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BIOGRAPHY
Arden von Dewitz,
1915-2004, was an Internationally known multi-talented artist and one of the foremost painting
masters of the twentieth century. He mastered all mediums of art and was
totally versatile in all subject matters. He could not be boxed into just one
medium or subject matter.
If location or subject matter was not available, he
created art out of his minds eye. His creative style lets you experience an
aura of emotion as it captures your innermost feelings of sensitivity. His
canvases come to life before your eyes and you are drawn into the magic of his
creative color and impassioned artistic expressions.
His marines let you feel his stormy Viking heritage of thunderous
emotion. His warm sunsets and reflecting moonlights envelope you in the serene
and dream like solitude of nature. You are drawn into the magic of his style
and color in his landscapes and old barn scenes. His vivid floral's and still life's captivate your
imagination, while his portraits and life drawings envelope you into the
culture of the period in which they were painted and sketched.
Once von Dewitz detached from the renaissance world of reality and
entered into the fantasy world of modern art, his work is veiled by the mystery
and natural ease of his creative powers that suggests everything in his
paintings is beyond the realm of reality. His exquisite verve for vivid colors and unique imagination of creative
patterns depict the grandeur of his style in his alluring abstract paintings.
Arden von Dewitz continued his dream to paint until 1987 when he was
stricken with Parkinson's disease.
He fought a long brave battle with this most debilitating disease that
impaired his ability to create and paint, which was his life.
BACKGROUND
Arden von Dewitz was born in New York City in 1915, son of Baron Hrolf
von Dewitz of Denmark and Valda Valkyrien, Premier Danseuse of the Royal Danish
Ballet, New York Hall of Fame and Fox Studios Silent Screen Star.
It was clear that he was gifted at an early age and knew he wanted to be
an artist, by age 3 as he carried his paint box on the cobblestone streets of
Copenhagen where he was raised. He
completed studies at Soro Academy of Art in Denmark, and in California at the
Stickney School of Art, Ottis Art Institute, and Parsons School of Art. He then
resided in Southern California.
At age 18 he created watercolor drawings of dwarfs and submitted them to
Walt Disney to show his creativity and sense of color, two years later Disney released Snow
White and the Seven Dwarfs.
Von Dewitz was the first television artist instructor for "Guideline"
and "Scope" weekly series produced by ABC-TV, and the first television artist
instructor for "Steps in Learning" series produced by CBS-TV.
The U.S. Navy and the Coast Guard selected von Dewitz as the Official Combat Artist for the
Pacific Fleet.
He created art instruction books; "Red Barns and Other Scenes", "How to
Paint Rocks and Surf", and "A Fun Book on Acrylic Painting" that were distributed
world wide by Walter Foster Publications in addition to his prints that were
distributed world wide.
Von Dewitz had on-location art classes throughout the world in addition to being
an art instructor for Laguna Beach School of Art, Marymount College, and the
Los Angeles Board of Education.
Arden von Dewitz was the creator of the historical "Bunker Hill Art
Collection" of 25 original oil paintings. This forever gone era of Los
Angeles was captured and painted on location between 1951 and 1962. It included the "Angels
Flight" Funicular, the city streets, and the Victorian homes and gardens of that nostalgic era. He also created several other unique one of a kind Art
Collections; see "Art Collection Portfolios" site above.
MUSEUMS
United
States Navy Museum, painting "Destroyer", Washington D.C.
Laguna
Beach Museum of Art, paintings "Spirits and Ghosts" and "Winter Storm", CA.
California
State Capital Museum, painting "White Thunder", Sacramento, CA.
Hans
der Kunst Museum, painting "Do Your Thing", Munich, Germany.
PREEMINENT
COLLECTIONS
President
Ronald Reagan Collection, painting "Riding High", Los Angeles, CA.
Signal
Oil Collection, painting "Big Sur", Los Angeles, CA.
National
Cash Register Collection, painting "Paradise Cove", Los Angeles, CA.
Matson
Lines Collection, painting "Papeete Tahiti", San Francisco, CA.
Pacific
Far East Collection, painting "Moonlight Sea", San Francisco, CA.
Many
Other Prominent Collections Throughout the World.
MAJOR
EXHIBITIONS
Melbourne
Exhibition, "Creative South Sea Paintings", Melbourne, Australia.
Auckland
One-Man Show, South Sea Paintings, Auckland, New Zealand.
U.
S. Navy West Coast Premier, "Operation Palette", Los Angeles, CA.
Los
Angeles City Hall Rotunda One-Man Show, "Bunker Hill Collection", Los Angeles,
CA.
Waldorf
Astoria, "Southern California Noted Artist", New York City, NY.
World
Tour Exhibition, S.S. Monterey One-Man Show, Matson Lines, San Francisco, CA.
AWARDS
Gold
Metal Award, Academia Italia della Artie e del Lavoro, Paroma, Italy.
U.S.
Navy and Coast Guard Artist Award, U.S. Navy and Coast Guard, Washington D.C.
Golden
Palette Award, Grumbacher, New York City, NY.
California
Purchase Award, First Place, Sacramento, CA.
Los
Angeles All City Award, Gold Metal, Los Angeles, CA.
HONORS
Selected
by the U.S. Navy and Coast Guard as Official Combat Artist for the Pacific
Fleet.
Life
Member Laguna Beach Museum of Art, Laguna Beach, CA.
Judge
California State Fair Art Exposition, Sacramento, CA
Judge
Barnsdall Art Festival and other Major Art Exhibitions, Los Angeles, CA.
International
Who's Who in Art and Antiques, Cambridge, England.
International
Who's Who of Intellectuals, Cambridge, England.
Notable
Americans of the Bicentennial Era, Raleigh, NC.
Who's
Who in American, Chicago, IL.
National
Social Directory, New York City, NY.
PUBLICATIONS
AND ARTICLES
"Red
Barns and Other Scenes", by A. von Dewitz, Walter Foster Publications,
Los
Angeles, CA.
"How
to Paint Rocks and Surf", by A. von Dewitz, Walter Foster Publications,
Los
Angeles, CA.
"A
Fun Book on Acrylic Painting", by A. von Dewitz, Walter Foster Publications,
Los
Angeles, CA.
American
Artist Magazine (multiple issues), published in New York, NY.
"Prize
Winning Art Book", (pictorial Article), M. Harold Publications, New York, NY.
"Creative
Color", (book cover and pictorial article), W. Guptill Publications, New York,
NY.
"Palette
Talk", Art Painting Magazine, Grumbacher Publications, New York, NY.
TELEVISION,
LECTURES AND DEMONSTRATIONS
"Guideline"
and "Scope" series, 18 half-hour educational art shows, produced by ABC-TV.
"Steps
in Learning" series, Los Angeles Board of Education shows, produced by CBS-TV.
Television
Talk Show, "Guest Personality", produced worldwide.
ART
INSTRUCTOR
Taught
Marine and Landscape Art Classes, Laguna Beach School of Art, Laguna Beach, CA.
Taught
Anatomy and Life Drawing Classes, Marymount College, Los Angeles, CA.
Pastel,
Acrylic, Oil and Water Color Art Classes, Los Angeles Board of Education, Los Angeles, CA.
Taught
annual week-long Advanced Painting Classes, Carmel-Monterey, CA.
Taught
On-Location Painting Classes, Southern California.
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