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Henry J. Breuer

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Artist's Biography

Henry J. Breuer grew up in the east and began his career as a professional painter in Cincinnati as a decorator of Rookwood pottery.  In the 1880s he moved to New York where he made a living as a mural painter and lithographer.  In 1888, he settled in San Francisco, married, and soon became art editor of the San Francisco Chronicle, while doing illustrations and exhibiting easel paintings for sale.  A trip to Paris in the '90s reinforced Breuer's admiration for French landscape painting, particularly the works of Corot whose influence can be seen in Breuer's predilection for cool, blue-green colors.  Breuer was a frequent exhibitor in Bohemian Club and San Francisco Art Association exhibitions, developing a reputation as one of California's leading painters.  In 1905, he received first prize for his work in the Bohemian Club Exhibition and again in 1915 he was awarded a gold medal for his painting "Santa Inez Mountains" at the Panama Pacific International Exposition.  In 1908, Lucy Jerome, art critic for the San Francisco Call, wrote: "Breuer does not care to finish more than one picture a year, but when that picture does come out,...it will be worth seeing..."  This hyperbole contains the underlying truth that Breuer labored meticulously over his works, producing paintings that have a striking impact on the eye.  As the early twentieth century ushered in the brighter, "plein-air" aesthetic, Breuer lightened his palette and broadened his touch, while continuing to paint classical California subjects like Mount Shasta and Yosemite.  Plein-air paintings of Yosemite are rare.  Examples by Theodore Wores and Maurice Braun are known today, and this major exhibition painting by Breuer adds to the record.  Another Breuer Yosemite painting of this period, a panoramic view of the Valley, was made into a note card by Robertson prints of Burlingame.