Oscar E. Berninghaus

Artist Ernest Martin Hennings (American, 1886 - 1956)

Model Oscar Edmund Berninghaus (American, 1874 - 1952)

Date1939

Mediumoil on canvas

Dimensions20 x 18 inches (50.8 x 45.7 cm)
Frame: 26 1/2 × 24 1/2 × 2 1/2 inches (67.3 × 62.2 × 6.4 cm)

Credit LineBequest of H.J. Lutcher Stark, 1965

Object number31.32.18

ClassificationsPaintings

Label TextErnest Martin Hennings painted a formal portrait of fellow Taos artist, Oscar E. Berninghaus. Hennings used a portrait style from his European study. The figure has a plain brown background with no hints of his artistic profession. Yet the community of Taos knew the identity. The local newspaper wrote about the work. “One Artist Paints Another. Hanging just inside the door of the La Fonda dining room is an excellent portrait of O.E. Berninghaus painted by his fellow artist E. Martin Hennings.” The simple, unassuming portrait was appropriate for Berninghaus. Hennings wrote to Lutcher Stark about Berninghaus. “He . . . was the most beloved of the artists here.” Connect with Bonnie Schiffman’s Richard Diebenkorn.

ProvenanceArtist; purchased February 4, 1954 by H.J. Lutcher Stark [1887-1965]; bequeathed September 2, 1965 to the Nelda C. and H.J. Lutcher Stark Foundation; accessioned to the Stark Museum of Art

On View

Not on view