Charles Wimar

Charles Wimar painted the American West as it was being opened up: buffalo herds crossing rivers, Native American hunters on horseback, and wagon trains under attack. His scenes are dramatic, with strong light and careful detail learned in the German academies.

He was born in Siegburg, Germany, and emigrated to St Louis as a boy. He studied with the painter Leon Pomarede and then at the Düsseldorf Academy under Emanuel Leutze. Back in St Louis, he made journeys up the Missouri River in 1858 and 1859 to sketch the land and its people. In 1861 he painted murals in the dome of the St Louis Courthouse, now part of the Gateway Arch National Park. He died the next year at 34.

Buffalo Crossing the Yellowstone and Indians Approaching Fort Union show his western subjects. Look for the golden evening light he often used.