Material
Oil on canvas
About
Blue, red, and brown abstract impressionist painting by Texas artist Fred Darge. The painting depicts a cowboy wearing a blue shirt and a red hat as he sits on a brown riding horse. Signed by the artist at the bottom right corner. Unstretched and unframed but framing options are available.
Artist Biography
Friedrich Ernst (Fred) Darge was born in Rendsburg, Germany March 1, 1900, and died in Dallas, Texas April 10, 1978. He entered the U.S. at Port Arthur, Texas in 1923. By 1924 he was in Chicago painting under the W.P.A. Artists policy and attending the Art Institute of Chicago (1925-27, 1929) and at the Arts Students League in New York. While in Chicago, Darge painted, made model sail boats, which was a interest he acquired in the German Merchant Marine at the age of 16. During this period, he made a painting trip with his wife and son through Minnesota and the Dakota’s. By July of 1933 he had separated from his wife and son in Chicago and had settled in San Antonio as a Starving Artist. In 1935 he moved to Dallas, Texas where he finished his paintings during the Winter months and spent the Summers painting and sketching on Ranches in West Texas, mostly the area between the Davis Mountains and the Rio Grande and in New Mexico. Darge stated “I believe the simple, direct living of the pioneer people will soon come to an end. I want to register the ranchman as he lives today, his daily habits, his mode of living and doing business.” He soon learned to follow the life of the hands on the ranches he visited and became adept at riding and roping and made himself handy around the campfires. Darge entered the Army in 1942 and served in the South Pacific and was honorably discharged in March 1944. He worked for North American Aviation (defense industry) as a technical illustrator until wars end. Darge returned to Dallas in 1946 and bought a W.W.II ambulance and converted it to an artists studio/van and spent the years 1946 to 1978 traveling and painting throughout Texas and New Mexico and returning to Dallas to finish his paintings, carve, build and sail his model boats. His paintings have been exhibited in Chicago (Union League Club/Art Institute of Chicago); New York (Art Students League); Miami, Philadelphia, Dallas (Museum of Fine Arts/Texas Centennial Exposition); San Antonio (Witte Museum); Fort Worth (Annual Texas Artists Exposition); Corpus Christi, Austin (Laguna Gloria Art Museum); Taos and Santa Fe, New Mexico and others, winning numerous awards and honorable mentions. His later years were spent at his studio adjacent to the Dallas Art Association where he also acted as an Instructor.
Dimensions
H 4.5 in x W 4.88 in x D 0.01 in
![Blue, Red, and Brown Abstract Impressionist Painting of a Cowboy on a Horse Mid-20th Century](https://reevesantiques.imgix.net/media/CA252.2023.0412.5283.1.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=90&w=320&s=c56a7656417621bdc7c970b5c437011e 320w, https://reevesantiques.imgix.net/media/CA252.2023.0412.5283.1.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=90&w=540&s=397ea736182a6073965354584ea86aae 540w, https://reevesantiques.imgix.net/media/CA252.2023.0412.5283.1.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=90&w=768&s=09690dd5050f03eb58e090a125cfda71 768w, https://reevesantiques.imgix.net/media/CA252.2023.0412.5283.1.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=90&w=1024&s=ad53b6b11c6584ef554bd89f83181140 1024w, https://reevesantiques.imgix.net/media/CA252.2023.0412.5283.1.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=90&w=1200&s=dd9d0174f31db0bd77ca98c06b4c63c5 1200w, https://reevesantiques.imgix.net/media/CA252.2023.0412.5283.1.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=90&w=1440&s=1d89f123f6e5bad936d8bf504f0914ba 1440w, https://reevesantiques.imgix.net/media/CA252.2023.0412.5283.1.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=90&w=1920&s=3191b2003ef8b3e9f5be19c330f21183 1920w)
![Blue, Red, and Brown Abstract Impressionist Painting of a Cowboy on a Horse Mid-20th Century](https://reevesantiques.imgix.net/media/CA252.2023.0412.5283.11.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=90&w=320&s=eedb9e27b6ba560135f2ee5912493527 320w, https://reevesantiques.imgix.net/media/CA252.2023.0412.5283.11.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=90&w=540&s=28dbc1536312362b3791fffdeb6cbe2e 540w, https://reevesantiques.imgix.net/media/CA252.2023.0412.5283.11.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=90&w=768&s=c6cbdda4d368c3f8da7a2b49c858a27f 768w, https://reevesantiques.imgix.net/media/CA252.2023.0412.5283.11.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=90&w=1024&s=df83f4deb468dfcdb24a5763469d03af 1024w, https://reevesantiques.imgix.net/media/CA252.2023.0412.5283.11.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=90&w=1200&s=8cffdbd0e16401a2710ebfd823417521 1200w, https://reevesantiques.imgix.net/media/CA252.2023.0412.5283.11.jpg?auto=compress%2Cformat&fit=max&ixlib=php-1.1.0&q=90&w=1440&s=af8296e54129a2a5d18659e52a351da2 1396w)