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Robert Fletcher Gilder
Robert Fletcher Gilder (1856-1940), an American artist active in Nebraska, is best known for his Impressionist-style winter landscapes. In addition to his paintings, Gilder was a respected archaeologist and author whose discoveries contributed to the study of the prehistoric peoples of the Plains.

Biography
Robert Fletcher Gilder (1856-1940) was born in Flushing, New York, the brother of Richard Watson Gilder, the son of Reverend William Henry Gilder and Jane Nutt Gilder. He was educated in the public schools of Newark, N.J., and attended The Gunnery School in Washington, D.C. Gilder studied art in New York City with Hudson River School painter August Will. He also studied the printing trade and wrote occasional articles for New York.

In 1887, Gilder settled in Nebraska and worked as a reporter for the Omaha World-Herald for 32 years. He began his career as a printing assistant for the Rees Printing Company and later became city editor of the Omaha World-Herald. He spent 12 years as an archaeologist at the University of Nebraska Museum, where he discovered a prehistoric flint quarry in Wyoming in 1904 and the oldest recorded human known as the "Nebraska Loess Man". The University of Nebraska awarded him an honorary degree of Doctor of Science in 1917 for his contributions to archaeology.

While painting on the bluffs along the Missouri River, Gilder became interested in the shallow pits that were originally thought to be "bison racquetball courts"*. His archaeological interest began around 1903 when he began excavating the pits and recording his findings. He published his findings in newspapers and later in professional journals. His initial observations and discoveries, and later excavations, led to the establishment of the "Nebraska Culture" or "Nebraska Phase" Gilder continued to research and paint until his death at 83. He died in Omaha on March 7, 1940, and is buried in Bellevue Cemetery in Bellevue, Nebraska.

Career
After moving to Omaha in 1887, he began working for the Omaha World-Herald, first as a typesetter and then as a reporter and editor, until his retirement in 1919. The extent of Gilder's formal artistic training with August Will is unknown. His friend and fellow Nebraska artist Augustus Dunbier (1888-1977) suggested that Gilder may have been influenced by Omaha artist J. Laurie Wallace. Gilder often worked outdoors in Missouri River Valley, particularly the Fontenelle Forest area. He also produced many paintings depicting Arizona desert landscapes as well as scenes from California and Connecticut. His technique can be described as Impressionist, as he focuses on the atmosphere of a particular location, attempting to capture its natural appearance over a short period of time, and painting in staccato, broad strokes using brightly colored pigments.

Works
Gilder's work has been exhibited at the Joslyn Art Museum and at the Museum of Nebraska Art. “Who specialized in rural Nebraska Landscapes, had been pronounced by local artist as first class, with good tone, excellent atmospheric effects, and modern methods." Some of his best known works include In The Approaching Storm (c. 1916), he skillfully depicts fast changing weather conditions utilizing color, brushwork, and compositional approaches. The painting features heavy, pale purplish-gray clouds that rise to expose a clear sky. He delicately captures the season's cool, pale light, which creates slight shadows on the riverbank trees, in an unnamed winter landscape from 1914. Bridge Shadows (year unknown) is a view of Omaha from across the Missouri water. The skyline of the city rises from the water, and the blue shadows of the bridges carve bold diagonal lines across the canvas.

Gilder’s archaeological explorations between 1907 and 1912 resulted in a large collection of artifacts that the Joslyn Museum donated in 1974 to the University of Nebraska Museum.

External References

 * Robert F. Gilder: MONA collection artwork II | MONA (unk.edu)
 * History Nebraska Collection
 * HathiTrust Digital Library