Frederick Ferdinand Schafer (1839-1927)

A Preliminary Catalog of his Paintings

by Jerome H. Saltzer, Professor of Computer Science Emeritus
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Overview. This is an initial inventory of the paintings of Frederick Ferdinand Schafer, a nineteenth-century landscape artist of what is sometimes called the San Francisco or Rocky Mountain school. Schafer was born in Germany but most of his known works were painted in America, in California and other far western states, between 1876 and 1911. This catalog documents about 600 of his paintings, in most cases including a reproduction. In addition it provides incomplete information about 225 other paintings by the artist, many of which are known only because their title appeared in a nineteenth century exhibition listing or an auction advertisement.

Contents:

1. The paintings.
   • Some representative works by the artist.
   • The CATALOG OF PAINTINGS, indexed by subject.
   • OTHER WAYS TO EXPLORE THE PAINTINGS : a complete title index, indexes by date and medium, questioned attributions, search forms, and a grand tour of the paintings.

2. The art history.
   • About the artist, travels, work, influences, legends, and myths.
   • Other artists with similar names or signatures. Some paintings signed "Schafer" are by different artists who share the same surname.
   • Citations and sources. Exhibitions, books, newspapers, galleries, and museums.

3. The inventory and this web site.
   • Notes on usage, browsers, and display requirements.
   • Mechanics of the inventory. (Also used as the help page.)
   • Submitting information to go in the catalog.
   • Copyright notice and discussion.
   • What's new (updated April 2012).
   • Logging and privacy.

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