An exterior view of The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City, dated, and with greetings within the left margin recto: March 26, 1908: Dear friends, Best wishes from BERTRAM BRUESTLE.

Although Bertram Bruestle would have just turned six years old when this photograph was taken, (a shaky juvenile autograph to match) it seems very possible he would have been capable to frame this cityscape view with the aid and encouragement of his father, the artist George Matthew Bruestle. Most, if not all biographies of Brusestle, who would grow up to become a fine artist like his father, state his birth year as 1906. His gravestone however gives the specific date of his birthdate as April 24, 1902.

Located at 1000 Fifth Avenue in New York City, the current building, seen in this photograph and known today at The Met, dates to 1880. Its’ Beaux-Arts facade was designed later by architect and Met trustee Richard Morris Hunt, but completed by his son, Richard Howland Hunt in 1902 after his father’s death. (Wikipedia)

George Matthew Bruestle: 1870-1939

The following biographies are courtesy of the Cooley Gallery, Old Lyme, CT:

The son of immigrants, George M. Bruestle was born and raised in New York City. He was trained as an illustrator and employed by Harper’s Bazaar when he enrolled at the Art Students League in 1886. The same year, Bruestle made his first trip to Essex, Connecticut, where he found inspiration in the verdant countryside and sweeping vistas that frame the Connecticut River. He travelled to Paris in 1890, and returned to the United States displaying a newfound impressionist inclination in his palette and brushwork. In 1900, when the Old Lyme Art Colony was officially formed, he was spending time in nearby Hadlyme, Connecticut, and soon became one of the earliest Impressionist painters at the colony.

In 1905 the Bruestles bought a house in the Hamburg section of Lyme. He, his wife, and his son, future artist Bertram Bruestle (1902–1968), spent their summers there while maintaining a winter residence in Manhattan. He was an active member in the artistic communities of both locales, belonging to the Society of American Artists, the National Arts Club, Allied Artists of America, the Salmagundi Club, the Lotos Club, the Lyme Art Association, and Connecticut Academy of Fine Arts. Venues in which he was exhibited include the Art Institute of Chicago, Carnegie Institute, Pittsburgh, Corcoran Gallery, Lyme Art Association, National Academy of Design, Paris Salon of 1895, and the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts.

“Inspired by Jean-Baptiste-Camille Corot [1796-1875] and other French landscape painters, Bruestle’s style was a mix of Early Realism and Early Impressionist techniques.  He was an adept draftsman and his paintings favored earlier European examples but, later took on a brighter Impressionist palette and brushy quality of the Old Lyme Art Colony.

He died in 1939 in New Haven, Connecticut at the age of 67.”  (1.)

Bertram G. Bruestle: 1902-1967

Bertram spent most of his childhood in Lyme, Connecticut during the warmer months of the year and New York City during the colder months.  In Lyme, he developed an intense love for nature and throughout his life, Bert photographed, filmed, collected and catalogued a wide variety of plants and animals.  In the city, much of his time was divided between visiting the Museum of Natural History and visiting a variety of art-related events, both of which influenced his life’s work.  Bert was very close to his father, George M. Bruestle, one of the most beloved members of the Lyme Art Colony with many friendships and affiliations in New York.  This offered Bert the distinct advantage of learning from all of his father’s painter friends.  Many evenings were spent “talking shop” in Bert’s words, as his father and his father’s friends shared many aspects of painting with Bert that he might not otherwise have been exposed to.  Bertram spent a lot of time with Robert Vonnoh, one of George’s closest friends, doing chores around his house and gardens at an early age.   Edward Rook, another close friend of his father’s also took an interest in Bert as did Louis Paul Dessar, George Bogert and Emil Carlsen.

There was one point in time, during the early 1920s, when Bert’s painting most closely resembled that of his father’s.  Yet according to Roger Dennis who became very friendly with Bert later in life, Bertram turned to painting wildlife in an effort to distance himself from painting the Lyme landscapes for which his father was so well known.   Yet even some of his wildlife pictures were complimented with scenes reminiscent of Lyme in the background.

Bert moved to Maryland in the late 1920s where he lectured and wrote on bird life, representing the State Game Department of Maryland, the State Board of Education and the National Association of Audubon Societies.  On June 5, 1930, he married Mildred Buckey from Frederick, Maryland.  Bert also worked at the Museum of Natural History in New York and illustrated medical journals for the department of neuroanatomy at the Yale University School of Medicine in New Haven.

After his father passed away in 1939, Bertram took over his father’s house and studio in Lyme.  He became very active in the Lyme Art Association, serving as Secretary and then President for three years.  Although he never received the national recognition or stature that his father did as an artist, Bert carried on the tradition of painting Lyme landscapes well into the 1960s, developing his own distinctive style.  The combination of his love for art and nature resulted in a special blend of beauty that carries through his work. 

1. Excerpt: from original biography written by David Smernoff, From Here To Antiquity, October 12, 2016. Note: FamilySearch states the birthdate of Bruestle as December 21, 1870.