Lot 163: ROBERT JENKINS ONDERDONK (1852-1917)

ROBERT JENKINS ONDERDONK (1852-1917)
Untitled Bluebonnet Landscape
Watercolor
12in. x 17.5in.
Signed lower left

A dramatic soft palette of pinks, oranges, and yellows mark the sky in this early morning bluebonnet watercolor. The bluebonnets are a light powder blue in the midground, to a soft baby blue in the foreground. Robert Onderdonk completed a similar watercolor titled Figures in the Field illustrated in the book The Onderdonks: A Family of Texas Painters, by Cecilia Steinfeldt, published for the San Antonio Museum by Trinity University Press.

It is not far-fetched to think that Robert painted this watercolor with his son Julian painting alongside him. It is well documented that Julian was very homesick for his family while in New York, and that he and his father shared a close and special relationship.

Provenance:
California antiques dealer

Excellent condition. New frame in excellent condition.