Hugo Anton Fisher (1854-1916) Winter Scene with Oxen Signed Watercolor. 

Overall Size: 24 x 28 in.

Sight Size: 14 x 18 3/4 in.

Hugo Fisher was known for his skill in watercolor painting of landscapes. Born in Kladno, Czechoslovakia in 1854, he remained in his native land to study art with his father and Anton Mauve in Prague. Fisher came to the United States in 1874. He lived in New York City for a period, and there he married Addie Pond. The couple moved to Alameda, California in 1886, and Fisher set up a studio in nearby San Francisco. While commuting to his studio by ferryboat, he sketched scenes of the marshes and the countryside. The couple had two children. His son, Hugo Melville Fisher, followed in his father's footsteps, and became a skilled painter, recognized in California for his impressionist style.

In 1896, the Pacific Commercial Advertiser newspaper reported that Fisher had opened a studio in J.J. Williams' Photo Studio in Honolulu. The same year the magazine "Paradise of the Pacific" reproduced a watercolor by Fisher depicting Manoa Valley in Honolulu. Fisher specialized in watercolor, but one of his rare oils is a glowing sunrise scene of Hilo Bay, on the island of Hawaii.

Late in 1896, Fisher returned to the U.S. mainland, selling all his paintings with the exception of one.

Fisher gained critical praise for his work and became popular on both the East and West coasts. He exhibited in New York and California and was a member of the San Francisco Art Association. Fisher lost many of his early paintings when his studio was destroyed in the San Francisco Earthquake in 1906.

Hugo Fisher died in Alameda, California in 1916.