Elmer Hader (1889-1973) American, Oil on Canvasboard. Titled "Hudson River, Fall Landscape." Signed and dated 1945 lower left. 

Overall: 22 X 28 in. 

Sight: 17 1/2 X 23 1/2 in. 

#2692 . 

Elmer Stanley Hader was born in Pajaro, California on September 7th, 1889, but spent much of his youth in San Francisco. He worked briefly in a survey party up the American River, a firefighter on the State Belt Railroad, and apprenticed under his father as an engineer. At the age of 16, as a member of the National Guard, he helped restore order to San Francisco after the 1906 earthquake. Given a scholarship for his deeds, he pursued a degree at the California School of Design, graduating in 1910. Elmer was also involved in theater, painting sets for and acting with two theatrical groups in the city, and continued to engage with actors when he traveled to Paris to attend the Académie Julian from 1912 to 1914. He was very successful for his vaudeville routines in France and the United States in which he would do a “Painting a Minute” act and, later, a living statue routine (in which individuals were made up to appear to be statues). Eager to focus on art full time, he returned to San Francisco and set up a studio in his parents attic, where he painted, taught art, and arranged exhibits. Drafted into the Army and returned to France in 1918 as a member of the Camouflage Corps, he was demobilized and sent to New York in 1919, where he met and fell in love with the Mexican-born artist Berta Hoerner (August 1st, 1890 - February 6th, 1976). They moved from Greenwich Village to Grand View-on-Hudson on the west bank of the Hudson River, eventually building their own expansive home there which became an art project in its own right. The Haders were early champions of conservation, animal protection, and pacifism, and many of their works reflect these themes. They had one child, Hamilton, who died from meningitis before the age of three. In an effort to overcome their grief, they turned to writing and illustrating children’s books, jointly creating over 70 during their shared career and winning the Caldecott Medal multiple times. Elmer passed away on his 84th birthday, September 7th, 1973, and Berta remained in their home until her passing three years later.