Bernhard Gutmann

by Percy North

A Major Impressionist and Post-Impressionist, Bernhard Gutmann (1869-1936) recorded his travels and the joys of family life in paintings distinguished by luscious color and an exuberant sensibility. He was not only a painter who received serious critical acclaim during his lifetime but also a beloved teacher, a successful illustrator, and a master of ceramic and graphic art. In addition, Gutmann had a great influence on American regional art: he organized the still-thriving Lynchburg Art Club in Virginia and later helped establish the influential Silvermine Guild of Artists in New Canaan, Connecticut. Born and educated in Germany, Gutmann arrived in the United States at the age of twenty-three. From modest beginnings - he emigrated to Virginia to work as an electrician - he quickly rose to become the first superintendent of drawing in the Lynchburg public schools. After moving to New York and marrying Bertha Goldman, granddaughter of the founder of the investment banking firm Goldman S