Help with painting subject and Artist Info. Watercolor signed "Engle 1925"

[Bramblefind]

Help with painting subject and Artist Info. Watercolor signed "Engle 1925"

Any ideas as to the location or what sort of buildings are shown in this painting? Also trying to find out if there is any information on this artist. I searched and found a Harry Leon Engle around that time but the signature etc.. does not seem to match his.

Thanks for any help

 

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[stefen]

Re: Help with painting subject and Artist Info. Watercolor signed "Engle 1925"

There are a number of watercolorists with the sur name Engle, however I beleive this may be by Harry Leon Engle (1870 - 1968)...as opposed to any of the others.

Beleive your on the right track...

 

[Bramblefind]

Re: Help with painting subject and Artist Info. Watercolor signed "Engle 1925"

There are a number of watercolorists with the sirname Engle, however I beleive this may be by Harry Leon Engle (1870 - 1968)...as opposed to any of the others.

Beleive your on the right track...

Thanks That would be great if it was... I can't seem to find watercolors by him though. The paintings I find all seem to be in oil.

I just found this though! But they don't ID it -

http://www.aspireauctions.com/auction80/details/19083.html

 

[arapahoscout]

Re: Help with painting subject and Artist Info. Watercolor signed "Engle 1925"

That is a POW camp. Guessing somewhere in the west / southwest due to the landscape.

 

[Bramblefind]

Re: Help with painting subject and Artist Info. Watercolor signed "Engle 1925"

That is a POW camp. Guessing somewhere in the west / southwest due to the landscape.

That is a really interesting thought. The 1925 date adds a wrinkle to it though. So it would be for World War I I'll definitely look into it

 

[Bramblefind]

Re: Help with painting subject and Artist Info. Watercolor signed "Engle 1925"

Well I think the other painting this artist did in 1925 (found out it is titled "World's Fair") is of the San Francisco California Diamond Jubilee World's Fair in 1925 so my painting being of a location in that area (western US) in the same year would make sense-

 

[stefen]

Re: Help with painting subject and Artist Info. Watercolor signed "Engle 1925"

Doubtful if that was a WWI Military Prisoner camp....

San Francisco Bay Conservatory and Botanical Gardens has numerous hot houses which that may depict...

 

[arapahoscout]

Re: Help with painting subject and Artist Info. Watercolor signed "Engle 1925"

The POW camps stayed in place between the wars even though most were inactive. Notice the guard tower at the left.

In your research, you should use the term "Internment Camp" or "Relocation Center" the U.S. warm and fuzzy terms.

 

[arapahoscout]

Re: Help with painting subject and Artist Info. Watercolor signed "Engle 1925"

Doubtful if that was a WWI Military Prisoner camp....

San Francisco Bay Conservatory and Botanical Gardens has numerous hot houses which that may depict...

Could be, not sure why they would need a guard tower though....

 

[bradyboy]

Re: Help with painting subject and Artist Info. Watercolor signed "Engle 1925"

Wow
I really dig this pc
I'm confused about a few things about this watercolor
the signature and the date are from two separate pencils, maybe not even in the same hand
if it was a pow camp, wheres the wire fencing, instead, broken fences
the 1929 date doesn't seem to work for having detained prisoners - need to find out if or when the artist traveled
the blue looks like it might represent water, lake and river
the wood fences, broken fences and the strewn fencing planks seem to be symbolic
IM not being negative in any way, just investigative
I live this pc
Brady

 

[arapahoscout]

Re: Help with painting subject and Artist Info. Watercolor signed "Engle 1925"

Wow
I really dig this pc
I'm confused about a few things about this watercolor
the signature and the date are from two separate pencils, maybe not even in the same hand
if it was a pow camp, wheres the wire fencing, instead, broken fences
the 1929 date doesn't seem to work for having detained prisoners - need to find out if or when the artist traveled
the blue looks like it might represent water, lake and river
the wood fences, broken fences and the strewn fencing planks seem to be symbolic
IM not being negative in any way, just investigative
I live this pc
Brady

You are right, the pencils are different. But the link the OP provided shows the same penmenship difference, and likeness to this one, on the date and sig... and the same difference in pencils.

Just a total guess, but the date of 1925 was between the two wars and the broken fence could be "symbolic" of the freed prisoners and the delapidated and unused structures. Besides, how would you effectively watercolor a barbed wire fence from this perspective? I am still going with a pow camp due to the layout of the buildings, stlye of the buildings, the obvious remoteness of the location, and the guard tower. Not to mention the gardens/feilds/corrals to the right of the long building. The prisoners raised their own meat and veggies to eat. Do a google image search for Internment camp and you will see the similarites.

 

[Bramblefind]

Re: Help with painting subject and Artist Info. Watercolor signed "Engle 1925"

Thanks for all the great comments! I didn't notice the blue being water before but now looking at it - I can see it. Very interesting! I'm going to keep looking for the area this painting represents and might even end up contacting a northern CA art or historical society. Regarding the signature and date ---I thought I would pull the picture over here of the signature and date from the other painting at the auction site that appears to have been painted by the same artist and put it with mine-

 

[ipsilateral]

Re: Help with painting subject and Artist Info. Watercolor signed "Engle 1925"

There are several listed Engles that fit the time period. No reason to think internment camp. The 'guard tower' could be a number of other structures. Buildings could be agricultural. The signatures are a match between the two paintings. It's an attractive water color.

 

[Breezie]

Re: Help with painting subject and Artist Info. Watercolor signed "Engle 1925"

Hey Bramble, that's a really nice watercolor. Although I'm not familiar with the Artist, I will say the buildings look very typical of 'hog parlors' like we have here in the South. Chicken houses look basically the same. I doubt someone would paint a pic of hog parlors, but that's what it looks like. The blue doesn't look like water to me. The puffy blue areas on the left look like plant beds. Judging by Engle's almost abstract painting of the World's Fair, your watercolor could be as abstract. Breezie

I'd contact these people; since they buy H.L.E. paintings, they will know if it is his or not.
http://fineestateart.com/artists/harry_leon_engle

 

[Dano Sverige]

Re: Help with painting subject and Artist Info. Watercolor signed "Engle 1925"

1/ The closest "building" is saying "tent" to me. You can see the ripples in the roof from the wind and the fluted look to the edges front left where tension lines are pulling it taut.
Also, with the artists wild use of colour, why would he leave all those "buildings" plain white?
Large Army or miners/prospectors camp maybe?

2/ The blue is water, a river maybe, and the broken fence might be flood damage.

3/ Location is Kentucky..."the bluegrass state"!

 

[ipsilateral]

Re: Help with painting subject and Artist Info. Watercolor signed "Engle 1925"

The blue doesn't say water to me. Look at the area high up on the hill adjoining the buildings on the right side that is also blue, yet unlikely to be water. This is probably shading (or bluegrass!

 

[arapahoscout]

Re: Help with painting subject and Artist Info. Watercolor signed "Engle 1925"

You guys are right, there is no reason to think anyone would paint a picture of an internment camp. It is much more likely to paint a picture of a chicken ranch. http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&...&um=1&ie=UTF-8&tbm=isch&source=og&sa=N&tab=wi


Even if it were an internment camp, one would never use such drab colors, since those places were such nice places to be and such a wonderful part of our american history.

Please tell me, what other structures could that "guard tower" be? And please don't say a water tower, since no chicken rancher in his right mind would put a water tower at the bottom of a hill and have to run a pump to get it back to the top to water his chickens.

As far as the bluegrass goes, I guess there is bluegrass, orangegrass, greengrass, purplegrass, and graygrass all in kentucky... and they can even grow bluegrass on their tents! those lucky sob's, I wish I had grass at all at my place! All I get is rocks and trees....Maybe a wildflower here and there....

One more question... If a man speaks in the woods with no woman around to hear him, is he still wrong?

I will be very interested to see what the OP comes up with.

 

[wheelerite]

Re: Help with painting subject and Artist Info. Watercolor signed "Engle 1925"

looks like a water tower
ksmith

 

[DialM]

Re: Help with painting subject and Artist Info. Watercolor signed "Engle 1925"

Hey Bramble, that's a really nice watercolor. Although I'm not familiar with the Artist, I will say the buildings look very typical of 'hog parlors' like we have here in the South. Chicken houses look basically the same. I doubt someone would paint a pic of hog parlors, but that's what it looks like. The blue doesn't look like water to me. The puffy blue areas on the left look like plant beds. Judging by Engle's almost abstract painting of the World's Fair, your watercolor could be as abstract. Breezie

I'd contact these people; since they buy H.L.E. paintings, they will know if it is his or not.
http://fineestateart.com/artists/harry_leon_engle

I doubt it is HLE, as the signature looks nothing like it.

 

[DialM]

Re: Help with painting subject and Artist Info. Watercolor signed "Engle 1925"

It looks like greenhouses and a water tower to me.