Julian Onderdonk and the Texan Landscape

This exhibition brings early Texas history to light through the landscapes of Julian Onderdonk. The American Impressionist and San Antonio native is best known for his depictions of the sprawling Texas countryside.

Onderdonk (1882–1922) spent his formative years training in New York under American artist William Merritt Chase. Studying at Chase’s Shinnecock School of Art on Long Island, Onderdonk established his foundations in Impressionist painting and ignited his love of working en plein air. Returning to Texas in 1909, Onderdonk began to portray the distinctive surroundings of his state in his signature depictions of bluebonnets, captured at different times of day and in all seasons.

Julian Onderdonk and the Texan Landscape presents a select group of more than 25 of Onderdonk’s paintings, from luminous views of the Long Island landscape to sweeping impressions of the iconic Texas bluebonnet. The exhibition coincides with the release of the first catalogue raisonné of the artist.

Credit: Exhibition overview from museum website

Whether you go or not, the catalog, Julian Onderdonk: A Catalogue Raisonné, is the definitive resource on Julian Onderdonk, an American Impressionist artist who lived and worked primarily in Texas. A native of San Antonio, who trained in New York with William Merritt Chase, Onderdonk (1882–1922) created vibrant paintings of the Texas landscape. This publication authoritatively demonstrates the breadth, quality, and brilliance of Onderdonk’s work, and illustrates his oeuvre—more than 1,200 pieces—in full. The book also includes an extensive chronology of the artist’s life and career, as well as an essay by Emily Ballew Neff, an expert on Western American art. The first publication to document the complete works of this talented artist, this catalogue raisonné brings Onderdonk’s extraordinary, lyrical paintings to a long-deserved national audience.