Redbud Tree in Bloom at Leon Springs, San Antonio, 1921. Oil on canvas, 20 x 30 inches. Private Collection, Dallas

Untitled (Field of Bluebonnets), n.d. Oil on Canvas, 23 3/8 x 39 3/8 inches.Dallas Museum of Art

Featuring 93 paintings from this Texas-born artist, Bluebonnets and Beyond celebrates the work of a great landscape artist and a native Texas son.  Using plein air technique—the art of drawing outdoors—Onderdonk’s paintings contain visible brush strokes, natural light and open compositions and settings to depict his own experiences and perceptions of the world around him. Onderdonk’s style uses color and contrast to depict the specific time of day which was being captured in his paintings.

The Art of the Onderdonks, exclusive to the Witte and complementing Bluebonnets and Beyond, features 40 works by his father Robert Onderdonk and his sister Eleanor Onderdonk including paintings, sketches and photographs.

Another Witte Museum exclusive to this exhibit is Julian Onderdonk’s actual painting studio, located on the grounds of the Witte Museum.  Visitors will be able to see where Julian Onderdonk’s work took place. This studio, originally located behind the Onderdonk family home on West French Place in San Antonio, was generously donated to the Witte Museum by the Onderdonk family. Also included in this exhibit is a Gallery Theatre, a dramatic performance in which Eleanor Onderdonk comes to life and speaks about the role her family played in the arts both locally and nationally, and about her time spent as the Witte’s first curator of art.

There is a $3 surcharge for this exhibit.

Trees, 1898
Julian Onderdonk
Gift of Ethel D. Winn

Man with Shovel, 1870s
Robert Onderdonk
Gift of Robert K. Winn

My Room Mate, New York, 1876
Robert Onderdonk
Gift of Robert K. Winn

Lady with Bird, 1880s
Robert Onderdonk
Gift of Ethel D. Winn

The River
Julian Onderdonk
Witte Museum Collection, purchased with Witte Picture Funds.

Eleanor Onderdonk at the Witte Museum, 1950s
Gift of Ofelia Onderdonk

Robert Onderdonk, 1880s
Gift of Ofelia Onderdonk

Julian Onderdonk, 1910-1915
Gift of Ofelia Onderdonk

Eleanor Onderdonk and a friend at Droughtfels, 1930
Gift of Ofelia Onderdonk

Eleanor Onderdonk and her dog Pepe, 1948
Gift of Ofelia Onderdonk