Elmer Wachtel (1864 - 1929)
Born: Baltimore, Maryland 1864 Died: Guadalajara, Mexico 1929
His brother married the sister of Guy Rose; in 1888 became 'first-violin' in the L.A. Philharmonic Orchestra. Known for his works of Pasadena and Laguna.
Elmer Wachtel first came to Los Angeles in 1882 to live with his older brother, John, who was married to the sister of Guy Rose and managing the Rose family ranch, Sunny Slope. Wachtel was an aspiring violinist, and in 1888 he became the 'first-violin' in the Philharmonic Orchestra directed by Adolf Wilhartitz. From 1893 to 1894 he held the same position with A.J. Stamm’s Philharmonic Orchestra. During this period he also pursued his interest in drawing and painting. He became involved with a circle of artists including Gutzon Borglum and J. Bond Francisco. With several other artists they founded the Los Angeles Art Association in the late 1880s.
Around 1895 Watchel went to New York and enrolled in the Art Students League. Unhappy with their methods, he remained only briefly. However, he continued to live and study in New York and took his work to William Merritt Chase to be critiqued. He also exhibited with the New York Water Color Society.
Wachtel returned to Los Angeles in 1896 after spending a brief period in San Francisco where he exhibited with the San Francisco Art Association. In Los Angeles he worked as a pen and ink illustrator for “Land of Sunshine” and “California” magazines. Sometime before 1900 he traveled to Europe and England. He studied at the Lambeth Art School in London and visited and painted with Gutzon Borglum who was living there. He also associated with English illustrators Fred Wilkinson and Tom Wilkinson.
After about a year, Wachtel returned to Los Angeles and established a reputation as an accomplished landscape artist. It was that reputation that prompted William Keith to send his young student artist Marion Kavanagh to see him in 1903. Their chemistry was exceptional and they married in Chicago the following year. The couple returned to Los Angeles and lived in his studio for a year before moving to their studio-home on Mount Washington. In 1921 they moved again to a studio-home on the Arroyo Seco on Linda Vista. Marion and Elmer Wachtel traveled and painted together throughout Southern California. He worked in oils and she prefered to create with watercolor. In 1908 they visited the deserts of Arizona and New Mexico where she painted portraits of the Native Americans.
Their chemistry was exceptional and they married in Chicago the following year. The couple returned to Los Angeles and lived in his studio for a year before moving to their studio-home on Mount Washington. In 1921 they moved again to a studio-home on the Arroyo Seco on Linda Vista. Marion and Elmer Wachtel traveled and painted together throughout Southern California. He worked in oils and she prefered to create with watercolor. In 1908 they visited the deserts of Arizona and New Mexico where she painted portraits of the Native Americans.
Over the next twenty-five years the couple traveled and painted together throughout Southern California. In 1908 they visited the deserts of Arizona and New Mexico. Wachtel was an active exhibitor at many Los Angeles Galleries including Speckle Galleries, Merick Reynolds, and Kanst Art Gallery. He had two one-man exhibitions at the Los Angeles Museum of History, Science and Art, in 1915 and 1918. A memorial exhibition of his work was held at the Kanst Art Gallery in 1930.
Wachtel was an individualist who shunned artists’ organizations, refusing to join the California Art Club in 1905. Nevertheless he was highly respected by the art community. He won two awards from the San Francisco Art Association-one for watercolor in 1902; and another for oils in 1906.
[Information Excerpted from “Early Artists In Laguna Beach, The Early Impressionists” Catalog by Laguna Beach Art Museum, 1986] |
