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One or two Kentucky (?) Schafers

In the eastern United States, two groups of landscape paintings have been found with subject, composition, style, and palette that somewhat resemble that of Frederick F. Schafer, but with signatures that are quite different. In both groups the signature is simply "Schafer" without a monogram or initial "F", and the strokes of each printed letter of the signature are continuously rounded, in contrast with Frederick Schafer's style of lettering that employs multiple straight or slightly curved strokes.

Some of the paintings are round or oval, shapes not known to be used by Frederick F. Schafer. None have verso inscriptions. Several are on artist's board. They appear to be gouache or watercolor, but some are reported to smudge easily or come off in a fine powder, suggesting chalk or mixed media.

Below are four examples of work by and signatures of the artist in the first group. On inspection, it is apparent that despite their differing sizes and shapes, they are all of the same scene of a tall broadleaf tree of trees beside a river with a low hill in the distance. A characteristic of the signatures in this group of paintings is that they are completely without decoration, a style known as sans-serif.

All of the paintings in this first group emerged in the eastern half of the United States, one in New Orleans, one in Kentucky, one in Connecticut, one in Indiana. This geographic concentration suggests that this Schafer is an American painter who worked in the near midwest. No other information about this Schafer has yet turned up.

[river scene] Oil on artist's board, 19 inches D. A New Orleans estate Dealer's photograph
[river scene] chalk (?) on artist's board, 22 x 9 3/4 inches A Kentucky estate Owner's photograph
[river scene] chalk? on artist's board, 13 1/2 by 23 1/2 inches From an estate in Windsor, Connectucut Dealer's photograph
[river scene] Chalk? on artist's board, size not reported Private collection, Indiana Owner's photograph
The paintings of the second group also bear the signature "Schafer" with rounded strokes, but with more decoration: serifs on the S and swirling flourishes on the ascenders. Two of these paintings emerged in Kentucky, the other two in western Pennsylvania, and a fifth (no photograph available) in Kentucky, suggesting that this artist may come from the Ohio River valley. It is also possible that both groups of paintings are by the same artist, and that he or she changed signature styles slightly over the years.
[pastoral scene with church steeple on the horizon] A Western Pennsylvania estate Owner's photograph
[moonlit landscape with windmills] chalk? on unknown support Private collection, Kentucky Owner's photograph
[River landscape with Windmill] Watercolor on unknown support, 14 by 24 inches Private collection, Kentucky Owner's photograph
[Indian Encampment by a Lake] Gouache on unknown support, 17 by 29.5 inches Private collection, Pennsylvania Owner's photograph
For comparison, a typical signature of Frederick Ferdinand Schafer from Evening on Castle Rock, Columbia River, Oregon [2].

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