i am looking for an artist by the name of paul detlefren?

Question

it is of the blacksmith shop under the spreading chestnut tree

Answer 1

I believe that his name is spelled Detlefsen. Here is his biography...unfortunately you will have a hard time finding him as he has passed away.


Born in Chicago in 1900, the son of a medical doctor, Detlefsen studied at the Chicago Art Institute and the Academy of Fine Arts before heading to Hollywood to make a name for himself in the cartoon business. He couldn't get a job in the animation field, so he settled for painting backdrops for films. Soon he became one of the early masters of special effects. He supervised specialized camera crews that augmented his background creations. He worked for Cecil B. Demille and Douglas Fairbanks.

He joined Warner Brothers to work on "Cabin in the Cotton" with Bette Davis and Richard Barthelmes. He stayed with the company twenty years and over those years he and Walt Disney became good friends. He was in the film industry for thirty years.

Movies fell on hard time and Detelefsen decided at age 50 to try his hand as a calendar artist. His first painting, "The Good Old Days", scored an immediate success and was topped in popularity only by Norman Rockwell's Boy Scout Calendar. Most of the scenes created by Paul Detlefsen were of his own creation and featured nostalgic charming turn of the century rural settings that many of us can remember from our childhood. For his models he used his daughter, grandchildren, other family members and friends. He would photograph the scene so he could paint, concentrating on realism, beauty and of course the nostalgia. He did do two modern abstracts but decided that was not for him.

Detlefsen painted up to six months prior to his death on August 1, 1986 at age 86.

Answer 2

Im not sure its the picture you are speaking of, but I think I just found a large one in the attic of the house I purchased three years ago. I was in the attic going to store some things and saw it upside down, turned it over and wow, what a picture. I would love to know more about the picture if you can help feel free to email me. thanks

Answer 3

http://www.bigredtoybox.com/cgi-bin/toynfo.pl?detlefsenindex

Answer 4

I have no idea.