The sixth son of Painter Weidenbach,
Karl Augustus, was born in Naumburg an der Saale on the 25th of
May 1825. Like his elder brothers, Ernst and Max, he would have
received his first drawing training from his father.
It is not known whether he, like his elder brother Ernst, attended the Dresden Academy of Art. However, in 1847 when he was 22 years old , he was described as a painter and was living at home in Naumburg. In 1848 he exhibited at the Berlin Art Academy.
In the early 1850s (before 1853) Karl Augustus emigrated to North America, travelling and painting in Nth California, Yosemite Pk., Virginia, W. Virginia & Maryland. By 1861, when the Civil War started, he had established a reputation as an early German-American artist.
He was married to Frederika (surname unknown) who was born in Germany in 1825 and emigrated to the USA in 1845. After Karl's death Frederika lived with her family in New York City and she died on 3/6/1908 in Manhattan.
Karl and Frederika had two children: Edward who was born in Maryland in 1859 and Laura who was born in Maryland in 1861.
Census records show that in 1864 he was working as a professor and drawing and painting, in Baltimore Maryland and he was still resident there in 1870. In about 1876 he painted a portrait of George Washington based on an earlier portrait by Gilbert Stuart. Karl August died before 1890 and in 1891 his children were living in New York.
Please click on an image below to enlarge it.
Belvedere Plantation, Virginia
Karl Augustus Weidenbach 1858
"The Art of American Architecture"
http://www.nd.edu/~tschlere/artarch/housing/belvedere.htm
Yosemite Falls
Karl Augustus Weidenbach
www.askart.com
Harpers Ferry National Monument
Karl August Weidenbach, pre 1861
U.S. National Parks - "The National Park Story in History"
George Washington,
A. Weidenbach 1876
after Gilbert Stuart 1755-1828
Library of Congress http://www.loc.gov/
DOCUMENTS and REFERENCES
A1. The following data has been
extracted from the Naumburg "Inhabitants Book" by Dr
Siegfried Wagner, Director of Naumburg Stadtmuseum and
Frau Susanne Kröner, Head of Naumburg Town Archives.
Einwohnerbuch Naumburg T-Z 1826-1840; 1841-1850;
1851
Lfd. Nr. 810: Weidenbach, Carl August: Sohn des Malers
W. *23. Mai 1825 in Naumburg; Wohnung wie oben; Maler:
13.9.1847: 779; [Th.B.: Landschaftsmaler in Naumburg
a.d.S., 19. Jh. Stellte 1848 in der Berliner Akademie
aus (Abendlandsch.). Buchwerk: Das malerische und
romanische Saal- und Unstruttal, mit Stahlstichen nach
Original_Zeichnungen von A. W’ und histor. erlaüterndem
Texte. Leipzig 1844.]
A2. The 1870 Maryland Census
includes the following entries for Karl Augustus and his
for younger brother Louis.
(http://www.mdarchives.state.md.us/msa/stagser/s400/s453/html/ssi0453w.html
)
WEIDENBACH, LOUIS
Age: 36 Sex: M Race: W Birthplace: PRUS. Locality: 15-WD
BALTIMORE Film No.: M 7243 Page: 84
MSA S 453-1-105466
WEIDENBACH, AUGUST
Age: 45 Sex: M Race: W Birthplace: SAXO. Locality: 19-WD
BALTIMORE Film No.: M 7245 Page: 325
MSA S 453-1-105467
(Naumburg an der Saale was part of Saxony until Upper
Saxony was annexed by Prussia in 1815, and it seems that
Karl August may have preferred to have been identified
as a Saxon rather than a Prussian.)
A3. The 1864 Baltimore City Directory
Project lists:
WEIDENBACH AUGUST artist and professor of drawing and
painting 26 Pearl Street
(
http://www.geocities.com/pauledely/1864/w2.html )
A4. The website "AskArt" identifies Karl Augustus Weidenbach and some of his work. ( http://www.askart.com/AskART/artist.aspx?artist=85987&redir)
A5. The Hambleton Print Collection,
Baltimore, contains the following work by
August Weidenbach.
H61 Baltimore (set of city views), 1861, Weidenbach, 30
x 40, dr 23
(http://www.mdhs.org/explore/library/HambletonPrintCollection.html)