PETER BAUMGRAS (1827-1904)

Born in Germany in 1827, Peter Baumgras studied in Düsseldorf and Munich before moving to the United States in 1853. He eventually settled in 1857 in Washington D.C., where he exhibited with the Washington Art Association. Baumgras went on to teach art as a professor at George Washington (then Columbian) University, as well as the University of Illinois. While he is recognized for his aptitude as a still-life painter with keen attention to the subtleties of his botanical subjects, Baumgras was also a notable portraitist, even depicting President Abraham Lincoln in 1865.