Hermann Herzog

Hermann (Herman) Ottomar Herzog (1832–1932) was a German-born, German-American landscape painter associated with the Düsseldorf School and often linked to the Hudson River School for his American scenes. Trained at the Düsseldorf Academy (with additional private study under noted landscape painters), he first built his reputation in Europe through extensive travels—especially in Norway—before emigrating to the United States in 1871, gaining U.S. citizenship a few years later, and ultimately settling in West Philadelphia. He became widely admired for highly detailed, naturalistic landscapes that balanced crisp realism with dramatic light—ranging from Yosemite views (including the well-known “Sentinel Rock” subject) to an especially large body of Florida wilderness paintings, produced over repeated winter trips. Successful in his own time (with elite collectors) and financially secure enough not to rely solely on sales, he painted prolifically—well into old age—and his work later re-entered the market in large numbers, contributing to his modern rediscovery. On the personal side, he lived a long, stable family life in Philadelphia, and his son, Lewis Edward Herzog, also became a landscape painter; Herzog died in Philadelphia in 1932 at age 99.