The Caucasian. (Shreveport, La.) 1900-192?, 1907-05-05
NEWS IN BRIEF
A Budget Of Interesting Items Gathered
by Caucasian Representative,

The dog has been faithfully and ade-
quately portrayed in literature, i'll such
admirable studies as "Rab and His
Friends. "A Dog of Flanders" Bob,
Son Of Battle. The Captains Dog,
and score of less pretentous sketches.
equally true and delightful Odlly
enough. he has found among painters
very few truthful delineators. Many
artists have essayed to paint dogs 0cca-
sionally, but nearly always they have
used the animals as fOils for the aCCen-
tuation Of human characteristics. OF as
appropriate figures i'll landscapes All
sincere lovers of dogs resent this ten
dency toward humanizing the animal.
Up TO the present time perhaps the only
painter who has earnestly and success
fully sought to realize this wish by tie
voting his life to the truthful unideal-
lied delineation of canine types IS the
German American artist of 10. o..
Edmund H. Osthatts. A thorough spirits
L.
paint various types Of hunting dogs, as
he considers them the most interesting
of their family. He has sedulously
guarded against producing carlcatures
or humanized still life studies, all Of
his canvasses aiming to picture his mod
els in the full flush and vigor of life
life of which the key note is Astounding
vitality. expressing itself in splendid
action.
Beautiful and intelligent his dogs are,
but not ideally so. They are 50 true to
type that one seems to recognize in them
dogs which he himself has known and
loved. This is largely owing to the fact
that they are pictured amid natural en-
vironment The artist is wise enough
not to force his subject to assume
strange postures i'll order to attract at
tentlon. And owing to his successful
achievement i'll this respect, to Edmund
H. Osthaus, must be conceded the title
of "Art-master of the dog
Mr. Osthaus is an American by adop
ton, having been born in Hanover. Ger
many. august 5, 1858. His father was a
rugged and swarthy gentleman farmer
and his mother an English woman of
much beauty and personal charm. From
both parents the boy inherited grim de
termination and a capacity for taking in
finite pains. In addition to these char
acterlstics came strong prediction for
Outdoor life and habit of close observa-
ton During his early youth young
Osthaus spent most of his leisure with
the shepherds OH the green hillside near
his home making sketches Of the sheep
and the stray deer that occasionally ven
tured from the covert Of the neighbor-
les at the Dusseldorf academy entering
the atelier of Christian Kroner, a cele-
brated painter of forest scenery and
wild game. He came to America in
IS83-and spent three years i'll ta2el
through the less settled regions of the
country. While on a backwoods excur-
sion in the forests of Wisconsin, Ost-
haus made the acquaintance of the hum
orist and art-lover. D. K. Locke. well
known by his pen name, Petroleum V.
Nasty. Liking the quiet and capable
young artist Mr.. Locke soon afterward
engaged him as head instructor of the
Toledo Academy of Fine Arts Mr..
Osthaus retained this position until
1893, when he retired to devote his en-
tire time to his own brush.-Munsey for
April