(1832–1932)
Before Hermann Herzog emigrated from Germany to the United States in 1869, he had established an international reputation as a landscape painter. In America he found the perfect subject matter for his romantic and naturalistic style: the untamed wilderness of the American landscape.
Herzog was born in Bremen, Germany, and studied at the Düsseldorf Academy in 1849 under the tutelage of landscape painters Johann Wilhelm Schirmer and Andreas Achenbach. Herzog was also a private student of Norwegian landscape painter Hans Frederick Gude, who encouraged his students to travel for artistic inspiration. In 1855 Herzog made his first trip to Norway to experience the rugged wilderness firsthand. A turning point in his career came when the Queen of Hanover purchased Herzog’s first Norwegian scene painted during this trip. In the following years Herzog traveled throughout Belgium, Switzerland, Italy, France, Holland, and Norway, broadening his subject matter and artistic reputation throughout Europe.
Herzog began exhibiting in the early 1860s; in 1863 his work was included at the Paris Salon, and although still in Europe, he exhibited in the United States at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. His landscapes were celebrated for their variety of scenery, and the patronage of Queen Victoria, Grand Duke Alexander of Russia, and the Grand Duke of Oldenburg ensured his financial security.
Unhappy with the unification of Germany under Prussian leadership, Herzog left Bremen for the United States in the late 1860s. After a brief residency in New Jersey, Herzog and his family settled in Philadelphia, where he already had an established following through his exhibitions at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts. As he did in Europe, Herzog traveled extensively throughout America on painting trips. In 1871 he traveled up the Hudson River and in 1873 he took his first trip to the West, visiting Wyoming, California, and Oregon. In the 1880s Herzog began to visit his son regularly in Florida, where he painted the lush, tropical landscape.
Herzog exhibited at national and international venues, including the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, Brooklyn Art Association, National Academy of Design, and the Paris Salon. His work is housed in many collections, including The Metropolitan Museum of Art, New York Public Library, Smithsonian American Art Museum and The White House, Washington, D. C.; Orlando Museum of Art, Florida; Cincinnati Art Museum, Oakland Museum of California, and the Mulhouse Museum, Germany.