John E. Berninger (1886 - 1981) - Oil Painting - Autumn in Lehigh, Pennsylvania

John E. Berninger - American (1897-1981) This oil on canvas landscape painting by John E. Berninger measures 15” x 17” or in the contemporary gilt gold frame dimensions of 21” x 21” and is signed and dated lower left, J.E. Berninger 1931, as well as being titled and dated verso, ‘Autumn in Lehigh’ 1931. The painting is in good condition and is on unstretched canvas. Berninger, best known for his Impressionist landscape paintings like this colorful autumn landscape of rural Lehigh, Pennsylvania, makes this a quintessential example of his work while at the Baum-Kline School of Art. Biography: John Emil Berninger was an American landscape painter and Pennsylvania impressionist. He lived and painted in Allentown, Pennsylvania, in the United States. As an artist, Berninger has been described as being "in the outer ring of the New Hope School" and a member of "The Baum Circle," the group of artists taught by, associated with, or directly influenced by Pennsylvania impressionist painter Walter Emerson Baum. Berninger studied under Orlando Gray Wales and Arlington Nelson Lindenmuth and was a student of Baum's first class in Allentown during the summer of 1926. In 1932, he became an art instructor at the Kline-Baum Art School. In 1934, he was one of four Baum students (along with Joseph Gehringer, Walter Mattern, and Melville Stark) accepted into the Circulating Picture Club of the Philadelphia Art Alliance. In 1936, Berninger became the first curator of the Allentown Art Museum (founded by Baum the previous year) and lived with his wife, Mabel, on the museum's second floor until 1956. Mabel Berninger assisted her husband in his role as curator at the museum and also served as secretary for the Kline-Baum School's Circulating Picture Club, a "lending library" for art. In 1939, Berninger was made a partner in Wuchter and Berninger, a jewelry store located on Hamilton Street in center-city Allentown. To promote his works, Berninger would often place them in the window of his store. It was here that local publisher and humanitarian Robert Rodale became exposed to Berninger's works. Many years later, David E. Rodale Gallery at the Baum School of Art, named for Rodale's son, held the first major exhibition of Berninger's work. In the mid-1950s, Berninger's work appeared on a series of calendars issued by the local newspaper, The Morning Call. During this time, he frequently vacationed in Bar Harbor, Maine, an area that became the subject of many of his seascape paintings. In the late 1950s and early 1960s, his home, located across the street from Allentown's picturesque West Park, became a frequent meeting place for local artists. For forty years, Berninger spent nearly every Saturday visiting and talking with his good friend Karl Buesgen, a local impressionist landscape artist, music teacher, and church organist. The two also painted together nearly every Sunday afternoon together. He would also frequently paint with Baum, Melville Stark, and Clarence Dreisbach throughout his life. Berninger is considered one of the premier artists to come out of the Baum School and is best known for his well-executed landscapes of the Lehigh Valley. His paintings display a certain consistency and quality, an adeptness to utilize shadows and work with sunlight, as well as to create well-balanced compositions resulting in exceptional works of art.