Blue Sky Country, Back to the Land

Wilhelm Heinrich Detlev “Big Bill” Körner (also known as Wilhelm Heinrich Dethlef Koerner, William HD Koerner, WHDK or W.H.D. Koerner) was a Prussian well-known illustrator of the American West. He immigrated to America at a young age and even though he had little art training he did possess a raw talent. This talent was recognized by the “Chicago Tribune”, where he worked as a staff artist, and by the “United States Daily”, where he was an art editor. Later in life he attended the Art Students League under George Bridgman, Norman Rockwell’s teacher and Howard Pyle’s illustration school in Wilmington. After which he illustrated for the “Saturday Evening Post” becoming one of the best-known artists of the old West. Under the presidency of George W. Bush one of his paintings even made it to the Oval Office. Körner work is well known for his bold brush work, vibrant colour palette and vigorous depictions of the “Great American West”. Here he nicely introduces the modern automobile to an idyllic rendering of the “Great American West”. The emphasis in the painting is clearly not on the rather small and non-distinct automobile with its two passengers but on the vastness and beauty of the landscape surrounding the automobile.