Richardt - "Niagara Falls" Realistic oil painting of Niagara Falls with people, horse and buggies on the shore

Ferdinand Richardt • American (1819-1895)

Niagara Falls C: 1856 • Oil on Canvas 18-1/4" x 24-1/2"

Wish you were here! Ferdinand Richardt took both America and Europe on a scenic tour during the second half of the nineteenth century. If not a travel agent, he was certainly a well-trained set of eyes intrigued by the scenic beauty too far away to visit. During a time when the art world was moving toward more interpretive and abstract designs, he kept both feet in the real world. And, what a world it was.

His early art captured the beauty of European manor houses and castles, in minute detail. However, by his mid-30s he became intrigued with a place little known in Europe. Niagara Falls.

Journeying to America, he set out to see the magnificent falls for himself. For 5 summers he viewed them from every possible angle, making quick sketches and drawings of topographical details. Then, as the fall air turned cold, he returned his New York City studio and created large paintings that brought the majesty and beauty of Niagara Falls to life. In total he created over 100 such paintings between 1855 and 1859 when the outbreak of Civil War drove him back to his native Denmark.

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Back in Copenhagen he created an instant family when he married the widow Sophia Schneider, adopted her son, Joose, and fathered a daughter, Katherine, with Sophia. All within a single year. Phew.

But, soon, America called again. Richardt and his family emigrated to Niagara Falls, where his American fascination had first begun. Within a few years, though, they pushed west settling around California’s Bay Area where Ferdinand and Sophia stayed the rest of their lives.

By the late 1800s, photography had become more accessible to everyday Americans, but Ferdinand continued to paint finely detailed, realistic works depicting many of the most popular tourist attractions along the Pacific Coast. When he died, hundreds of his drawings and unseen paintings passed to his daughter who also died a short time later. His work disappeared for almost a century until found stored in the home of his step-son’s granddaughter who was unaware of her great-grandfather’s importance to the art world. Many of his paintings were painstakingly restored and scattered among museums in America and Denmark. Among them, the Canton Museum of Art. Come visit soon, and see the world.

Canton Museum of Art Permanent Collection • Purchased by the Canton Museum of Art, 45.5

4 Ways to Sound Smart When Viewing at The Canton Museum of Art

1.
“His real first name was Joachim. His father and brother were Johan, and his mother Johanna. If anyone yelled ‘Jo’ in that house there was mass confusion, so all used middle names.”

2.
“During the traditional luncheon for President Obama’s second Inauguration, a Richardt painting of Niagara Falls was chosen as the featured backdrop.”

3.
“Thousands of his drawings and paintings were lost for over a century until found in the home of his great-granddaughter. Always in the last place you look.”

4.
Art critics of the day found his work to be the most detailed representations they had ever seen. He was a Photo-Realist before there was even photography.”

Richardt Timeline. Scroll over images to see timeline.

1819

Born Joachim Ferdinand Richardt, in the small town of Brede, north of Copenhagen. His father, Johan Joachim Richardt, ran the inn and company store for the Brede Works, a local clothing manufacturer. His mother was Johanne Frederikke Richardt. His brother, Johan Carl, also became a painter. If anyone stood in their house and called “Jo” there would be confusion, so the entire family was known by middle names.

1832

The family moved to a nearby town, Orholm, where Johan operated the inn at the local paper factory.

1835

Ferdinand began working as a carpenter’s apprentice, but soon decided to follow his brother, Carl, into a career as a fine artist. Carl primarily painted portraits, while Ferdinand was fascinated by topographical studies.

1836

Ferdinand began studying at the Royal Danish Academy of Art under the tutelage of architect and designer, Gustav Friedrich Hetsch, historical painter J.L. Lund and classical sculptor Bertel Thorvaldsen. Seeing the specialties of his teachers, it is easy to understand how Richardt was drawn to such a realistic style of work.

1839

The rest of the Richardt family moved to Copenhagen. Ferdinand was awarded the Danish Academy of Art’s small silver medal in 1839 and the large silver medal in 1840.

1847

Ferdinand received a 5-year stipend from the royal family of Denmark. In exchange for the financial support, he was to deliver one architectural painting and one landscape painting each year to become part of the royal collection.

1855-1859

Fascinated by paintings he had seen of Niagara Falls, he journeyed to America, set up a studio in New York City and traveled first to upstate New York to see the falls and then to various places as far west as the Mississippi River. During his trips he would paint quick studies of landscape details and then assemble them into large paintings done over the winters in his NYC studio.

1856

Among the over 100 paintings of Niagara Falls he completed while in America, one created in 1856 came into the possession of the United States Department of State. It was hung as the backdrop painting during the customary luncheon following the Second Inauguration of Barack Obama.

1860

With the outbreak of the Civil War in America, Ferdinand returned to Copenhagen.

1862

Back in Copenhagen, he married a widow, Sophia Schneider, who was 12 years younger than him. The couple welcomed a daughter in the same year. Sophia also brought a son, Joost, into the marriage.

1863-1864

The family moved to England where Queen Victoria invited Ferdinand to display his artwork to the court at Windsor Castle.

1873

After selling many of his paintings and lithographs still in his possession, Ferdinand moved his family back to America where they settled in Niagara Falls, NY.

1875

The family moved to San Francisco and, finally, Oakland, California, where he continued to paint landscapes and teach drawing classes.

1888

Wife Sophia died.

1895

Ferdinand Richardt died. Upon his death, thousands of drawings and paintings were passed to his daughter Johanna and stepson, Joost Schneider. Johanna died only 2 years later and the trove of art was thought lost.

1990s

Almost a century after their disappearance, American scholar and cultural historian, Melinda Young Stuart found Richardt’s lost drawings in the possession of stepson Joost Schneider’s grandchild, Justine Hemert Keller. Many are now preserved at Denmark’s Nationalmuseet. Others are held at the Oakland Museum of California and other locations.

2003

More than 100 of the newly discovered drawings and many of his paintings were reproduced in the book about Ferdinand Richardt, Danish Manorhouses and America. The Danish prime minister’s wife presented a copy to Laura Bush when she visited Copenhagen on an official visit with President George W. Bush.