Cornelis Botke (1887-1954) was a Dutch-born American painter and etcher.
He emigrated to the United States in 1930,
and he first lived in
Chicago
Chicago is the List of municipalities in Illinois, most populous city in the U.S. state of Illinois and in the Midwestern United States. With a population of 2,746,388, as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, it is the List of Unite ...
before moving to Southern California.
By the time of his death, his artwork hung in the
New York Public Library
The New York Public Library (NYPL) is a public library system in New York City. With nearly 53 million items and 92 locations, the New York Public Library is the second-largest public library in the United States behind the Library of Congress a ...
, the
Los Angeles Public Library
The Los Angeles Public Library (LAPL) is a public library system in Los Angeles, California, operating separate from the Los Angeles County Public Library system. The system holds more than six million volumes, and with around 19 million resid ...
, and the
California State Library
The California State Library is the state library of the State of California, founded in 1850 by the California State Legislature. The Library collects, preserves, generates and disseminates a wide array of information. Today, it is the central ...
.
His wife,
Jessie Arms Botke
Jessie Hazel Arms Botke (May 27, 1883 – October 2, 1971) was an Illinois and California painter noted for her bird images and use of gold leaf highlights.
Biography
Jessie Arms Botke was born in Chicago, Illinois to William Aldis and Martha ( ...
, was also an artist.
Early life
Botke was born in
Leeuwarden
Leeuwarden (; ; ; ) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in Friesland, Netherlands, with a population of 127,073 (2023). It is the provincial capital and seat of the Provin ...
,
Holland
Holland is a geographical regionG. Geerts & H. Heestermans, 1981, ''Groot Woordenboek der Nederlandse Taal. Deel I'', Van Dale Lexicografie, Utrecht, p 1105 and former provinces of the Netherlands, province on the western coast of the Netherland ...
. He studied at the School for Applied Design in
Haarlem
Haarlem (; predecessor of ''Harlem'' in English language, English) is a List of cities in the Netherlands by province, city and Municipalities of the Netherlands, municipality in the Netherlands. It is the capital of the Provinces of the Nether ...
, Holland, and the
Chicago Art Institute
The Art Institute of Chicago, founded in 1879, is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the United States. The museum is based in the Art Institute of Chicago Building in Chicago's Grant Park. Its collection, stewarded by 11 curatoria ...
. Botke married
Jessie Arms in April 1915 and moved to
Carmel-by-the-Sea, California
Carmel-by-the-Sea (), commonly known simply as Carmel, is a city in Monterey County, California, located on the Central Coast of California. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 3,220, down from 3,722 a ...
in 1919 and became influential figures in the local art colony.
Professional life
Botke taught at the
Carmel Arts and Crafts Club for 1921 and 1922 seasons, where his painting, ''A Forest Of Eucalyptus,'' was on the Carmel Summer School Of Art 1922 brochure. He also acted in plays at the Carmel Arts and Crafts Theater and exhibited his paintings at the 1922 and 1924 annual exhibitions of paintings at the Arts and Crafts Hall in Carmel.
He was a member of the American Society of Etchers, the
Society of American Graphic Artists
The Society of American Graphic Artists (SAGA) is a not for profit national fine arts organization serving professional artists in the field of printmaking. SAGA provides its members with exhibition, reviews and networking opportunities in the Ne ...
, and the California Watercolor Society.
He and his wife moved to
Santa Paula, California
Santa Paula ( Spanish for " St. Paula") is a city in Ventura County, California, United States. Situated amid the orchards of the Santa Clara River Valley, the city advertises itself to tourists as the "Citrus Capital of the World". Santa Pa ...
in 1927.
Permanent collections
His etchings are in the permanent collections (but not all currently on view) of the
Smithsonian American Art Museum
The Smithsonian American Art Museum (SAAM; formerly the National Museum of American Art) is a museum in Washington, D.C., part of the Smithsonian Institution. Together with its branch museum, the Renwick Gallery, SAAM holds one of the world's lar ...
,
the
National Gallery of Art
The National Gallery of Art is an art museum in Washington, D.C., United States, located on the National Mall, between 3rd and 9th Streets, at Constitution Avenue NW. Open to the public and free of charge, the museum was privately established in ...
,
the
San Francisco Museum of Modern Art
The San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (SFMOMA) is a modern art, modern and contemporary art museum and nonprofit organization located in San Francisco, California. SFMOMA was the first museum on the West Coast devoted solely to 20th-century art ...
,
the
Los Angeles County Museum of Art
The Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA) is an art museum located on Wilshire Boulevard in the Miracle Mile vicinity of Los Angeles. LACMA is on Museum Row, adjacent to the La Brea Tar Pits (George C. Page Museum).
LACMA was founded in 1961 ...
,
the Santa Paula Art Museum, the
Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth
The Modern Art Museum of Fort Worth (widely referred to as The Modern) is an art museum of post-World War II art in Fort Worth, Texas with a collection of international modern and contemporary art. Founded in 1892, The Modern is located in the c ...
, the
Wichita Art Museum, and the
University of Michigan Museum of Art
The University of Michigan Museum of Art (UMMA) is one of the largest university art museums in the United States, located in Ann Arbor, Michigan, with . Built as a war memorial in 1909 for the university's fallen alumni from the Civil War, Alu ...
.
Death
Botke died on September 16, 1954, at age 67, in Santa Paula, California. Memorial services were conducted at the Loma Vista chapel of the Mayr funeral home in
Ventura, California
Ventura, officially named San Buenaventura (Spanish for "Saint Bonaventure"), is a city in and the county seat of Ventura County, California, United States. It is a coastal city located northwest of Los Angeles. The population was 110,763 at the ...
.
References
1887 births
1954 deaths
Dutch emigrants to the United States
Artists from Leeuwarden
People from Santa Paula, California
20th-century Dutch painters
Dutch etchers
20th-century American painters
20th-century American etchers
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