: Notes on Art and Artists,” Chicago Tribune, 11/2/1930, part 8, p.5.

[95]“Family of Three Exhibits Paintings At Fair,” Chicago Sunday Tribune, 10/22/1933, part 8, p.4.

[96]Part of the Chicago Public Schools collection, Beatrice is now unlocated. “Artists Give Up $2,500 For City,” Chicago Herald, 12/18/1914, p.18. The work was illustrated in Anita De Campi, “Thirteen Chicagoans Win in Municipal Art Contest,” Chicago Tribune, 12/18/1914, p.17.

[97]“Art,” Chicago Times Herald, 6/13/1897 in Art Institute of Chicago scrapbooks, vol. 8, p.143.

[98]He entered service as early as April 1898, when they were mustered in at Springfield, IL. “Art,” Sunday Chicago Tribune, 5/1/1898, p.39.

[99]“Around The Art Studios,” Sunday Inter Ocean, 5/15/1898, p.16; “Art,” Sunday Chicago Tribune, 5/15/1898, p.43; Isabel McDougall, “Art And Artists,” Chicago Evening Post, 5/14/1898, p.10. He was making sketches of regiment life for an account the chaplain was writing. Isabel McDougall, “Art And Artists,” Chicago Evening Post, 6/4/1898, p.10.

[100]“Art,” Sunday Chicago Tribune, 5/22/1898, p.34.

[101]“Notes On Art And Artists,” Sunday Inter Ocean, 8/21/1898, p.17.

[102]“University of Chicago Offers Series of 12 Art Lectures,” Chicago Sunday Tribune 10/19/52.

[103]Evelyn Marie Stuart, “Exhibitions at the Chicago Galleries,” Fine Arts Journal, Vol. 35, July 1917, pp.376-378. (Commenting on seven of  Buehr’s paintings at a recent exhibition of works by Chicago Artists at the Art Institute.)

[104]Evelyn Marie Stuart, p.376-378.

[105]Chicago Daily News, February 3, 1922. (Commenting on five of Buehr’s paintings at a recent exhibition of works by Chicago Artists at the Art Institute.)

[106]Hubbell had been a student at the AIC at the same time as Buehr and also a member of the Art Student’s League. After his [Hubbell] marriage, he was living in Chicago as an illustrator. “In the Studio,” Chicago Tribune, 9/29/1895, p.38.

[107]Bruce Weber, The Giverny Luminists: Frieseke, Miller and Their Circle, (New York: Berry-Hill Galleries, 1995). p.17.

[108]In a Letter to Walter M. Clute from William M. R. French, French Papers, Ryerson Library, Art Institute of Chicago, 11/1/1911, French flatly states she is his patron and voiced concern over the transport of a painting 14 feet by 7 feet for the Society of Western Artists exhibition.

[109]“Interesting Works in the Salon,” Daily Mail, London, Sunday, ??, May 1912.

[110]“Who’s Where,” Art Digest, Vol. 26, 11/1/1951, p.69.

[111]Mary and George became artists in their own right, and were featured with a photo of the two regarding their exhibition at their studio in “Small Garden Inspiring,” Chicago American, 5/14/1932, in AIC Scrpabooks, Vol.59, p.99.

[112]“Art Note,” Chicago Tribune, 7/16/1960, part 1, p.17.