Hugo Wilhelm Arthur Nahl
| Arthur Nahl | |
|---|---|
| Born |
Hugo Wilhelm Arthur Nahl September 1, 1833 Kassel, Germany |
| Died | April 1, 1889 (aged 55) San Francisco Bay, California |
| Nationality | German-American |
| Education | Louvre Palace, Versailles, and Luxembourg Palace galleries |
| Known for | Painting |
| Notable work | The Fire in Sacramento |
| Movement | American Old West |
Arthur Nahl (1 September 1833 – 1 April 1889) was a German-born artist, daguerreotyper, engraver, portraitist, and landscape painter. Nahl was a painter known for his American Old West paintings of California. He was considered one of California's finest engravers, and was ranked amongst the best gymnasts in California for his time.
He was the son of Henriette (Weickh) Nahl (1796–1863). Henriette and her first husband, Georg Valentin Friedrich Nahl, had one son, the American West painter Charles Christian Nahl. Henriette and Georg divorced in 1826. In that year, she began a relationship with Georg's cousin, Alexander Theodor Nahl. After tiring of him, she began a relationship with Alexander's brother, Wilhelm Nahl. While Wilhelm was Hugo's biological parent, he considered Alexander to be his father. Henriette and Wilhelm had one other child, a daughter, Laura.
Nahl was descended from a family of German artists dating to the 17th century. His great-grandfather was Johann August Nahl, the German sculptor and stuccist.
His early art studies were with Charles and the family friend Frederick August Wenderoth. He later studied at the Kassel Academy. Nahl moved with his mother, two brothers, and two sisters to Paris in 1846. Here, Arthur and Charles studied with Emile Jean Horace Vernet and Hippolyte Delaroche. Charles went on to study at the Louvre Palace, Palace of Versailles, and Luxembourg Palace galleries. He received his first gold medal at age 16.
Three years later, they moved to New York City, settling in Brooklyn. In 1851, they sailed by way of Panama to California in search of gold. The family bought a mine on Deer Creek near Rough and Ready, California, which fared poorly. Within a year, the family moved to Sacramento where Nahl worked as a woodcarver. After the 1852 Sacramento fire, they moved to San Francisco.
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