Lot 285: Johannes Adam Simon Oertel (German/NC, 1823-1909)

Johannes Adam Simon Oertel (German/North Carolina, 1823-1909), "Team of Oxen Pulling a Logging Cart, Possibly Florida", oil on canvas laid onto board, signed lower right, 16 in. x 32 in., period frame Note: Mostly known as a painter of religious subject matter and Civil War scenes, Johannes Oertel became an ordained Episcopal minister in 1871. After living for ten years trying to raise a family as an artist and a clergyman, Oertel decided to move his family to Florida in 1882. There he built a sawmill and bought land for an orange grove near Orange Springs in Marion County. His plan was to allow his sons to run the businesses while he devoted himself to painting full-time. "Team of Oxen Pulling a Logging Cart" was executed during this time. The artist would have witnessed scenes like this with oxen pulling a typical two-wheeled logging wagon through the partially-cleared Florida forests to his sawmill daily. Oertel's Florida art career was cut short when the business ventures did not pan out leaving this painting to be one of the few genre scenes to emerge from this period.
Please Note: Start Price USD $1300