Johannes Adam Simon Oertel Papers, 1863-1908

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Summary

Creator:
Oertel, Johannes Adam Simon, 1823-1909.
Abstract:

Johannes Adam Simon Oertel, artist and Episcopal clergyman, was born in Bavaria and came to the United States in 1848. In 1851, he married Julia Adelaide Torrey (d. 1907), with whom he had four children. His works include decorations for the ceiling of the House of Representatives in the Capitol in Washington, D.C.; "Rock of Ages," which was widely circulated in reproduction; and many religious paintings and wood carvings for churches. Oertel served as rector in Lenoir and Morganton, N.C.; Glen Cove, N.Y.; and Emmorton, Md.; and briefly operated a sawmill in Orange Springs, Fla. From 1895 to 1902, he painted a series of large canvases collectively called "Redemption," which he considered his highest achievement.

The collection is Oertel's diary, 386 p., with entries dated 1868 to 1882, and about sixty enclosures from the diary, including some twenty letters to Oertel and copies of letters from him to others, newspaper clippings, and writings, chiefly poems and sermons, by Oertel and others. Among the topics covered in diary entries are the difficulties Oertel experienced in balancing church duties and the creation of religious art; his poverty; his frustration with an art-buying public that appeared to prefer foreign to American religious art and portraits of themselves and paintings of animals to religious art in general; his annoyance with the art establishment in New York and other major centers and with art agents and publishers; his confrontations with church officials in North Carolina and New York; and his difficulties with parishioners, especially in Morganton. In these entries, there is much about Oertel's efforts to make his family comfortable, but little about the activities of individual family members, except for their involvement in the Orange Springs, Fla., sawmill venture. Few friends and acquaintances are named. Two who were involved in his work were William Cullen Bryant, whose poems Oertel illustrated, and Sarah Rebecca Cameron of Hillsborough, N.C., with whom Oertel was involved in an aborted effort to produce an illustrated volume of religious stories. The Addition of 2013 consists of Johannes Adam Simon Oertel's journal with entries dated 5 October 1898 to 31 December 1908, a sketchbook belonging to him dated 1863 to 1907, and enclosures. Journal entries chiefly concern religion and art, and include some discussion of daily life and current events. There are also numerous newspaper and magazine clippings, letters, copies of letters, and other notes glued to journal pages. The sketchbook contains drawings of people, particularly women, in various poses, sketches of biblical scenes and figures, and a study of hands in different positions. Titled and dated sketches include: "The Ark Restored," three sketches dated March and April, 1881; "The First Passover," 25 February 1903; "Burial of Moses," 1882; and "Daniel," 1885.

Extent:
105 items (0.5 linear feet)
Language:
Materials in English
Library Catalog Link:
View UNC library catalog record for this item

Background

Biographical / historical:

Johannes Adam Simon Oertel (1823-1909), artist and Episcopal clergyman, was born in Furth, Bavaria, the son of Thomas Friedrich Oertel, a metal worker, and Maria Magdalena Mennensdörfer Oertel. Early in life, he dedicated himself to the church and began studies with a Lutheran clergyman, expecting to become a foreign missionary. In the course of his studies, however, he apparently revealed such talent for drawing that his teacher urged him to study art. He became the pupil of J. M. Enzing Müller, an engraver, with whom he spent some time in Munich.

In 1848, Oertel came to the United States and settled in Newark, N.J., where he was soon joined by his parents and two brothers. Oertel's brother Thomas Frederick was also called Fritz. In Newark, Oertel gave lessons in drawing, and, in 1851, married Julia Adelaide Torrey (d. 1907), with whom he had four children: Mary Magdalena (b. 1852), called Lena; John Frederick (b. 1856), called Fritz or Fred; Samuel Philip, who was born and died in 1859; and Theodore Eugene (b. 1864), called Eugene. In the winter following his marriage, Oertel made sketches for a series of four large paintings illustrating the concept of redemption. Thereafter, he looked upon the completion of these paintings as his life work. For the next fifty years, Oertel struggled, usually with little success, to earn enough money to keep his family sheltered and fed and himself out of debt to framers and suppliers of artists' materials so that he might pursue the "Redemption" project.

From 1852 to 1857, Oertel made steel engravings for banknotes, painted portraits, and even colored photographs. In 1857 and 1858, he designed the decorations for the ceiling of the House of Representatives in the Capitol in Washington, D.C. For a few months in 1862, he lived with the Army of the Potomac, gathering material for several war paintings. In the 1860s, at Westerly, R.I., he painted a picture first called "Saved, or an Emblematic Representation of Christian Faith," which came to be widely known in reproductions as "Rock of Ages." A large number of photographs and lithographs of this work were sold, bringing the publisher a handsome income in royalties. Because of errors in the copyright papers, however, Oertel only shared in profits from "Rock of Ages" for the first few years of publication.

Oertel had been confirmed in the Episcopal Church in 1852, and, at Westerly, occasionally acted as a lay reader. In 1867, he was admitted to deacon's orders. Two years later, he moved to Lenoir, N.C., where he assumed charge of a rural church and two mission stations and founded a school for girls. In 1871, he was ordained as a priest. He remained in Lenoir until 1876, and then lived in New York City; Glen Cove, N.Y.; and Morganton, N.C. In each of these places, he tried to combine art with ministry. After serving as rector in Morganton, he spent a year in Orange Springs, Fla., this time trying to combine church and art work and the business of running a sawmill. Having failed in all three ventures, he returned to Lenoir and then lived for various periods in Washington, D.C.; Sewanee and Nashville, Tenn.; and St. Louis, Mo., where he was instructor in fine arts at Washington University from 1889 to 1891.

The last eighteen years of his life were spent near Washington, D.C. For a while, he took charge of the church at Emmorton, Md. In 1895, his sons finally having relieved him of the necessity for gaining a livelihood, he began at last to paint the first picture of the "Redemption" series, which he called "The Dispensations of Promise and the Law." This painting was followed by "The Redeemer,""The Dispensation of the Holy Spirit," and "The Consummation of Redemption." The last of these paintings was completed in 1902. Reluctant to break up the set of four, Oertel declined a $10,000 offer for "The Dispensations of Promise and the Law." He later gave the series to the University of the South, from which he received the D.D. degree in 1902. After this, he lived with his son in Vienna, Va., where he painted prolifically. In 1906 and 1907, he produced the paintings and designed the woodwork for the reredos of the Cathedral at Quincy, Ill. He died in Vienna at the age of 86.

While serving the church and teaching, Oertel always considered religious art his chief vocation, and his paintings and ecclesiastical wood carvings were his principal means of support. Many times, however, financial considerations forced him to abandon religious art for painting portraits and pictures of animals, which were usually more profitable.

Known chiefly as an excellent draftsman, Oertel sometimes painted in monochrome, although, in his later years, he made good use of color, especially in the "Redemption" series. His paintings are to be seen in churches in New York City; Glen Cove, N.Y.; Lenoir, N.C.; St. Louis, Mo.; Jackson, Tenn.; Emmorton and Belair, Md.; and Washington, D.C. In many instances, these paintings are accompanied by the elaborate wood carvings Oertel also produced. Among his many carvings, an especially notable work is his altar and reredos for the Church of the Incarnation in Washington, D.C.

(This biographical note is based on the note in the Dictionary of American Biography, Volume XIII.)

Scope and content:

This collection consists of Johannes Adam Simon Oertel's 386-page diary, 1868-1882, and about sixty enclosures from the diary, including some twenty letters to Oertel and copies of letters from him to others, newspaper clippings about his acquaintances and on art and religious themes, and writings, chiefly poems and sermons, by Oertel and others.

Oertel began the diary in Tarrytown, N.Y., on 30 December 1868 and ended it in Orange Springs, Fla., on 12 February 1883. In the first entries, he told of his decision to begin a new life in Lenoir, N.C., and his hope that the large sales of reproductions of his painting "Rock of Ages" would put an end to his poverty. Thereafter, in extremely introspective entries often covering three or four pages and written about once or twice a month, the story of Oertel's life over the next fifteen years unfolds.

Oertel described the seven years spent in Lenoir, during which time he was ordained as a priest in the Episcopal Church and had charge of a rural church and two mission stations, and where he and his wife founded a school for girls. Later entries show that he lived in New York City; Glen Cove, N.Y.; and Morganton, N.C. After serving as rector in Morganton and remaining on there as a private citizen for some time, he spent a disastrous year in Orange Springs, Fla., where he tried to combine church and art work with the business of running a sawmill. Having failed in all of these ventures, he concluded the diary with a vow to return to his studio in Lenoir and dedicate himself to religious art.

Among the topics covered in diary entries are the difficulties Oertel experienced in trying to make a living from religious art, which led to constant fretting over his indebtedness; his frustration with the art-buying public that appeared to prefer foreign to American religious art and portraits of themselves and paintings of animals to religious art in general; his annoyance with the high-handedness of the art establishment in New York and other major centers and with art agents and publishers; his dealings with Episcopal church officials, including his attendance at church convocations, particularly in North Carolina; and his difficulties with parishioners, especially in Morganton, where, after his tenure as rector, he led a rebellion against the church elders.

In these entries, there is much about Oertel's efforts to make his family comfortable, but little about the activities of individual family members, except for documentation of their suffering because of his inability to provide for them. There is also little mention of the activities of friends and acquaintances who were not directly involved in Oertel's work. Two who were involved in his work were William Cullen Bryant, whose poems Oertel illustrated, and Sarah Rebecca Cameron of Hillsborough, N.C., with whom Oertel was involved in an aborted effort to produce an illustrated volume called The Prophets of Israel.

Throughout his life and throughout the diary, Oertel suffered and lamented. Through it all, however, he appears to have remained true to several basic ideas. Of greatest importance was his belief in the goodness of God and the importance of faith. He was also convinced that religious art was his destiny and constituted his reason for being. Further, he frequently expressed the conviction that it was not only possible but desirable to combine art and service to the church, even though he acknowledged that jettisoning one or the other obligation would almost certainly guarantee food on the table. For Oertel, abandonment of either his art or his religious duties was simply not an option, and the diary shows that he survived the consequences of this decision through his trust in God and in his own mission.

The Addition of 2013 consists of Johannes Adam Simon Oertel's journal, 5 October 1898 to 31 December 1908; a sketchbook belonging to him dated 1863-1907, and enclosures. Journal entries chiefly concern religion and art, and include some discussion of daily life and current events. There are also numerous newspaper and magazine clippings, letters, copies of letters Oertel wrote to fellow ministers, and other notes glued to journal pages. Topics include the price and sale of Oertel's paintings and property, artistic styles and schools, his methods of work on paintings and canvases, especially work on "The Great Redemption Plan" series, and exhibits of his artwork. Oertel also discussed a request of the publishing firm Curtis and Cameron of Boston to use several of his paintings for reproduction by photography. The sketchbook contains drawings of people, particularly women, in various poses, sketches of biblical scenes and figures, and a study of hands in different positions. Titled and dated sketches include: "The Ark Restored," three sketches dated March and April, 1881; "The First Passover," 25 February 1903; "Burial of Moses," 1882; and "Daniel," 1885. Enclosures consist of newspaper and magazine clippings, a post card, a few letters, a certificate to perform marriages in Washington, D.C., copied hymns and poems, and copies of letters Oertel wrote to friends and colleagues.

Acquisition information:

Purchased from Charles Apfelbaum in October 1991 (Acc. 91155); and received from Deidra Lyngard in December 2013 (Acc. 101996).

Processing information:

Processed by: Roslyn Holdzkom, December 1991; Amanda Loeb, May 2015

Encoded by: Roslyn Holdzkom, November 2006; Amanda Loeb, May 2015

Diacritics and other special characters have been omitted from this finding aid to facilitate keyword searching in web browsers.

Sensitive materials statement:

Manuscript collections and archival records may contain materials with sensitive or confidential information that is protected under federal or state right to privacy laws and regulations, the North Carolina Public Records Act (N.C.G.S. § 132 1 et seq.), and Article 7 of the North Carolina State Personnel Act (Privacy of State Employee Personnel Records, N.C.G.S. § 126-22 et seq.). Researchers are advised that the disclosure of certain information pertaining to identifiable living individuals represented in this collection without the consent of those individuals may have legal ramifications (e.g., a cause of action under common law for invasion of privacy may arise if facts concerning an individual's private life are published that would be deemed highly offensive to a reasonable person) for which the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill assumes no responsibility.

Access and use

Restrictions to access:

No restrictions. Open for research.

Restrictions to use:

Copyright is retained by the authors of items in these papers, or their descendants, as stipulated by United States copyright law.

No usage restrictions.

Preferred citation:

[Identification of item], in the Johannes Adam Simon Oertel Papers #4592, Southern Historical Collection, Wilson Special Collections Library, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Location of this collection:
Louis Round Wilson Library
200 South Road
Chapel Hill, NC 27515
Contact:
(919) 962-3765
wilsonlibrary@unc.edu