George W. Lininger (1834-1907), was an implement dealer, art collector, private gallery owner, and civic leader in Omaha, Nebraska, USA. Many of the art works Lininger collected became the foundation of the permanent collection at the Joslyn Art Museum in Omaha. [1]
George Washington Lininger was born on 14 December 1834 in Chambersburg, Franklin County, Pennsylvania, the son of David Lininger and Elizabeth Betz. His father was a tailor by trade, and later a school teacher and a miller. [2] The family moved to Peru in LaSalle County, Illinois, when Lininger was a boy. [3] It was in Illinois that Lininger began selling agricultural implements, first as a retailer and later as a jobber. In 1868, Lininger relocated to Council Bluffs, Iowa, and opened the first agricultural and vehicle jobbing operation on the Missouri River, under the name Shugart & Lininger. [2] In 1874, he moved his business across the river to Omaha. [4] After arriving in Omaha, Lininger purchased a large brick Second Empire mansion at 18th and Davenport Streets. [5] The house had been built in the late 1860s by George M. Mills. [5] Omaha remained Lininger's home for the rest of his life.
Lininger's art collection had its beginnings with four paintings he bought from a street peddler in Council Bluffs, Iowa. [6] [7] This spur of the moment purchase inspired Lininger's lifelong hobby of art collecting. Of this purchase Lininger would later muse, "I then made up my mind that when I had money enough I'd fill my home with art." [4]
Lininger began collecting in earnest on extensive trips to Europe. When the collection was too large to be contained in his home, Lininger built a gallery extension onto his home. [8] He hired the firm of Mendelssohn, Fisher and Lawrie to design the addition. Constructed of brick and terra cotta in the Italian Renaissance style, it was ringed by bands of grey stone. A row of niches to display sculpture were fashioned into the wall facing the street. The gallery dimensions were 35 feet by 70 feet, with a ceiling of 20 feet. The room was illuminated by a large skylight. The floor was set with inlaid tile, marble wainscoting surrounded the room, and mahogany and bronze completed the trimmings. [5] The total cost of the gallery was estimated at $15,000. [5]
In 1889, Lininger opened the gallery to the public. Baedeker's travel guide listed the gallery as one of the show places in this part of the country. [4] During the Trans-Mississippi Exposition in Omaha in 1898, it is estimated that 20,000 people toured Lininger's gallery. [8]
The collection Lininger accrued was estimated to include about 300 works, with about 60 painting by Old Masters. The collection included statuary, bric-a-brac, curios, and Egyptian mummies. Two of the most famous paintings in Lininger's collection were Guido Reni's 1605 painting of "David with the Head of Goliath", and "The Return of Spring" by William-Adolphe Bouguereau. [4]
In attempting to explain why he opened his private gallery to the public, Lininger once said, "What is an art gallery for but to let your friends see it? And I consider any one who has love for art as my friend and I am glad of the opportunity of inviting him to my gallery." [7]
After Lininger's death, his widow continued opening the art gallery to the public. This practice continued into the 1920s, until Mrs. Lininger's age no longer allowed her to provide the supervision required. [4] After Mrs. Lininger's 1927 death, her will called for the gallery to be closed and the art works sold. [8] [9] Many of the works were purchased locally, some were given to the University of Nebraska and the remainder were sent to eastern art dealers for sale there. [10] By the time the Lininger's only daughter, Florence Lininger Haller, died in 1929, the art work had all been sold. [9] In the early 1930s, Lininger's former house and gallery were razed. [5]
Over time, many pieces from Lininger's original collection have made their way into the permanent collection of the Joslyn Art Museum. [1] In 1972, the Joslyn Art Museum mounted a two-part show entitled "The Lininger Era". [8] The show included a reproduction of Lininger's art gallery and the display of 40 pieces from Lininger's original collection. [8]
In addition to collecting art, Lininger also nurtured artists. In 1890, Lininger agreed to pay for Gutzon Borglum (who later carved Mount Rushmore) to travel to Europe for two to three years to study art. In thanking Lininger for his generosity Borglum vowed, "I shall work hard with the hope of doing something that may reflect credit upon the friends who have expressed so much faith in my abilities." [11]
In addition to sharing his art with the public, Lininger also freely gave his time and energy to civic duties. He was a representative to the twenty-eighth session of the Nebraska State Legislature, as a representative for Douglas County, when it convened on January 4, 1887. [2] He was also an Omaha city councilman. [12] Lininger was a member and the first president of the Park Board, and a member of the Omaha Commercial Club. [2]
Lininger was a member of the Masonic order, serving as the Grand Master of Nebraska in 1877. He was instrumental in founding the Masonic Orphans' Home in Plattsmouth, Nebraska, in 1903. [2] Nebraska Lodge No. 268 is named after George W. Lininger. [13]
In 1857, Lininger married Caroline Marion Newman at Peru, Illinois. [3] The couple had two children, a son and a daughter, but only their daughter, Florence, survived to adulthood. [2]
Lininger was a friend of the Omaha-based portrait artist, J. Laurie Wallace. A portrait of Lininger by Wallace hung in Lininger's art gallery. [4]
After an extended illness of several months, Lininger [2] died on 9 June 1907 in his home in Omaha. His body lay in state in his beloved art gallery for two days before burial in Forest Lawn Cemetery in Omaha. [12]
Johann Carl Bodmer was a Swiss-French printmaker, etcher, lithographer, zinc engraver, draughtsman, painter, illustrator and hunter. Known as Karl Bodmer in literature and paintings, as a Swiss and French citizen, his name was recorded as Johann Karl Bodmer and Jean-Charles Bodmer, respectively. After 1843, likely as a result of the birth of his son Charles-Henry Barbizon, he began to sign his works K Bodmer.
John Gutzon de la Mothe Borglum was an American artist and sculptor. He is most associated with his creation of the Mount Rushmore National Memorial in Keystone, South Dakota. He was associated with other public works of art, including a bust of Abraham Lincoln exhibited in the White House by Theodore Roosevelt and now held in the United States Capitol Crypt in Washington, D.C..
John Maler CollierOBE RP ROI was a leading English artist, and an author. He painted in the Pre-Raphaelite style, and was one of the most prominent portrait painters of his generation. Both his marriages were to daughters of Thomas Henry Huxley. He studied painting at the Munich Academy starting in 1875.
The Return of Spring is a painting by William-Adolphe Bouguereau created in 1886. It is among the more well-known of his works. It is currently in the collection of the Joslyn Art Museum in Omaha, Nebraska, and was acquired in 1951 as the gift of Francis T. B. Martin. The painting was brought to Omaha shortly after it was completed by George W. Lininger. Lininger was an art collector and private gallery owner who routinely opened his gallery to the public for no charge.
The Joslyn Art Museum is the principal fine arts museum in the state of Nebraska, United States of America. Located in Omaha, it was opened in 1931 at the initiative of Sarah H. Joslyn in memory of her husband, businessman George A. Joslyn. It is the only museum in the state with a comprehensive permanent collection, and although it includes works from Paolo Veronese, El Greco, Titian, among others, its greatest strengths are the outstanding art collections of the nineteenth and twentieth centuries of American and European artists such as Pierre-Auguste Renoir and William-Adolphe Bouguereau.
Solon Hannibal de la Mothe Borglum was an American sculptor. He is most noted for his depiction of frontier life, and especially his experience with cowboys and native Americans.
John Laurie Wallace (1864–1953) was an Northern Irish-born American painter.
Charles Logasa was an artist.
The George and Sarah Joslyn Home, is a mansion located at 3902 Davenport Street in the Gold Coast Historic District of Omaha, Nebraska, United States. Built in the Scottish Baronial style in 1903, the Castle was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1972. It was designated as an Omaha landmark in 1979.
The culture of Omaha, Nebraska, has been partially defined by music and college sports, and by local cuisine and community theatre. The city has a long history of improving and expanding on its cultural offerings. In the 1920s, the Omaha Bee newspaper wrote, "The cultural future of Omaha seems as certain of greatness as the commercial future... The symphony orchestra, the Art institute, the Community Playhouse and other organizations are on firm foundations and Omaha is destined to be not only a bigger, but a better city, both financially and culturally." Reviewing Omaha's contemporary arts scene in 2007, the New York Times hailed the city as having "a kind of cultural awakening".
Kent Bellows is an artist best known for his figurative works in the realist style. His artwork is sometimes referred to as meticulous realism, a subcategory referring to the artist's startling attention to detail.
Stephen Arnold Douglas Volk was an American portrait and figure painter, muralist, and educator. He taught at the Cooper Union, the Art Students League of New York, and was one of the founders of the Minneapolis School of Fine Arts. He and his wife Marion established a summer artist colony in western Maine.
Tourism in Omaha, Nebraska, United States offers visitors history, sports, nature and cultural experiences. Its principal tourist attractions are the Henry Doorly Zoo and the College World Series (CWS). A 2003 study by a Creighton University economist estimated that the CWS added $33.8 million to the city's economy that year. With 1.1 million visitors annually, the Henry Doorly Zoo is Nebraska's most popular tourist attraction. In 2007 Omaha hosted the USA Roller Sports National Championships, along with 10,000 people who auditioned for the American Idol television show at Qwest Center Omaha.
Fourteen Rembrandt paintings are held in collections in Southern California. This accumulation began with J. Paul Getty's purchase of the Portrait of Marten Looten in 1938, and is now the third-largest concentration of Rembrandt paintings in the United States. Portrait of Marten Looten is now housed at the Los Angeles County Museum of Art (LACMA).
Eugene Kingman (1909-1975) was an American cartographer, painter, muralist, teacher and museum director.
Stephen Kline is an American contemporary artist who works primarily in acrylics and ink.
The Portrait of Dirck van Os is a later painting by Rembrandt (1606-1669), created circa 1658. It is currently in the permanent collection of the Joslyn Art Museum in Omaha, Nebraska.
The Robert Henri Museum is an art and history museum in Cozad, Nebraska that contains sketches, drawings, and paintings by Robert Henri. The Museum is located in Henri's former home. The Henri Museum is a non-profit educational 501(c)(3) organization.
george w lininger.
Widow of George W. Lininger Had Been Invalid for Years - Lived Here 53 Years
George W. Lininger, Whose Widow Died Thursday, Had Ambition to Stimulate Art in West - Gallery Opened in 1888
Doubt Wish Can Be Followed Because Lininger Collection Is Sold
Daughter of Mr. and Mrs. G. W. Lininger Is Survived by Daughter, Mrs. Fred Thomas
G. W. Lininger Will Send Artist Borglum Abroad to Study
Dies At Home After an Illness of Several Months of Stomach Trouble
