# William Oberhardt

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{{Short description|American painter (1882–1958)}}
{{More citations needed|date=August 2015}}
{{infobox artist
|name=William Oberhardt
|birth_date={{birth year|1882}}
|birth_place=[Guttenberg, New Jersey](/source/Guttenberg%2C_New_Jersey), U.S.
|death_date={{death year and age|1958|1882}}
|education=[National Academy of Design](/source/National_Academy_of_Design)<br>[Academy of Fine Arts, Munich](/source/Academy_of_Fine_Arts%2C_Munich)
|occupation={{flatlist|
*Artist
*portrait painter
*illustrator
*sculptor
}}
}}

thumb|Oberhardt's illustration for the first issue of ''Time''
'''William Oberhardt''' (1882–1958) was an American artist, portrait painter, illustrator and sculptor. His illustration of [Joseph Gurney Cannon](/source/Joseph_Gurney_Cannon), [Speaker of the United States House of Representatives](/source/Speaker_of_the_United_States_House_of_Representatives), appeared on the cover of the first edition of ''[Time](/source/Time_(magazine))'' magazine on 3 March 1923.

Oberhardt was born in [Guttenberg, New Jersey](/source/Guttenberg%2C_New_Jersey) and studied at the [National Academy of Design](/source/National_Academy_of_Design) from 1897 to 1900, and then studied in [Munich](/source/Munich) with [Carl von Marr](/source/Carl_von_Marr) at the [Munich Academy of Fine Arts](/source/Munich_Academy_of_Fine_Arts). He painted formal portraits in oil, but charcoal, crayons and lithographic crayon were his favorite mediums. He was notable for his ability to capture and reveal the character of his sitters.<ref name="ReedN.Y.)2001">{{cite book|author1=Walt Reed|author2=Society of Illustrators (New York, N.Y.)|title=The illustrator in America, 1860-2000|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=r6DrAAAAMAAJ|year=2001|publisher=The Society of Illustrators|isbn=978-0-8230-2523-7}}</ref> He worked most of his career in [New York City](/source/New_York_City) and lived in [North Pelham, New York](/source/North_Pelham%2C_New_York).

In the 1920s and 1930s, Oberhardt was among the best-known and most popular [illustrator](/source/illustrator)s in the U.S. He portrayed impoverished immigrants, pushcart peddlers, child laborers and the Manhattan skyline for ''The East Side'' magazine, which [Zoe Anderson Norris](/source/Zoe_Anderson_Norris) (1860-1914) published bimonthly starting in 1909.<ref name="Townsend1976">{{cite book|author=John Wilson Townsend|title=Kentucky in American Letters, 1784-1912 (Complete)|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=kkAWGFvIZ_YC&pg=PT500|year=1976|publisher=Library of Alexandria|isbn=978-1-4655-3095-0|pages=500–}}</ref>
Among his formal portrait subjects were Presidents [William H. Taft](/source/William_H._Taft), [Warren G. Harding](/source/Warren_G._Harding) and [Herbert Hoover](/source/Herbert_Hoover); the inventor [Thomas Edison](/source/Thomas_Edison), the writer [Ameen Rihani](/source/Ameen_Rihani) and the composer [Sergei Rachmaninoff](/source/Sergei_Rachmaninoff).

His portrait of Uncle Joe Cannon (Speaker of the House) from ''Time'' was placed on the top of the 1939 World's Fair Time Capsule, to be opened in 2039. Subsequently, he also drew President Harding for "Time". Additionally, he was well known for his advertising work and patriotic and recruiting posters in both world wars.{{citation needed|date=January 2014}}

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
*{{Commons category-inline}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Oberhardt, William}}
Category:1882 births
Category:1958 deaths
Category:People from Guttenberg, New Jersey
Category:20th-century American painters
Category:American male painters
Category:Academy of Fine Arts, Munich alumni
Category:National Academy of Design alumni
Category:20th-century American male artists
Category:Joseph Gurney Cannon
Category:20th-century American illustrators

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