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William Hahn

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Artist's Biography

William Hahn established himself as an important genre painter in Dresden and Düsseldorf during the 1860s and found himself attracted to the liberal political attitudes of the American art students he met in Germany. He became particularly friendly with William Keith who spent most of 1870 in Düsseldorf. Hahn followed Keith back to America, settling in San Francisco in 1872. Hahn immediately became the most important genre painter working on the West Coast, turning out major works depicting California scenes. His "Market Scene, Sansome Street" of 1872 (Crocker Art Museum) was the first of a series of exhibition paintings that have become icons of early California culture. "Sacramento Railroad Station" (de Young Museum) and "Yosemite Valley from Glacier Point" (California Historical Society), both of 1874, are Hahn's best-known works today.

Hahn was revered by San Francisco art critics for his dexterity in painting animals, especially cattle. In March of 1880, the San Francisco News Letter noted, “Hahn is good at figures, but excels in animal painting, notably in horses and cattle.” Our painting captures a mellow mood, with its depiction of cows returning home. The brown tones of the animals blend harmoniously with the warm sunbeams of early evening. The healthy virtues of bucolic life on a country farm are celebrated in paintings like this.