Frederick Ferdinand Schafer(1839-1927)

A Preliminary Catalog of his Paintings

by Jerome H. Saltzer, Professor of Computer Science Emeritus
Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Mount Hood from the Dalles, Oregon by Frederick Ferdinand Schafer
Photograph courtesy of Braarud Fine Art, LaConner, Washington

Though Schafer was born in Germany, most of his known works were painted in America, in California and other far western states, between 1873 and 1911. Schafer apparently did not leave a list of his works, so this inventory has been constructed using information from collectors, dealers, auction houses, and museums. It documents over 800 of his paintings, in most cases including a reproduction, plus another 100 or so for which only partial information has been located. There is also a list of about 380 painting titles that appeared in nineteenth century exhibition or auction listings with no further information, which makes matching them up with currently known paintings problematic.

• The paintings:
  • Alphabetical list of painting titles (text, long).
  • Thumbnail image index of twenty representative works by the artist.
  • Additional lists and indexes : thumbnail image indexes by content, date, and medium, questioned attributions, search boxes, and a grand tour of the paintings.

• The art history:
  • About the artist, travels, work, influences, legends, and myths.
  • Other artists with similar names or signatures. Some paintings signed "Schafer" are by different artists who share the same surname.
  • Citations and sources. Exhibitions, books, newspapers, galleries, and museums.

• The catalog and web site:
  • What's new (updated May 2024).
  • Documentation conventions.
  • Notes on usage, browsers, and display requirements.
  • Submitting information to go in the catalog.
  • Copyright notice and discussion.
  • Logging and privacy.