Ernest Fredericks (1877-1959) was born Frederick Ernest Swedlum to Swedish parents on a farm near McPherson, Kansas in 1877. Farm life was not very appealing to him, and as a young adult he moved to Chicago and began his studies at the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts. He was heavily influenced by Western American master painter Birger Sanzden, another Kansan of Swedish descent. Fredericks' subject matter was always the landscape and his paintings usually focused on a simple path, stream or mountain cabin. Following his studies at The Chicago Academy of Fine Arts, Swedlum exhibited at the Art Institute of Chicago and in the All Illinois Art Shows. His paintings were often accompanied by either a typed biographical sketch or a reprint of a 1940 edition from the Chicago Daily News pertaining to a Swedlum exhibition. This very appealing oil on canvas by Fredericks was painted in a primarily pastel pallette. A stream flanked by Birch trees meanders toward a cabin in the distance. Beyond the cabin, tree tops are outlined by a patch of pale blue sky. The painting is signed in the lower right corner. He was a fairly prolific artist and there are quite a few examples of his work online from various galleries and auction houses across the U.S. This is one of his larger and better pieces. A comparable work in terms of period, quality and size sold recently in Cincinnati.
http://www.cincyart.com/19th-20th-century-ei/ernest-t-fredericks
Newly framed. 34" l., 28" h. American, c. 1940's
SOLD
Condition: Excellent vintage condition.
