Dwight Shepler (1905-1975)
Skiers above Chateau-d’Oex, Switzerland
American: 1956
Watercolor on paper
Signed lower right
Titled and dated by artist on former
cardboard backing
15.5 x 22.75 inches, overall
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Chateau d'Oex, Swiss Skiing View
Dwight Shepler, Original Watercolor
Dwight Shepler, Original Watercolor
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In this original watercolor, two skiers navigate the rich white powder of the ski slopes above Chateau-d’Oex in the Swiss Alps. Another skier observes from the top of the slope. Evergreen trees frame a sunlit vista of a rugged mountain in the Gummfluh range, and over the hill a small building, perhaps a warming hut, can be viewed. The artist’s skillful command of the watercolor medium is exhibited in the subtle washes that convey the play of light and blue shadows on the snow.
The Gummfluh range and Chateau-d’Oex are located in the foothills of the Swiss Alps. Chateau-d’Oex is halfway between Gruyère and Gstaad in the western part of Switzerland. The characteristically irregular forms of the mountains around the Gummfluh result from the alernation of hard limestone and softer rocks that form vertiginous peaks in the northern slopes, such as the one shown here. The Pierreuse Nature Reserve was established in this region in 1945.
Dwight Clark Shepler was a painter, illustrator, watercolorist and sculptor. He was born in Everett, Massachusetts and studied at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts School and earned a B.A. degree from Williams College. He was a member of several Boston artist organizations. Some of his works are associated with naval themes -- Shepler served as a combat artist for the U.S. Navy from 1942 to 1946 and illustrated the books Many a Watchful Night (1944) and The Navy at War (1943), and painted murals for the U.S. Naval Academy in Annapolis, Maryland and portraits for the U.S. Naval War College. Today his works are also in the collection of the U.S. Navy Art Collection. He also painted habitat backgrounds for the Boston Museum of Science. Aside from his naval stint, Shepler had an active exhibition record, including shows at the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, the Art Institute of Chicago, the Carnegie Institute, the Brooklyn Museum of Fine Arts, National Academy of Design, National Gallery of Art and many one-person exhibitions in Boston, New York, Chicago and other cities. As an illustrator he contributed to Sportsman, Country Life, Pageant, Life, and other national magazines.
Inscribed by artist on former cardboard backing: “Skiers Above Chateau d’Oex, Switzerland , by Dwight Shepler, 1956. The mountain is the Gummfluh.”
References:
“Destination: Château-d'Oex, Lake Geneva Region (Vaud).” My Switzerland.com/US. 2005. http://usa.myswitzerland.com/en/destinations-Destinations-Lake%20Geneva-9143.html (27 September 2005).
Falk, Peter Hastings, ed. Who Was Who in American Art. Madison, Connecticut: Sound View Press, 1985. p. 564.
Gilbert, Dorothy B., ed. Who’s Who in American Art. New York: American Federation of Arts and R.R. Bowker, 1959. p. 519.
“La Pierreuse Nature Reserve.” Chateau-d’Oex. 1995-2003. http://www.chateau-doex.ch/english/html/nature/pierreuse.htm (27 September 2005).