Landscapes

Arthur Gebhardt frequently examined landscapes tracing his travels, interests, and imagined places.

He painted the familiar terrain of the Midwest with as much attention as he gave to the plazas of Europe or the deserts of the American Southwest.

Travel opened new palettes and architectures to Arthur Gebhardt. The Colosseum, a New Mexican mission, coastal lighthouses, and bright shuttered houses appear throughout, giving his landscapes a sense of history and human presence. These structures are landmarks and, again, reflective of his personal connection to travel, especially from the mid-sixties when he traveled to France yearly for a business convention. 

Closer to home, he also explored the environments of his daily life and—the landscapes he lived in.

“One tree that he painted I grew up in. It was big enough for me to get in the crux and sit there. The stockade fence that separated our place from Mrs. M. was close by, and sometimes I would sit there and watch the butler wax her car. It was a place to go to be quiet. You know, because there were seven of us!”