Cfte Librarg 
 
 of t^e 
 
 CHnitiet^itp of iSortI) Carolina 
 
 Collection of jRottfi Catoliniana 
 3o|)n feptunt l^ill 
 
 of t|)e Claeis of 18S9 
 
le.y\<^'^r,H.C .cJUaos Vin.X 
 
 UNIVERSITY OF N.C. AT CHAPEL HILL 
 
 00032690464 
 
 FOR USE ONLY IN 
 THE NORTH CAROLINA COLLECTION 
 
 THIS TITLE HAS BEEN MICROFILMED 
 
A VISION REALIZED 
 
PORTRAIT OF REV. J. A. OERTEL. D.D. 
 
A VISION REALIZED 
 
 A LIFE STORY OF 
 
 REV. J. A. OERTEL, D.D. 
 
 ARTIST, PRIEST, MISSIONARY 
 
 BY 
 
 J. R OERTEL 
 
 MILWAUKEE : 
 
 THE YOUNG CHURCHMAN COMPANY 
 
 1917 
 
COPTBIGHT BY 
 
 THE YOUNG CHURCHMAN CO. 
 1917 
 
"Unskilful he to fawn, or seek for power. 
 By doctrines fashioned to the varying hour ; 
 Far other aims his heart had learned to prize 
 More bent to raise the wretched than to rise." 
 
 — Oliver Goldsmith's "Deserted Village* 
 
 00 
 
 cr 
 
 m 
 
DEDICATION 
 
 This book, now offered to the world to perpetuate the memory 
 of J. A. Oertel, has been compiled rather than written. 
 
 Much has been taken from his own writings, much from those 
 of his wife. Without the latter the record would have been 
 incomplete as his own life would have been without her. 
 
 His most ardent admirer, yet his most severe critic, the 
 mother of his children and the mistress of his home, she was at 
 the same time his guide in business affairs. 
 
 His comfort and stay in all the many trials and disappoint- 
 ments that beset his career; she cheered him in adversity and 
 with dauntless courage and an implicit faith in his genius sus- 
 tained and inspired him until at last the great purpose of his 
 life was realized. 
 
 To her, OUE MOTHER, this record is reverently dedicated. 
 
PORTRAIT OF MRS. JULIA ADELAIDE OERTEL 
 From a drawing by J. A. O., 1854 
 
PREFACE 
 
 [Extract from letter dated February 29, 1896.] 
 
 J. A. Oertel to his wife. 
 
 "At this moment comes to me what a pile of material the 
 fellow will have who, after we are gone, undertakes the thankless 
 labor of trying to rescue our names from oblivion by compiling 
 a biography, no inconsiderable part of which is noted in my 
 letters. 
 
 "I pity him beforehand, i. e., if so foolish a fellow could be 
 born. Let's burn them all and prevent so inconsiderate an under- 
 taking." 
 
 The letters were not burned, and the "foolish fellow" (or 
 fellows) were born, and in a spirit of duty to their great father 
 have undertaken to give to the world the following record of his 
 life and works. This is given as a simple story of his life, much 
 of it autobiographic, his aim and purpose in art, his struggles to 
 maintain the standard set and to reach the goal he had in view 
 and his ultimate success. 
 
 J. F. Oertel 
 
 T. E. Oertel, M.D. 
 
CONTENTS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 Preface vii 
 
 Introduction xiii 
 
 Chapter I ^ 
 
 Chapter II ^ 
 
 Chapter III 32 
 
 Chapter IV 39 
 
 Chapter V 5^ 
 
 Chapter VI 61 
 
 Chapter VII 75 
 
 Chapter VIII 81 
 
 Chapter IX 108 
 
 Chapter X 120 
 
 Chapter XI 1^8 
 
 Chapter XII 155 
 
 Chapter XIII 165 
 
 Chapter XIV 169 
 
 Chapter XV ^ 190 
 
 Chapter XVI 205 
 
 Chapter XVII 210 
 
LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 
 
 PAGE 
 
 PoRTKAiT OF Rev. J. A. Oertel, D.D. . . . Frojitispiece 
 
 Portrait of Mrs. Julia Adelaide Oertel . . . vi-vii 
 
 Battle at the Pass of Thermopylae .... 2-3 
 
 The Descent into Hell 8-9 
 
 The Dispensations of Promise and the Law . . 14-15 
 
 The Redeemer 24-25 
 
 The Dispensation of the Holy Spirit . . . 26-27 
 
 The Consummation of Redemption .... 28-29 
 
 Steel Engravings made for Bank Notes . . . 34-35 
 
 Cattle at Rest 46-47 
 
 The Rock of Ages 66-67 
 
 A Rough Sea 112-113 
 
 The Walk to Gethsemane 142-143 
 
 Figure of Christ 154-155 
 
 Reredos and Altar 160-161 
 
 "The Sands of Dee" 162-163 
 
 Ezekiel's Vision 162-163 
 
 Charlemagne 166-167 
 
 Successors to Royalty 170-171 
 
 In the Studio, Bel Air, Md 174-175 
 
 Evening Meditation 174-175 
 
 The Death of Saul 212-213 
 
 Credence Table 218-219 
 
 Reredos in the Cathedral, Quincy, III. . . . 222-223 
 
INTRODUCTION 
 
 "The imagination of Fra Bartolommeo glowed with religious 
 and poetical exaltation, with the love of God, and enthusiasm for 
 art." — Poetry of Christian Art, Page 280. 
 
 "In our day it (art) is nothing but an accessory, a pleasing 
 talent, whereas of old, and in the Middle x\ges it was a pillar of 
 society, its conscience and the expression of its religious senti- 
 ment." — Jean Francois Millet. 
 
 In the art of to-day, reaching so far as it does 
 toward perfection in the glorious possibilities of 
 technique and outward expression, the inner life, 
 the soul of the work, is too often forgotten, or 
 rather not thought of or looked for at all. 
 
 If the figure be arrayed in gorgeous raiment, if 
 the draperies be of exquisite shadings and richest 
 harmonies of color, what it may say to the beholder 
 is of small moment ; lovely without, the critical eye 
 of the period is satisfied, and cares not for the spirit 
 beneath the folds, nor asks for anything more from 
 the canvas than the sentimental and sensuous 
 delight this harmonious perfection affords. 
 
 The subject, as can be seen by reference to the 
 walls of our exhibition galleries, is apt to be quite 
 inferior to the manner of its execution, and any 
 subject painted in accordance with the ruling taste 
 of the day is accepted, no matter how trivial, or in 
 some cases even repulsive, as in the gladiatorial 
 pictures, or scenes from vulgar life. 
 
xiv A VISION REALIZED 
 
 Those olden times when art was ^^the pillar 
 of society, its conscience, and its religious 
 enthusiasm'' have passed, and while it remains 
 intellectual and sensuous, it has lost the grandeur 
 of being the exponent of a people's faith, and the 
 power of lifting the thoughts to higher and better 
 things, of being a purifier, an element of religious 
 education and advancement, and a spiritual force 
 to draw man nearer to his God. 
 
 It is not pertinent to the subject to inquire how 
 this state of things is but the natural outgrowth of 
 the onward rush of the present century, as is 
 claimed ; the fact is patent, but it may be of value 
 to stop and consider what is lost by the change, and 
 to ask whether the result to the world of all this 
 acute study of artistic excellencies is worth the 
 effort it costs, when not joined to an art that has a 
 higher and holier motive. This should not be 
 understood to underrate in any way the value of a 
 perfect technique. A worthy subject is worthy of a 
 perfect expression, and if this perfection of execu- 
 tion might only be thrown around the noblest 
 subjects it would give life to an art worthy of the 
 advanced times in which we live. 
 
 That art ''of old and in the middle ages" 
 enchains to this day not only the intellectual facul- 
 ties but the affections are drawn out to it, and it 
 finds a responsive echo in the holiest recesses of the 
 Christian soul and life. 
 
 Why should modern art drift away, feeding the 
 mind and eyes only and leaving the soul to starve ? 
 
 Why should not this outward excellence be 
 studied with careful motive to clothe with winning 
 
INTRODUCTION xv 
 
 beauty a holy and helpful thought, as the wonderful 
 shrines are covered with silver and gold and en- 
 riched with precious gems, not for their own sakes 
 but for the value of the sacred relic lying within'? 
 
 In so far as the wonderful loveliness of the 
 Creator's works is shown and the soul dwelling in 
 flower or landscape revealed, or when the great 
 heart of humanity is touched by an artistic render- 
 ing of the toils, and joys, and woes, and the rude 
 poetry of the life of the common people, as by 
 Millet, a high plain has been reached and a most 
 worthy object attained, but there are still grander 
 ideas connected with man's spiritual development, 
 with his downfall, his redemption, his hopes of 
 immortality which ought to be first as themes for 
 the artist's mind and hand and rank high above all 
 others, as the sun shining in his strength is beyond 
 all lesser lights in glory. 
 
 If art, as has been said, must be purely emo- 
 tional and its province be altogether exclusive of 
 ideas and the fewer the ideas contained therein the 
 finer the art, there is surely nothing in it to satisfy 
 the craving of an immortal soul; and froth and 
 foam and husks only must leave unappeased the 
 hunger which craves the wine of truth and the fine 
 wheat that nourishes to eternal life. 
 
 The art of the great Past was always ^^the 
 expression of the religious sentiment of the people" 
 from whom it had birth ; pagan as well as the true 
 faith crystallized itself in artistic forms, and it has 
 remained for this later age, so full of monstrosities 
 in religion and philosophies, to divorce art from the 
 people's faith and make it purely subservient to 
 
xvi A VISION REALIZED 
 
 the world and the uses of this mortal life, polluting 
 it by dragging do^^^l to earth what should be a pure 
 spiritual guide leading up to Heaven. 
 
 Alas that the time has gone by when the artist 
 believed himself a seer, an interpreter of God's 
 mysteries ! 
 
 He no more feels ennobled by the knowledge 
 that he ministers at the altar of his God, and that 
 he ^^ paints for eternity'' ; his pictures now stand on 
 a level with the embroideries on a portiere, if 
 indeed they have not a tendency to lower the mind 
 and soul by their influence. 
 
 There are some signs of an awakening in the 
 increase of art decoration in the churches, though 
 in many of them the same rule prevails as in the 
 picture world; they are made glorious in har- 
 monious chords of color but in senseless and 
 unmeaning forms, appealing only to the same 
 faculties of sensuous emotion and with no motive 
 to make them worthy of the place they hold. In a 
 few instances, however, an art which teaches finds 
 a place, and enrichments, memorial or otherwise, 
 are introduced which will stand silent preachers 
 for many generations. 
 
 There are other indications too, now and then, 
 which show that lovers of aesthetics are becoming 
 anxious for an art that is not all mere color and 
 subtlety of handling and that the will of the relig- 
 ious public is a strong and controlling force. 
 
 The time for Christian art of the highest kind 
 may be approaching, and the rendering of truly 
 noble thoughts find appreciation and encourage- 
 ment in this country. 
 
INTRODUCTION xvii 
 
 With this idea is brought before the reader an 
 old name that is almost crowded out of the artistic 
 list by the multitude of new names that have risen 
 on the waves of popular favor as they sailed with 
 the prevailing winds of fashion and technical 
 ability, a name linked in the minds of those who 
 remember it at all with so many different styles of 
 work they scarcely know where to place it, and 
 which would be immortal as the painter of ^^The 
 Rock of Ages" if the name of the artist was known 
 —as, strangely enough, it is not— wherever the 
 reproduction of this most popular of modern works 
 has gone. 
 
 In considering the material in hand from which 
 to compile an account of the life and works of the 
 Rev. Johannes A. S. Oertel, D.D., one leading idea 
 is impressed upon the mind— that here was a man 
 who battled for a principle through a life of vicissi- 
 tudes and changes and of many failures and disap- 
 pointments, but who always kept his eye fixed on 
 the goal he was striving to win and in whose artistic 
 career there was no variation of purpose notwith- 
 standing the stern necessities of daily life com- 
 pelled him to a variety of departures from the path 
 he would have chosen. 
 
 In a letter written in 1896 he says : 
 
 ^*I have just read a sketch of Lord Leighton's 
 life, and my mind drew the contrast of such a career 
 and mine from beginning to the end ; every advan- 
 tage given of station, money, teachers, travel, 
 training, and abundance of facilities, and with 
 marked success all along— and my experience; in 
 poverty, an object of charity for years; confined 
 
xviii A VISION REALIZED 
 
 within narrow limits of travel, of seeing, of helps 
 for study; with only such training as persistent 
 half -blind effort supplied; hampered by want of 
 facilities ; cramped by Care ; forced aside by multi- 
 plicity of pursuits ; discouraged to intimidation by 
 failure and cold public sentiment, my faculties split 
 up by efforts at making a living in a variety of 
 directions, from the start as a boy of 14 to this date, 
 seven years older than Leighton, one continuous, 
 long almost uninterrupted conflict. 
 
 ^^I do not overdraw. To this very day I have to 
 create my own tools, as it were. In this line I have 
 done nearly everything but manufacture my o^vn 
 canvas, paints, and brushes ; for as to models, the 
 glass has served me much more frequently than 
 other people's figures. 
 
 ^^ Reading of such a different life, of course, 
 brings some reflection. Of course, also, I ap- 
 preciate the value of such training for inde- 
 pendence, self-reliance, self-help and increase of 
 resources. 
 
 ^^That I have not a greater amount of all these I 
 almost regard as a blame. 
 
 *^In all probability the incessant cold water of 
 neglect over me has kept down more vigorous work 
 and squeezed me into a shrinking attitude. 
 
 ^^But let it pass. It matters not what man's 
 position is in the mouths of men. Human estimate 
 is at best a fickle and very deceitful thing. To the 
 struggling man it is of inestimable comfort to have 
 the knowledge of the existence of bookkeeping by 
 double entry— one for this world, another for the 
 next ; a view of that, and a striving for lofty aims. 
 
INTRODUCTION xix 
 
 has alone supplied me energy when outward fail- 
 ures would have crushed every effort. 
 
 '^ 'Fly your fancy into the clouds, and from 
 this imaginary height take a view of mortals here 
 below' said even pagan Marcus Aurelius! and why 
 should not I, a Christian, with more exalted knowl- 
 edge r' 
 
 These very vicissitudes, much as they are to be 
 deplored, show him to have been possessed of a 
 versatility of talent most remarkable though they 
 divided his faculties, frittered his strength, and 
 made his life a battle for existence rather than 
 an opportunity for the development of the great 
 natural and spiritual gifts with which he was 
 endowed. 
 
 His principle was that art worthy to be made 
 the life work of a man with an immortal soul and 
 God-given intellectual powers should be teaching 
 art and not a mere manufacture of the beautiful, 
 his desire and aim to lay all he could do at the feet 
 of his Divine Lord and through his art to preach 
 Christ and tell the story of salvation to the world. 
 
 In the following chronicle it will be necessary 
 to speak much of the man and the circumstances 
 surrounding him at various times because his art 
 life was shaped by those circumstances as the 
 course of the stream is turned by the configuration 
 of the country through which it flows and its waters 
 either placid or lashed to fury by the character of 
 the bed beneath it, whether it be sandy and smooth 
 or full of jagged rocks and bowlders. 
 
 But in speaking of these circumstances and 
 conditions the aim will be to mention only such as 
 
XX A VISION REALIZED 
 
 had direct bearing and influence on his artistic 
 career and as such be of interest to the world at 
 large. 
 
CHAPTER I. 
 
 Johannes Adam Simon Oertel was born in 
 Flirth, near Nuremberg, Bavaria, on November 3, 
 1823. 
 
 From his infancy the ruling talent of his life 
 was apparent; inventiveness showing itself at a 
 very early age. Not only did his baby hands draw, 
 but his baby brain invented forms and com^DOsed 
 them in groups; and in the pencil he found the 
 chief amusement of his early youth. Some small 
 drawings, both figure and animal, bear the words 
 **from my 6th year." Although of course he was 
 often compelled to copy, it was exceedingly dis- 
 tasteful and in his later 3^ears became positively 
 repulsive to him, his mind being so filled with 
 images of his own that it could not endure the task 
 of reproducing the work and thoughts of others. 
 When about 9 years of age he executed two elab- 
 orate pieces of caligraphy which are still in exist- 
 ence in a fair state of preservation, ''The Lord's 
 Prayer" and ''The Ten Commandments." They 
 are 3 feet by 2 in size and contain much ornamenta- 
 tion and even figure drawing. They were done in 
 india ink and with quill pens made by himself from 
 crow quills gathered in the woods. He was a small 
 and delicate child and could only execute them by 
 lying flat upon the table while he worked. 
 
2 A VISION REALIZED 
 
 His parents always testified to the earnest per- 
 severance with which he pursued this work when 
 out of school, even late into the night. 
 
 He seems, notwithstanding the prominence of 
 his artistic tastes, not to have intended to follow 
 them, as in his thirteenth year he went to study 
 with the Rev. Mr. Loehe, an eminent clerg}Tiian, 
 with a view to giving himself to the work of foreign 
 missions. 
 
 While he studied he traced one fancy after 
 another upon the broad margins of his class books, 
 and the good and wise pastor soon saw that his 
 pupil had mistaken his vocation, and that if he had 
 a message to declare to the world it ought to be 
 by form rather than words. He advised the boy 
 to change his plans and become a student of art. 
 After a year with Mr. Loehe he acted upon this 
 judicial advice and became the pupil of Mr. J. M. 
 Ensing Miiller, a noted artist and engraver of 
 Nuremberg, taking up the study of art in general 
 and steel engraving in particular. 
 
 This excellent teacher was himself a man of 
 superior and poetic mind, of large inventiveness 
 and refined ideality, and he guided the young and 
 ardent mind of his gifted pupil most judiciously, 
 only directing it, and leaving it free to work out 
 its own individuality. 
 
 This connection continued, with some inter- 
 ruptions and the change from the relation of pupil 
 to that of friend, until his twenty-fifth year. 
 
 The tedious and laborious art of steel engrav- 
 ing was distasteful to a mind so full of active 
 thought, but he worked on unflinchingly. 
 
LIFE STORY OF REV. J. A. OERTEL, D.D. 3 
 
 In 1838 and 1839 he was, with his master, in 
 Munich. Surrounded by the works of Cornelius 
 and Kaulbach, whose style and influence then con- 
 trolled the Munich school, the boy's mind was filled 
 with a new and powerful impulse; especially the 
 works of the latter artist seemed to give him wings, 
 and he commenced more extended efforts in com- 
 position than he had before attempted. He was at 
 that time an enthusiastic student of Grecian his- 
 tory, from which several bold designs dating from 
 his eighteenth year are still preserved. These were 
 executed in cartoon and in his leisure hours, but 
 he could not lay aside the steel plates from which 
 he derived his support. One of the cartoons, ^^The 
 Battle of the Granicus," embodying an incident in 
 the life of Alexander the Great, is 8 by 12 feet. It 
 is vigorous in treatment and skilful in composi- 
 tion. Though damaged by age and by frequent 
 removals, this hung on the walls of his various 
 studios until his death. It was also done in color 
 about the same time, 13 by 20 inches. 
 
 Another of these compositions, ^^The Battle at 
 the Pass of Thermopylae, " is in monochrome, 2 feet 
 6 inches by 3 feet. It represents the few remaining 
 Spartans struggling against the opposing hosts; 
 a bold composition and displaying a wonderful 
 knowledge of the human form. 
 
 All of his early works, as well as his writing- 
 some of which almost required the use of a mag- 
 nifying glass to read— showed his training as a steel 
 engraver in the fine detail and exactness with which 
 they were executed. 
 
 His father, Thomas Frederick, was an expert 
 
4 A VISION REALIZED 
 
 metal worker and, as was the custom at that time, 
 had his shop in his house, where he worked with 
 his helpers and apprentices. 
 
 Johannes from him inherited marked mechan- 
 ical ability and in the shop learned to do all kinds 
 of metal work, a knowledge that was very useful 
 to him in after years when obliged to '^create his 
 owTi tools/' While thus training his mental facul- 
 ties the physical were not neglected. 
 
 As he grew up he gained in strength and spent 
 considerable time in training his body at the gym- 
 nasium, excelling in feats of strength and agility, 
 and was classed as one of the best athletes in Ba- 
 varia. He was also an expert in fencing, both with 
 the foils and with broadsword. These gymnastic 
 exercises he continued until late in life and in his 
 studio could always be seen dumb-bells, some of 
 50 pounds in weight, which he handled as if they 
 were toys, his foils, and huge ^'Indian clubs." 
 With these the iron muscles were kept in perfect 
 condition to perform the severe labor he imposed 
 on himself and continued unremittingly to the last. 
 
 He was very fond of running and leaping and 
 had a good record in both. One of his perform- 
 ances in this line was to go ^4eap-frog'' over seven 
 men standing in a row face to back with bent heads 
 only. 
 
 He also studied music and took up as his instru- 
 ment the flute, which he played well; though he 
 often expressed regret that he had not selected the 
 violin or 'cello, complaining that the flute was too 
 limited in its capacities and admitted of so little 
 display of feeling. He played the organ ; but only 
 
LIFE STORY OF REV. J. A. OERTEL. D.D. 5 
 
 for his ^^ Chorals," of which he was very fond, 
 hymns, or in improvising, was it used, though for 
 some years he had one in his studio. He planned 
 some 20 years before his death to have a pipe organ 
 in his studio and began to make it, constructing 
 several stops of wooden pipes, but this, being for 
 himself, was never finished. 
 
CHAPTEE II. 
 
 In 1848, in company with his master and some 
 other friends both artistic and musical, he bade 
 farewell to his native land and with a heart full of 
 hopes and undefined anticipations he set out for 
 America, coming over in a sailing vessel which 
 required 10 weeks to make the trip. During the 
 voyage he quite astonished the sailors by his ability 
 to go aloft— anywhere they could— and, as the 
 quarters below were none of the best, he spent most 
 of his days on deck or in the *Hop" and at night 
 slept on deck with the anchor chain for a pillow. 
 
 Nought awaited him here but disappointment. 
 He found at that time little knowledge of art, no 
 defined public taste, and a people who seemed to 
 care nothing for ideals. The whole state of society 
 was indeed foreign to him. He had been living for 
 many years an idyllic sort of life in a quaint Ger- 
 man village, his master and the group of pupils 
 making his world, the gymnasium, the woods 
 ramble, and the evening readings at the master's 
 house supplying the recreation from study and 
 labor; and when thrown loose on the rushing tide 
 of American life his sensitive nature was shocked 
 and hurt at every turn and he found himself in 
 entirely unexpected surroundings and was as a 
 child in his ability to meet them. 
 
LIFE STORY OF REV. J. A. OERTEL, D.D. 7 
 
 Another painful fact, which had to dawn upon 
 him by degrees, was that he was no painter. Edu- 
 cated as a steel engraver, he had all materials with 
 the point in full subjugation— pen, pencil, crayon, 
 graver, but not the brush. This was a difficulty 
 with which he had a life struggle and to which some 
 of his failures are doubtless attributable, and was 
 overcome only by persistent and continued effort. 
 
 He was advised during his first months in this 
 country to turn his attention to teaching, and he 
 obtained for a time a situation in a young ladies' 
 seminary in Newark, N. J., although his knowledge 
 of the language was very inadequate to the per- 
 formance of his task. 
 
 He had studied English before leaving Ger- 
 many, and knew much as learned from books, but 
 found he had nothing practical at his command 
 when he landed on these shores. That difficulty 
 was soon mastered, for with constant study and 
 an immediate putting in practice what he learned 
 the lack of an avenue of expression was not a draw- 
 back for any great length of time. 
 
 He eventually obtained a command of English 
 equaled by few even of those born and educated 
 in this country and exceeded by none entirely self 
 taught. 
 
 He was told that it would be useless to make 
 Christian pictures, that they would find no sym- 
 pathy or sale; so, as the next best thing, he 
 attempted as his first important painting in Amer- 
 ica a theme from ^^ Paradise Lost,'' thinking that 
 the English-speaking people must have sjnupathy 
 with their own classics. It was called ' ' The Lament 
 
8 A VISION REALIZED 
 
 of the Fallen Spirits'' and was founded on the fol- 
 lowing lines : 
 
 "Others more mild. 
 Retreated to a silent valley, sing 
 With notes angelical to many a harp 
 Their own heroic deeds and hapless fall 
 By doom of battle ; and complain that fate 
 Free virtue should enthrall to force or chance 
 Their song was partial, but the harmony — 
 What could it be less when spirits immortal sing ? 
 Suspended Hell and took with ravishment 
 The thronging audience." 
 
 It was a weird, original composition, full of 
 thought and careful work, but it was poor and 
 hard as a painting and as a whole a failure. It 
 was exhibited at the American Art Union in the 
 early months of 1850. 
 
 He made other compositions from this poem, 
 *^The Descent of the Fallen Spirits into Hell," a 
 painting, and ''Satan Falling from Heaven," a 
 drawing. 
 
 Within a year after his arrival in America his 
 parents and two brothers, Frederick and George, 
 followed and all located in Newark, N. J. 
 
 In 1851 he married Julia Adelaide Torrey, 
 daughter of Asa and Mary Sandford Torrey, of 
 Newark, the one woman, it would seem, in all the 
 world best fitted to go with him through the years 
 of struggle which followed ; guiding, cheering, en- 
 couraging, and inspiring, as undaunted in the face 
 of adversity and trial as himself, with a depth of 
 feeling and true appreciation of art as great as 
 his own and, though almost entirely self-educated, 
 with talents both artistic and literary second only 
 
LIFE STORY OF REV. J. A. OERTEL, D.D. 9 
 
 to his. The part she had in his work and her 
 influence on all that he did can not be over esti- 
 mated, and truly it may be said that this chronicle 
 of his life must be hers as well. 
 
 Four children were born to them, Mary Magda- 
 lena, November 10, 1852 ; John Frederick, Novem- 
 ber 3 (his father's birthday), 1856; Samuel Philip, 
 November 28, 1859 (died Dec. 11, 1859), and Theo- 
 dore Eugene, April 20, 1864. 
 
 After his marriage he moved to Madison, N. J., 
 the home of his wife's parents, built a studio, and 
 commenced anew to study in Christian Art to 
 which his life w^as pledged. 
 
 A composition, a finished work in pencil, ^^The 
 Death of Saul" (1 Sam. 31 : 3-6), made at this time 
 shows the artist working with the conventional 
 ideas unbibed in the' study of Kaulbach and the 
 Munich school; still it is full of fine grouping and 
 harmonious lines. The bodies of the three sons of 
 Saul lying together are most skilfully rendered, 
 and every line artistically placed. The fomi of 
 the giant Saul, pierced by the sword, stretches 
 through the middle of the picture, at his feet lies 
 the coi^pse of his armor bearer, in the background 
 the battle still rages around the falling standard 
 of Israel, and in the sky appears the shade or spirit 
 of Samuel testifying to the truth of the prophecies 
 he had uttered in regard to the fate of Saul and 
 which were now fulfilled. (1 Sam. 28 : 19.) 
 
 No regular record of works produced was kept 
 previous to 1854, and what became of this drawing 
 is not known, but in later years the same subject 
 was done in color. 
 
10 A VISION REALIZED 
 
 During the winter of 1851-52 he made a series 
 of designs illustrating the redemption of mankind, 
 which he set before him as his life work. On the 
 ultimate production of these his veiy soul was 
 centered. From this date until the completion of 
 the works— nearly 50 years— eveiy effort was put 
 forth to place himself in position to enable him 
 to undertake them. Every move was made with 
 this possible end in view. As the years rolled on 
 and plan succeeded plan only to end in failure it 
 seemed that it would not be permitted, and there 
 were those who urged him to abandon art entirely 
 and make his living in some other way. 
 
 Through it all he never flinched or quailed, 
 always was his gaze upward and onw^ard. When 
 failure of a plan came upon him he was still 
 undaimted; and, instead of having the effect of 
 diminishing his enthusiasm or causing him to 
 waver in his purpose, it only spurred him on to 
 renewed efforts, and as these designs were taken 
 as his life work so the story of his life is the story 
 of these works— a story of unremitting effort to 
 attain the end in view, a devious path leading over 
 bowldered hills, over many a sandy waste and 
 treacherous bog, a path beset by many dangers and 
 untold difficulties, where the foot must not slip, 
 the eye grow dim, nor courage fail. And yet this 
 path he trod, his step finn, his eye bright and clear, 
 his courage unfaltering, and with a sublime faith 
 that the Almighty God in whom he believed and 
 trusted would protect and guide him and conduct 
 him to the haven where he would be. 
 
 And so he went on, giving his life and work to 
 
LIFE STORY OF REV. J. A. OERTEL, D.D. 1 1 
 
 the great principle of bettering the conditions of 
 humanity, helping and cheering those whom he 
 met by the way, relieving the distressed wherever 
 found, soothing the unhappy, giving from his 
 slender purse to those in need, pointing the way 
 to Heaven by word, deed, and work, and giving 
 the credit and glory all to his Divine Lord and 
 Master whom he served. 
 
 He looked upon these designs as inspirations 
 and his faith was firm that they were God-given 
 and that the time would come when he would 
 execute them. 
 
 His plan was that of an enthusiast to be sure, 
 and the practical man may smile at it ; but it was 
 earnest and unselfish at least. It was this: He 
 knew there was no hope of sale for pictures of this 
 character and collossal size, so he determined that 
 he would make them by his own exertions, and then 
 he believed that if they were made successfully 
 some one could be found to put up a proper build- 
 ing to receive them and that he would make them a 
 gift as a nucleus for a free gallery, hoping thereby 
 to give an impetus to Christian art in this country. 
 
 These compositions are entitled : 
 
 1. ^^The Dispensations of Promise and the 
 
 Law." 
 
 2. ^^ The Redeemer." 
 
 3. ^^The Era of the Holy Spirit." 
 
 4. ^^The Consummation of Redemption." 
 
 In the case of the first one, so complicated and 
 full of figures and meaning, he had been reading 
 the Old Testament for some time seeking a subject 
 
12 A VISION REALIZED 
 
 comprising 10 or 12 figures, but finding nothing to 
 suit him, until, sitting and thinking of what he had 
 read, a voice seemed to say audibly to him, ''Why 
 not make the whole Old Testament in one picture T' 
 —and inmiediately this composition rose up before 
 him in its entirety. 
 
 After he had secured it on paper in charcoal 
 scrawls he read for days to obtain his references 
 and authorities but found no reason to change it 
 in the slightest particular. 
 
 The second of the series, ''The Eedeemer," in 
 the same remarkable manner stood upon the bare 
 white wall of the Methodist church during the ser- 
 mon, at which place the small band of Episcopa- 
 lians in Madison at that time held their services ; so 
 that on coming home he was able to note it down 
 in all its wonderful completeness of logical thought. 
 On returning from service that day he said to his 
 wife, "If I can put on paper what I have seen on 
 the wall over the preacher's head just now I shall 
 have one of the greatest compositions ever made for 
 its terseness, and containing so much in a few 
 figures." 
 
 The other two followed in a similar way. His 
 mode of thinking seemed ever to be a bringing out 
 of the spiritual and hidden truths rather than a 
 rendering of the outside of things, as is partic- 
 ularly noticeable in this series— and in all his better 
 works. 
 
 The following description of the intention of 
 the great series is from his own pen : 
 
 "These compositions are designed to delineate 
 the outlines of that great scheme of Redemption, 
 
LIFE STORY OF REV. J. A. OERTEL. D.D. 1 3 
 
 which God has been carrying on since the Fall, for 
 the recovery of ruined man. 
 
 ''And as in that plan Christ is the central object, 
 toward which all things point and concentrate, 
 and in which at last all things are completed and 
 consmnmated, so also in these pictures it is designed 
 that all shall point to Christ. 
 
 ''Christ through the sin of man became needed 
 and, through the mercy of God, promised and 
 typified in the whole ceremonial law and worship: 
 then revealed, fulfilling the promise and the type, 
 obtaining for man the conquest over sin, Satan, and 
 death ; then ascended to His mediatorial throne the 
 possessor of all power in Heaven and upon earth, 
 sending forth His Word and His Spirit to enlighten 
 the nations ; then glorified in the final and complete 
 separation of the evil and the good, in the destruc- 
 tion of the evil, and the gathering together and 
 perfecting of His redeemed in His heavenly and 
 eternal Kingdom. 
 
 "Each picture is distinct in itself' and yet each 
 one supplements all the others. 
 
 "They are designed to illustrate and make con- 
 spicuous the unity of all God's dealings with man; 
 the grand harmony of His plan of redemption in its 
 peculiar development, from the suggestive outlines 
 drawn in the first promise made after the Fall 
 (Genesis 3:15) until the triumphant consumma- 
 tion in eternal glory; pointing, from Genesis to 
 Eevelation, continually and only to Christ, the 
 Lord Jehovah and Saviour of man." 
 
14 A VISION REALIZED 
 
 DESCRIPTION OF THE SERIES. 
 1. The Dispensations of Promise and the Law. 
 
 In this composition there are three points 
 prominent, namely, Sin, Prophecy, and Typical 
 Sacrifice. 
 
 They are devoloped from a center, and carried 
 in streams of figures and groups to the foreground, 
 or near it. 
 
 The center is Moses, from whom Prophecy 
 stretches to the left; Typical Sacrifice, in a semi- 
 circle to the right; while Sin and its punishment 
 occupies the middle from the altar to the imme- 
 diate foreground. 
 
 Besides there is an upper part to the picture, in 
 the clouds, dividing the time of simple promise 
 from the time of the law. 
 
 The Shekinah of God's Glory,' surrounded by 
 angelic heads, is the true center and the light of 
 the picture. Jehovah's presence was the life and 
 the light of the Old Dispensation. 
 
 The fall of man in Eden, and the sentence of 
 sin drew from the mercy of God the promise of a 
 Saviour, which promise expanded subsequently 
 into prophecy and found visible expression in the 
 divinely appointed sacrifices of the Mosaic dis- 
 pensation. Under these three heads the whole Old 
 Testament ecclesiastically is comprised. 
 
 The old dispensation was a preparation for the 
 new, and foreshadowed it. In this manner, also, 
 the composition is treated. It embraces the 4,000 
 
 ^Ex. 13: 21; 14: 19-20, 24; 40: 34-38. Numb. 9: 15-23; 10: 34; 14: 
 14. Deut. 1: 33. Ps. 78: 14; 99: 7; 105: 39. Is. 4:5, 6. 
 
LIFE STORY OF REV. J. A. OERTEL, D.D. 1 5 
 
 years before Christ as a time of prophecy, of types, 
 and of figures. It makes use of the cardinal facts 
 of the ecclesiastical history of that period, so far 
 as they relate to the coming of the Deliverer and 
 the great sacrifice for sin to be accomplished by 
 Him. The justice and the mercy of God are in it 
 united. 
 
 The angels on either side of the Shekinah first 
 show these. Upon the side of the law, the flaming 
 sword does its full work upon the daring sinners ' ; 
 but where the smoke of sacrifice ascends acceptably 
 to the Lord, though the law is still in force, the 
 sword lowered signifies that God is just and yet 
 can be ''the justifier of him that believeth." 
 
 But while punishment overtakes the transgres- 
 sors of God's holy law, salvation is also provided 
 to them who in faith will avail themselves of the 
 means of God's own appointing ; and whereas death 
 entered into the world by reason of sin, promise' 
 extended to fallen man even while he was judged, 
 opened to his faith a vision of the Redeemer. Of 
 this Adam and Eve, on the left of the Shekinah, 
 remind us, and the sacred line behind these, with 
 Abel, the first eminent type of Christ's sacrifice, 
 leading. Next to these is Enoch,* in his translation 
 without seeing death, the type and pledge of 
 Christ's triumph over death and the grave. Beside 
 him sits Noah ' and his three sons, saved by faith 
 from the over^vhelming flood, typifying the salva- 
 tion of the redeemed in Christ, ^Hhe like figure 
 
 2 Cor. 10: 10. 2 Sam. 24: 16. 1 ^ Gen. 3: 15. 
 Chron. 21: 16. 2 Kings 19: 35. Acts * Gen. 5: 21-23. Heb. 11:5. 
 12:23. »Gen. 7:7, 13: 8:18. Heb. 11:7. 
 
16 A VISION REALIZED 
 
 whereunto, even baptism' doth also now save us, 
 by the resurrection of Jesus Christ. ' ' 
 
 On the right are Abraham, Isaac, and Jacob 
 and his sons, patriarchs of the 12 tribes, Joseph, 
 the feeder of his brethren, and Benjamin, and 
 Judah, the progenitor of our Lord, being promi- 
 nent. With Abraham was the covenant' estab- 
 lished; Avith him the visible church began. The 
 ^'Father of the Faithful"' invokes the blessing of 
 God [El Shaddai] upon his children. 
 
 These, represented in the clouds, belong to the 
 Dispensation of Promise. 
 
 The Dispensation of the Law occupies the lower 
 and larger space. Moses, the giver of the law, 
 stands prominent upon the steps of the temple. 
 The shadowy promise now expands into prophecy, 
 which develops as centuries advance, until it spoke 
 in clear, explicit language of the ^^Man of Sor- 
 rows" treading the winevat alone, bearing our 
 iniquity and transgression.' That which in the 
 prophetic line is foretold is t}T3ified by the sac- 
 rifices to the right of Moses, and thus these two 
 sides correspond in prophetic expression as also 
 they form a continuous stream of figures. 
 
 Prophet himself," Moses gave his name to the 
 dispensation which began with him. Though the 
 great deliverer of Israel from Eg}^pt, he could not 
 bring them within the borders of the promised 
 land. This was accomplished by the typical Jesus, 
 (Joshua,) his successor," the warrior before whom 
 
 • 1 Peter 3: 20-21. « Isaiah 53. 
 
 'Gen. 15: 1-18; 17: 1-14. ^^ Deut. 18: 15, 18, 19. 
 
 •John 8: 39. Heb. 11 : 8, 9, 10. "Deut. 31:23. Josh. 1 : 2-9. 
 
LIFE STORY OF REV. J. A. OERTEL. D.D. 1 7 
 
 fell the enemies of the chosen people, and who 
 divided to them their inheritance. Next him, the 
 head only visible, is Samson, type of the strong 
 deliverer, even in his death vanquishing;" then 
 Samuel,'' prophet and judge; the line of judges, 
 Baruch, Deborah, Jeptha, being visible; then 
 David, the sweet Psalmist and poet king of Israel, 
 progenitor of the Messiah ; " then Solomon, the wise 
 and opulent, reigning in peace and prosperity; 
 type of the King of Peace (Note A), whose blessed 
 dominion should extend to the ends of the earth, 
 to endure forever and ever. Somewhat isolated, as 
 the mighty, 'zealous prophet was in the period of 
 Jewish history to which he belongs, stands Elijah," 
 like Enoch of the preceding generation (directly 
 above him) , a type and pledge of the conquest yet 
 to be given over death, of life and immortality to 
 be brought to light. Over his shoulder looks 
 Elisha," laying hold upon the mantle of Elijah, by 
 importunate faith obtaining a double portion of 
 his prophetic spirit. 
 
 Beneath and more in the foreground are the 
 prophets of a later period. On the right sits 
 Micah," pointing to David, whose birthplace should 
 also be that of the coming Saviour; next to him, 
 seated upon a fragment of ruin, Jeremiah " is 
 bewailing the sin and captivity of his people, and 
 the widespread desolation of Zion. Inmiediately 
 above him, Isaiah," the evangelical prophet, is fore- 
 telling, in lofty visions, and sublime, rapturous 
 
 "Judges 16: 30. "2 Kings 2: 13; 2: 9-10. 
 
 " 1 Samuel 2 : 35. " Micah 5:1. 
 
 "^* Isaiah 11: 1. "Lam. 1: 1-3. 
 
 "2 Kings 2: 11. "Isaiah 53; 60: 6; 52: 13-15. 
 
18 A VISION REALIZED 
 
 strains, with historic minuteness and fidelity, the 
 atoning death of the Messiah, and the glory which 
 should follow; a prophecy which could be recon- 
 ciled and explained only in its fulfillment. Then 
 Daniel, proclaiming the exact period of the Mes- 
 siah's coming,'" his death and the subsequent en- 
 largement of His Kingdom, ^^till the kingdom and 
 dominion and greatness of the kingdom under the 
 whole Heaven, shall be given to the Saints of the 
 Most High, whose kingdom is an everlasting king- 
 dom, and all dominions shall serve and obey 
 Him."'' Next to him is Ezekiel, distinguished by 
 his measuring-rod as he who so minutely described 
 the spiritual temple" to come, filled by the glory 
 of the Lord, and His abiding place for ever ; then 
 Nehemiah and Ezra, intent upon their plans for 
 the rebuilding of Jerusalem, in their looking away 
 to the future, seeming to catch with the prophets a 
 glimpse of the glory which should cover the second 
 temple, through the coming of the Holy One." In 
 the background are seen the prophets of lesser 
 note. 
 
 To the right of Moses is depicted the ceremonial 
 worship of the church, a worship chiefly embodied 
 in sacrifice, which, like prophecy, pointed onward 
 to the future, being the '^shadow of things to come'' 
 of the Divine Sacrifice yet to be accomplished. 
 
 The Holy Place of the Temple opens to view, 
 with its golden candlestick '' and the golden table " 
 containing the shewbread, being seen. The curtain 
 of the Holy of Holies is shrouded by a flood of 
 
 20 Daniel 9: 26-27. "Ezekiel 43: 7. "Exodus 25: 31-40. 
 
 " Daniel 7 : 27. " Haggai 2 : 1-9. " Exodus 25 : 23-30. 
 
LIFE STORY OF REV. J. A. OERTEL. D.D. 19 
 
 light from the Shekinah; but without stands 
 Aaron/' the high-priest, his hands upon the head 
 of the scape-goat, while making confession of his 
 own sins and the sins of the people. Thus the 
 Annual Sacrifice, or the great Day of Atonement, 
 is represented. The Daily Sacrifice," offered each 
 morning and evening, is shown in the smoking 
 altar, with the officiating priest pouring out the 
 victim's blood at the foot of it, the smoke rising up 
 as a sweet-smelling savor unto the Lord, accepted 
 through faith and obedience. 
 
 Offering of First Fruits.— To the right is seen 
 the high-priest pronouncing the blessing" of 
 Jehovah over the faithful, who are thronging up to 
 the temple with their votive offerings from the rich 
 store of Jehovah's bountiful blessings. The first 
 fruif of every thing was holy to the Lord and 
 His portion; the first born male child had to be 
 redeemed by a pair of turtle doves, offered instead. 
 The firstlings of the flock, the vineyard, the field, 
 must be given into the Lord's treasury. Thus was 
 prefigured the Divine First Born, whom the 
 Father, His greatest blessing, gave in infinite com- 
 pasion for the Sins of man. 
 
 Sin Offering.— Below the Altar steps, with 
 contrite posture and humble petition, approaches 
 a group of penitents.'" Absorbed and solemn 
 they come, each conscious of individual unworthi- 
 ness. Among them, the harlot, and the prince, on 
 a level here as alike sinners, and alike needing 
 
 "Lev. 16. "Exodus 29: 38-46. ^^Numb. 6: 23-27. 
 
 "Exodus 13; 22:29-30; 23:19; 34:26. Lev. 23:10-11. Deut. 26. 
 Lev. 12. ^° Lev. 4. Lev. 5. 
 
20 A VISION REALIZED 
 
 remission, are seen with their prescribed sacrifices, 
 and the old woman and man bent and hoary with 
 years, form the contrast of far greater burden of 
 soul with the child, carrying for them their sacrifice 
 of turtle doves. 
 
 Thank-offering.— Prominently conspicuous in 
 the right foreground is a rich family group, with 
 festive array of flowers, and palm and olive 
 branches, rejoicingly entering the courts of the 
 Lord with their many thank-offerings'' This 
 group illustrates the joyful, sanctifying influences 
 of true religion, even under the dimmer light of the 
 Old Dispensation, and the abounding prosperity" 
 with which God rewarded His faithful wor- 
 shippers. Mark the serene aspect of the parents, the 
 father, the priest and the proi3het of the family, 
 (upon whose forehead we observe the phylactery" 
 with its inscribed Scripture texts,) pointing 
 out to his sons the deserved punishment of Sin, 
 according to the Law, and also speaking of the 
 heavenly glory and blessedness awaiting the right- 
 eous"; the mother with matronly grace and love 
 watching over her daughters. How beautifully 
 does the little child, shrinking away from the un- 
 wonted aspect of sin and its penalty, suggest to us 
 childhood's innocence, nurtured and developed 
 under the fostering influence of sanctified parental 
 love. The whole group reminds us of God's word 
 to His prophet, **Say ye to the righteous it shall be 
 well with him; for they shall eat of the fruit of 
 their own doings ; ' ' and again, ' ' From the uttermost 
 
 "Lev. 3; 7: 9-34; 2. "Exodus 13: 16. Numb. 15: 38-41. 
 
 "Lev. 26: 1-13. Deut. 28: 1-14. " Deut. 6: 6-9. 
 
LIFE STORY OF REV. J. A. OERTEL. D.D. 21 
 
 parts of the earth have we heard songs, even glory 
 to the righteous. ' ' 
 
 But in painful contrast we behold in the middle 
 of the composition the delineation of Sin as the 
 the transgression of the Law, and its dread punish- 
 ment. The justice of God to unrepented, and there- 
 fore unf orgiven. Sin, is here set forth. ^ ^ I the Lord 
 thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of 
 the fathers upon the children, unto the third and 
 fourth generation of them that hate me." The 
 signal punishment of the Law, beginning at the 
 very Altar, and with the sons of the high priest, 
 Nadab and Abihu," presumptuously offering 
 before the Lord in their censers unhallowed flame, 
 are here depicted at the moment of their destruc- 
 tion by the descending fire of God's vengeance. A 
 few incidents from Jewish history illustrate 
 further the reward of Sin : the murmuring Israel- 
 ite' stung by the jiery serpent; the stoned blas- 
 phemer;^' the famishing mother;''' blindness and 
 raving madness/' the curses so fearfully pro- 
 nounced by Moses against the disobedient. 
 Around the crumbling idol altar," built in the 
 very courts of the Lord's house, now defiled by 
 burning human bones, a fierce group of scoffers 
 cling and vainly seek refuge from the wrath of an 
 offended God. More in the foreground the dead 
 bodies of other idolatrous Jews" are flung across 
 the shattered images in which they trusted." 
 
 "Leviticus 10: 1, 2. « 1 Kings 13: 1-3. 2 Kings 23. 
 
 "Numb. 21: 1-9. 2 Chron. 34. 
 
 "Lev. 24: 10-16. "Lev. 26: 30. 
 
 "Lev. 26: 26. Deut. 28: 38-40. « Deut. 28: 26. 
 " Deut. 28 : 28, 29, 35. 
 
22 A VISION REALIZED 
 
 Dagon (Note B), the fish-god of the Phil- 
 istines ; 
 
 "Moloch (Note C), horrid king, besmeared with blood 
 Of human sacrifice and parents' tears; 
 Though, for the noise of drums and timbrels loud. 
 Their children's cries unheard, that passed through fire 
 To his grim idol ;" 
 
 and Baal (Note D), the Sun-God, and Ashtaroth, 
 the deity of the moon, are selected to represent the 
 idol worship of the Jews. A group of captives 
 closes the scene of deserved desolation, but not 
 without an intimation of hope in the promise yet 
 to be fulfilled, betokened by the child touching the 
 harp of sacred song in glad anticipation, even while 
 the parents despair; Aaron's iudding rod" 
 signifying the priesthood and dominion not yet 
 departed from Israel, which would yet see restora- 
 tion, and that the voice of weeping be again ex- 
 changed for ^thanksgiving and the voice of 
 melody ;'' and the boy holding the scroll of the Law 
 still unfilled as touching Him that should come to 
 be its perfect accomplishment. 
 
 The hope of the captives is thus joined to 
 prophecy** in looking beyond for the coming of that 
 Saviour, who had been the burden of all of God's 
 promises, and of the Law and the ceremony. 
 
 Thus we see foreshadowed in this composition 
 Christ, the Messiah, the true sacrifice for Sin, the 
 **Lamb slain from the foundation of the world,'' 
 the *' Prince of Peace and Lord our Righteous- 
 ness," whose appearing for man's salvation forms 
 
 " Numbers 17. 
 
 "Jeremiah 25: 11. Leviticus 26: 40-45. Jeremiah 29: 11-14. 
 
LIFE STORY OF REV. J. A. OERTEL. D.D. 23 
 
 the grand theme of all the sacred writings, His 
 Divine Person the fulcrum of man's history. The 
 Spirit of the Old Testament Dispensations is thus 
 exhibited in these three points, into which the pic- 
 ture naturally divides, namely : 
 
 Sin, which drew down upon offending man the 
 justice of a holy God ; 
 
 The Promise, or prophecy, of a Saviour, which 
 the mercy of God extended to man ; and 
 
 Typical Sacrifice, also a prophecy and pledge of 
 the coming Redeemer. 
 
 Like the Old Dispensation itself, the sentiment 
 of the composition breaks off unfinished. Every 
 thing indicates the incompleteness of the present. 
 As yet faith looks forward with yearning desire for 
 the Consolation of Israel; the blood of sheep and 
 goats could not take away sin; redemption could 
 only be accomplished by the Son, whom the Father 
 would send, and in Him the Promise, the Law, and 
 the Sacrifice, would be fulfilled. 
 
 NOTES. 
 
 Note A. — Solomon, or "Shelomah'" (Hebrew), is identical in mean- 
 ing with '^Friedrich" (Frederick), i, e., great, or rich, in peace, or a 
 king of peace. 
 
 Note B. — Dagon, the national God of the Philistines. He was rep- 
 resented with the face and hands and body of a man or woman, and the 
 tail of a fish. 1 Samuel 5 : 5. The fish-like form was a natural emblem 
 of fruitfulness. Judges 16: 21-30. 1 Samuel 5:6. 1 Chronicles 10: 10. 
 The Philistines dwelled on the seashore. The wars between them and the 
 Israelites were frequent, and these suffered terribly at their hands. The 
 prediction of Moses ( Deut. 28 : 25 ) , "The Lord shall cause them to be 
 smitten before thine enemies," found its literal fulfilment in these wars. 
 
 Note C. — Moloch, or Molech, the fireking, the tutelary deity of the 
 children of Ammon. Among the rites with which this God was wor- 
 shipped were human sacrifices, purifications, and ordeals by fire, devoting 
 of the firstborn, mutilation, and vows of perpetual celibacy and virginity. 
 Psalms 106: 37-38. Jeremiah 7: 31. 2 Chronicles 28: 3. According to 
 Jewish authority, "This image of Molech was made of brass, hollow 
 
24 A VISION REALIZED 
 
 within, and was situated without Jerusalem. His face was that of a 
 calf, and his hands stretched forth like a man's who opens his hands to 
 receive something. And they kindled it with fire, and the priests took 
 the babe and put it into the hands of Molech, and the babe gave up the 
 ghost. And why was it called Tophet or Hinnom? Because they used 
 to make a noise with drums, (tophim,) that the father might not hear 
 the cry of his child and have pity on him, and return to him. Hinnom, 
 because the babe wailed and the noise of his wailing went up." 
 
 Note D. — Baal, the supreme male divinity of the Phoenicians and 
 Canaanitish nations, as Ashtaroth was their supreme female divinity. 
 Numb. 25: 3 sqq; Deut. 4: 3; Judges 2: 10-13; 1 Samuel 7: 4; 1 Kings 
 16: 31-33; 18: 19-22; 2 Kings 16: 3. Baal means master, owner, pos- 
 sessor. Under his image, and that of Ashtaroth, the sun and moon 
 were worshipped. Baal had numerous priests, 1 Kings 18: 19; and it is 
 a priest that in the composition embraces this idol under the shield the 
 young warror stretches protectingly over him against the smiting angel. 
 
 REMARKS 
 
 The limits and character of a composition like 
 this dictate the necessity of omitting all that is not 
 strictly essential for a lucid, logical representation 
 of the fundamental idea. Hence it can lay no claim 
 to historic minuteness, and embracing even every 
 person and feature which has a direct bearing upon 
 the main thought it endeavors to illustrate. It is 
 by nature suggestive ; and on the other hand must 
 confine itself to that which is capable of pictorial 
 rendering. In regard to the sacrifices, for instance, 
 there would be, theologically, more heads and divi- 
 sions than the three of first fruits, sin offering, and 
 thank offering, beside the annual atonement and the 
 daily sacrifice. There would be the Paschal Lamb, 
 burnt offering, trespass offering, etc., but they 
 could not be pictorially distinguished. So there 
 were signal punishments of sin, like that of Korah 
 and his people, and acknowledged typical persons, 
 like that of Jonah, which found no space in the 
 composition. 
 
 The spirit and design of Old Testament litera- 
 
THE REDEEMER 
 
LIFE STORY OF REV. J. A. OERTEL. D.D. 25 
 
 ture, having the character of unity and singleness 
 of purpose and aim, has been held in view by the 
 author of this picture. It teaches the universal sin- 
 fulness of man, the penalty of sin, and its remedy. 
 It was the development, by successive revelations, 
 of a plan for man's redemption, which has its 
 center in Christ, the Messiah of the Old Dispensa- 
 tion. As an epitome of this plan, so far as the Old 
 Testament history is concerned, the composition 
 stands; a suggestive outline of the grand general 
 proportions, easily filled up by the diligent Bible 
 student when once securely comprehended. 
 
 May it please God to use it as an incentive to 
 closer study of the pages of His holy Word, and as 
 a means of instruction in the truths which concern 
 every soul, leading the guilty to that Great Sacri- 
 fice, the ''Lamb of God which taketh away the sins 
 of the world." 
 
 2. ''The Redeemer" 
 
 By J. A. 0. 
 
 With so simple a composition and all the parts 
 and action so obvious an explanation is hardly 
 necessary, both the figures and their interrelation 
 being of common experience. 
 
 There are three factors : (1) The Saviour, divine 
 "High priest of our profession"; (2) Man, repre- 
 sentative of our race; (3) The united trio, Satan, 
 Sin, and Death, man's enemies. 
 
 A belt of clouds, typifying earth, divides be- 
 tween light and darkness, heaven and hell. 
 
 During probation, connection of man with sin 
 still exists, the possibility of yielding to temptation 
 
26 A VISION REALIZED 
 
 and falling with his enemies ; the power of Christ 
 and man 's affections turned to Him, keep up man, 
 clothed now^ in purity, the rags of self -righteousness 
 dropping off. 
 
 Satan is a malicious but conquered enemy, 
 allowed only wiles and deceit as means of ruin, the 
 foot of the Crucified on his head and arm checking 
 his assault. 
 
 Death is here the spiritual reward of sin rather 
 than the separation of soul and body. 
 
 The outlines of all the figures, their relation to 
 one another, the colors employed; the several em- 
 blems, the symbol of our redemption behind Christ ; 
 the serpent tying the infernal trio into one; the 
 chain on Satan's feet; ^^Death's sting"— are used 
 as sign language for the expression of essential 
 truths in the story of man's redemption by Christ 
 and man's position toward his Saviour and his 
 enemies from day to day. 
 
 3. ^*The Dispensation of the Holy Spikit" 
 the new testament church idea. 
 
 This composition is the keynote to the entire 
 series of four, including the still prophetic part of 
 the grand plan, ^^The Consunmiation of Redemp- 
 tion". That work sets forth the three main divi- 
 sions governing the Church idea. 
 
 First. Its origin. 
 
 Second. Its constitution and missionary char- 
 acter. 
 
 Third. Its works as fruits of the faith. 
 
 The divine origin of the New Testament Church 
 
LIFE STORY OF REV. J. A. OERTEL, D.D. 27 
 
 is shown in the upper part of the picture. Jesus 
 Christ is the Founder, His apostles the first instru- 
 ments for its propagation. 
 
 The divinity of the Christ is emphasized by His 
 position on the throne of glory and power ; by the 
 adoration of the angel host, Seraphim and Cheru- 
 bim; and by His present office as ruler of the 
 universe and High Priest of His people. 
 
 The apostles and evangelists go out from Him 
 —to Jews on the right and to Gentiles on the left— 
 inspired men and commissioned by His authority. 
 They are the founders of the Church. 
 
 This Church in its essential features is below 
 them. In it the Holy Spirit is the presiding and 
 ruling Deity. 
 
 The division of clouds under the apostles is here 
 taken away, for though absent Christ is yet ever 
 present wdth His Church. ^^Lo, I am with you 
 alway, even to the end of the world." 
 
 Now from the first the Church has always con- 
 sisted of three essential parts : 
 
 First. The Faith, contained in the inspired 
 Word of God, the Holy Bible, Old and New Testa- 
 ments, upon the altar. 
 
 Second. The lawful ministry in threefold 
 order, bishops, priests, and deacons. 
 
 Third. The sacraments as means of grace ; bap- 
 tism and its complement confirmation; and the 
 Holy Eucharist. 
 
 This church had commission to go ^4nto all the 
 world, and preach the Gospel to every creature"; 
 hence representatives of all the principal races of 
 
28 A VISION REALIZED 
 
 mankind are introduced as hearing the message of 
 ^^ Christ Crucified." 
 
 But that faith is evidenced in works, the legiti- 
 mate fruits of its divine regenerating power, and so 
 the foreground is occupied by works of mercy and 
 ministrations to the poor, the orphan, sick, and the 
 fallen. Good works are the outgrowth of a living 
 faith, organized by the Church and partaken in by 
 all her members, official and lay. 
 
 But at all times from the first there have been in 
 the Church the enemies of Christ, as is evident from 
 the Acts of the Apostles and the epistles, and so 
 they could not be left out in the picture of a Dispen- 
 sation ^^ still militant." They turn their back on 
 the Christ and scorn His Cross. False, destructive 
 philosophy and learning, pride of intellect, blas- 
 phemy, wanton pleasure, the mad rush for gold and 
 honor, hatred and violence, all especially active in 
 our days. 
 
 In a composition dealing with so comprehensive 
 a subject, as nothing must be introduced not strictly 
 relevant to the main idea to its confusing and over- 
 loading, so nothing should be omitted that can— 
 within certain limits dictated by a rigid adherence 
 to sound logic— illustrate this idea. 
 
 In conformity to this rule, in all the upper and 
 central parts, colors are used for their symbolic 
 meaning, red for love and ardor, yellow for divin- 
 ity, blue for truth; and they are so distributed 
 as to convey to each part of it its specific 
 signification. 
 
 The angelic ministration is also extended from 
 the clouds into the Church below ; the adoration of 
 
LIFE STORY OF REV. J. A. OERTEL, D.D. 29 
 
 the Divine Spirit; the ''Prince of thy people" 
 (Dan) St. Michael, that does battle for the Church 
 on the side where ''Soldiers of Christ'' are enrolled 
 in Holy Baptism and their new name inscribed in 
 the Book of Life. 
 
 On the other side the archangel Gabriel, with 
 his symbol, the Incarnation Lily, where the "God 
 Man ' ' in the Eucharist is given to the faithful in the 
 consecrated Bread and Wine ; hands in blessing ex- 
 tended by angels over the believers, and the palm 
 of victory. 
 
 It should be kept in mind that art is a language 
 capable of expressing thoughts and sentiments by 
 form, color, and action. By these the artist has a 
 wide field whither he" invites to follow him stu- 
 diously, taking for granted there was a sufficient 
 reason, in his mind at least, for choosing what 
 is seen on the canvass in the order, number, 
 and connection best suited to depict the subject 
 undertaken. 
 
 4. "The Consummation of Redemption or 
 THE Triumph of Christianity." 
 
 LAST OF THE SERIES— EXPLANATION BY J. A. 0. 
 
 "Known unto God are all His works from the 
 beginning of the world," is the declaration of St. 
 James (Acts 15: 18). Therefore the Plan of God 
 for the Eedemption of man is and must be 
 conceived of by us as an absolute unit. God's 
 revelation to man was made in three successive 
 dispensations, each of them during two divine 
 working days of a thousand years each ag fore- 
 
30 A VISION REALIZED 
 
 shadowed in the six days of the world's creation 
 (Gen. 1: 31), and on the seventh day God endeth 
 His work which he hath made (Gen. 2:2). 
 
 In this series of paintings we have now come to 
 the beginning of this ^^ seventh day." During the 
 three dispensations of Father, Son, and Holy 
 Spirit there has been carried on, by successive 
 revelations, the work of God for the redemption of 
 the human race. When, in God's foreknowledge, 
 the time is fulfilled of the completion of this work, 
 this third period, the Dispensation of the Holy 
 Spirit, will be closed by the coming again of Christ 
 to judgment, when the great sabbath, the seventh 
 day of rest and the reign of Christ on earth, is to 
 begin. 
 
 In this series of paintings the conflict of Good 
 wdth Evil and the final triumph of Good is repre- 
 sented. 
 
 In the first and third, during Old and New 
 Testament times, that conflict respecting mankind ; 
 in the second the same conflict in each individual of 
 mankind. 
 
 The fourth picture then is the victory of Good, 
 of Christ and His Church, over Evil. Good and 
 Evil are here represented and the God is trium- 
 phant over the Evil. During all these six thou- 
 sand years since Adam and the Fall, the six 
 working days of God for man's redemption, 
 Good and Evil in conflict were to human eyes 
 as it were mixed though radical opposites. Now at 
 the last they are positively separate, in two separate 
 hosts. 
 
 The visible triumph of Good has come, Christ, 
 
LIFE STORY OF REV. J. A. OERTEL, D.D. 31 
 
 and through and with Him His Saints are vic- 
 torious. 
 
 The basis for this painting is the nineteenth 
 chapter of Eevelation, from the eleventh verse. 
 
CHAPTER III. 
 
 A large cartoon was made of ^^The Redeemer," 
 mounted on rollers, and sent to the Academy of 
 Design in New York, but was rejected because it 
 had no frame. It was never exhibited but hung on 
 the walls of his various studios for years, until worn 
 by age and damaged by frequent removals it was 
 finally destroyed. 
 
 Part of the time during the year 1852 Mr. 
 Oertel was forced to leave his studio in Madison 
 and go to Newark in order to make money on which 
 to live. 
 
 Here he did all kinds of work and resorted to 
 various devices to secure the necessary dollars, liv- 
 ing meanwhile in bachelor quarters and doing his 
 own cooking. 
 
 From here, under date of May 5, he writes his 
 wife that the reason he does not go of tener to Madi- 
 son is ^^on account of my boots, for to walk (15 
 miles) I consider them, and to ride I consider the 
 money." During his stay here he painted mostly 
 animals and worked on portraits from daguerreo- 
 types for another artist. 
 
 To this kind of drudgery he was often reduced 
 by pressure of circumstances. He could work un- 
 ceasingly, but he could not bear to ask for pay. 
 Before leaving Newark he wrote, ^'I shall have to 
 
LIFE STORY OF REV. J. A. OERTEL, D.D. 33 
 
 make a few more calls for the purpose of collecting 
 all the money I have due and wish to get, and then 
 march off from Newark. Almost any kind of work 
 I could do without much murmur, only I can not 
 beg cheerfully." 
 
 He had been brought up and was to this time a 
 Lutheran, but in 1852 he became a member of the 
 Episcopal Church and was confirmed by Bishop 
 Doane in October of that year. 
 
 In the spring of 1852 Mr. Oertel removed to 
 Brooklyn, and the next year was spent entirely in 
 making designs for steel engravings for use on 
 bank notes, drawing illustrations on wood, or 
 painting portraits, the only notable work of 
 that time being the design for the Crystal 
 Palace Medal, which was selected for the prize 
 by the judges at the competitive trial. It rep- 
 resented Industry led by Progress to receive a 
 crown at the hands of the city. Only three figures 
 —yet the whole story told— and again the quali- 
 ties of terseness and comprehensiveness combined. 
 He also made the model in wax for the diesinkers to 
 work from. 
 
 A design was made at this time bearing the title 
 ^^ Things as they were and things as they are." 
 This was published as a lithograph by Goupel, of 
 New York, and bears the signature ^^John A. 
 Oertel Del. &Lith." 
 
 On the left of the picture are the ^ things as they 
 were," on the right ^^as they are," and these are 
 divided by a pillar through the center the base of 
 which rests on a snail shell (left) and the head of 
 an eagle (right), and it is surmounted by the figure 
 
34 A VISION REALIZED 
 
 of Gutenberg, a book under his right arm and in his 
 right hand the compasses. 
 
 To the left of the base is seen the courier gal- 
 loping with his dispatch, and this is balanced on the 
 right by the railway with train going over a high 
 bridge toward a tunnel; above the courier sits a 
 sandal-shod monk with an hourglass before him on 
 the table, writing on parchment with quill pen; 
 behind the monk, and forming the border of the pic- 
 ture, are various ancient weapons, bow, spear, pike, 
 etc., and through the vaulted and vine-clad window 
 is seen the old feudal castle. 
 
 On the other hand a man clad in modern gar- 
 ments sits with his hand on a telegraphic instru- 
 ment; above his head is the gas jet and from it 
 hangs a watch ; behind him a newsboy is crying his 
 ^^ extras" and in the distance appears a huge fac- 
 tory with towering chimney, a steamship, and 
 telegraph poles with wires. It is finely balanced 
 and beautifully drawn. 
 
 *' Pulling down the statue of King George at 
 Bowling Green, N. Y." was also made and pub- 
 lished in a large steel engraving. 
 
 In August, 1853, he began engraving for the 
 ''National Magazine" and ''Presbyterian Board of 
 Publication," and early the next year exhibited 
 at the National Academy of Design the following 
 designs in pencil : 
 
 "The Death of Saul." 
 
 ' ' Angel of Prayer. ' ' 
 
 "Behold, I Stand at the Door and Knock." 
 
 In 1854 he again returned to his studio in Madi- 
 son, N. J., where he remained about a year. Some 
 
STEEL ENGRAVINGS MADE FOR BANK NOTES 
 
LIFE STORY OF REV. J. A. OERTEL. D.D. 35 
 
 of the time was lost engraving on steel for the 
 American Bank Note Company, but he did more 
 painting than in the preceding years. ''The Cap- 
 tive SouP' dates from this time. This was painted 
 to commission of Dr. S. J. Guy, of Brooklyn, N. Y. 
 It was a life-size female figure, one hand chained to 
 a rock on which she knelt, the other raised high 
 above her head, while the upturned face was full of 
 indefinable longing as she gazed up into the blue 
 sky. All was light above, all dark beneath. The 
 lower part of the figure stood in dark brown ragged 
 drapery which was apparently slipping down from 
 the form ; a white robe showed above it ; leaving the 
 upper part of the figure nude as if it were stretch- 
 ing out and away from the rags of earth. Around 
 the base of the rock a serpent is gliding and a skull, 
 barely visible, lies there in the shadow. Sin and 
 Death. Whatever may be thought of this as a 
 painting, as a composition and the presentation of 
 an idea, it is extremely full of suggestive thought 
 and must appeal to every soul alive to the struggles 
 toward a higher and more perfect existence. 
 
 He began this painting during the absence of his 
 wife and thus writes her : 
 
 ''During my solitary days I work like a hero 
 going out to conquer— and conquering— a moun- 
 tain-like resolution, and big brushes do their work. 
 Day before yesterday I painted, in a few hours, the 
 color sketch. Yesterday I began the picture, cover- 
 ing the backgroimd ; to-day all the flesh parts and a 
 portion of the drapery marched on the canvas, and 
 to-morrow, if God permits, the whole will be 
 covered." 
 
36 A VISION REALIZED 
 
 Always, when his heart was in his work, he 
 painted rapidly. 
 
 Being very much annoyed by the country lads 
 who would very often intrude to see what was going 
 on in that ^^ paint shop," he found his revenge in 
 painting a satire which he called ^'The Country 
 Connoisseurs." It was the interior of his studio; 
 the back of a large canvas, supposed to be that of 
 ^^The Captive Soul," was seen, and before it stood 
 a group of country worthies of various types, but 
 all studied from life. A mongrel cur snarled at the 
 Diana mask which stood against the wall. 
 
 This picture made some sensation when it went 
 to New York, as the critics thought it a sly hit at 
 them; but the artist was innocent of any such in- 
 tention. 
 
 He also painted two other humorous pictures, 
 ^^ Coming home from Meeting" and '^Bob Singing 
 a New Song." 
 
 Again in 1855 he returned to New York and the 
 next two years were spent mainly in ^^ miserable 
 bread winning," steel engraving, portrait painting, 
 and even coloring photographs. 
 
 During this time he not only worked at odds and 
 ends in art, but made other ventures and attempts 
 to make the money he so badly needed for daily 
 necessities and so much desired to enable him to 
 carry out his cherished plans. 
 
 He invented an electrical machine which he and 
 his father made. This proved a failure. He also 
 became interested in a process for making steel out 
 of cast iron by electricity. It was the invention of 
 a Pole named Mayrhof er. He demonstrated it re- 
 
LIFE STORY OF REV. J. A. OERTEL. D.D. 37 
 
 peatedly before Mr. Oertel, his father, and others, 
 and had several offers for the patent. 
 
 Mr. Oertel says: ''If he will give me $10,000 I 
 will guarantee to sell for more than three times the 
 amount offered. Father went down to Mayrhofer 
 to-day (April 3, 1856) and he accepted my offer of 
 his own accord and promised me $50,000 if I made 
 good my words." Mayrhofer offered him all he 
 could get over $100,000 and of that he said, ''For 
 the sake of my old debts and the sake of my art I 
 am covetous— but I could not do that.'' 
 
 Prominent men were interested and agreed to 
 pay one million dollars if the process could be 
 demonstrated to their satisfaction to be as claimed. 
 Mr. Oertel was very much elated : Here at last was 
 the money to enable him to have free hand in art 
 and carry out all his plans. 
 
 In the meantime some friend of Mayrhofer, a 
 Pole, persuaded him to the belief that he was not 
 going to get enough for his process, and that he 
 could get him more and the extra money could be 
 given Kossuth for the cause of Poland. 
 
 He had such a hold and influence over Mayr- 
 hofer that when the test was made he purposely 
 failed in his demonstration. His friend could not 
 help him as he had promised, nor could Mr. Oertel 
 after this, so it came to nothing. Mayrhofer died 
 soon after and with him the secret. Mr. Oertel 
 tried many times to produce the result by what he 
 knew of the process but never succeeded. 
 
 As many hopes had been cherished and plans 
 made on the success of this— which seemed to him 
 so certain— the disappointment was great. He 
 
38 A VISION REALIZED 
 
 wrote his wife : ^ ^ I speculate and toil. Art is almost 
 gone from my thoughts ; it is a thing that was— and 
 will be— but is not; it exists now in the chrysalis 
 state; life is just perceptible by a few twitching 
 jerks. In the meantime I endeavor to finish my 
 machine. It is a new peg to hang hopes upon ; we 
 have had others before this and will have more 
 after, but God alone decideth our ways. 
 
 ''Is there no finger of God in the fact that all 
 my works remain my property while things discon- 
 nected with art are thrown into my hands ^ Or do 
 I seek them?'' 
 
 In the early days of 1857 Capt. Montgomery 
 C. Meigs came from Washington, seeking among 
 the artists of New York for one to work upon the 
 decorations of the Capitol. Oertel was engaged. 
 This seemed to him a great opening, to work thus 
 on a national building, and as it offered a regular 
 salary he saw the chance of being able to save some- 
 thing for the furtherance of his darling plans of 
 painting the gi^eat series. 
 
CHAPTER IV. 
 
 On February 19 he left for Washington to take 
 up the work, full of enthusiasm and true patriotic 
 feeling for his adopted country. He wrote his wife 
 (Feb. 20) ''I have been up to the Capitol. I shall 
 inscribe my name on its walls either as a man who 
 will live— or as a nonentity that does not deserve 
 to live." 
 
 The first work assigned him was the decoration 
 of the Senate library. This evidently was decided 
 at once, for in a letter to his wife (Feb. 21) he says : 
 ^^I have to make four allegorical designs for the 
 ceiling of the Senate library, each 11 by 6 feet. 
 These are for frescos. Mr. Brumidi has made 
 a sketch for them, together with the ornaments, 
 but I am not to mind his, but follow my own 
 ideas." 
 
 He made his design and at once began prepara- 
 tory work. He intended to place allegorical figures 
 on each of the four fields of the ceiling represent- 
 ing Poesy, History, Law, and Commerce, and to 
 group under them on the respective side walls the 
 greatest American poets, historians, lawyers and 
 merchants. 
 
 He had worked some weeks on these prepara- 
 tions when Captain Meigs came to him and asked 
 as a special favor that he would put off his work in 
 
40 A VISION REALIZED 
 
 the building and draw for him the designs of the 
 State arms for the use of the glass stainers who 
 were to make the ceiling of the Representatives' 
 Hall. He showed him how important it was that 
 they should be put in the hands of an artist of 
 varied knowledge, as they contain figures, animals, 
 plants, and a variety of emblems, and that all the 
 existing authorities were stiff and badly drawn, and 
 would have to be entirely remodeled. Much against 
 his will he consented to undertake this task to oblige 
 Captain Meigs. Nearly a year was spent in the 
 producing of about 50 water color paintings each 
 in a 20-inch circle, having to repeat some of them 
 because he was furnished with incorrect designs for 
 copy. He then turned with a sense of relief to the 
 consideration of the frescos. He went up to the 
 Capitol for material, and in talking with Mr. Kar- 
 sten, the superintendent, he was asked what room 
 he was going to paint. He replied, ''The Senate 
 library." ''But,'' said Mr. Karsten, "Brumidi is 
 painting that." It seemed impossible; he went up 
 there at once and found it about half done. 
 
 He turned to Captain Meigs for explanation. 
 That gentleman professed to be surprised, himself, 
 "regretted it had occurred, etc.," and wished Mr. 
 Oertel would make another selection. This he did, 
 choosing a suite of conmaittee rooms, and so notified 
 Captain Meigs, when he was informed it was not 
 proposed to decorate these rooms expensively, he 
 must choose again. He then went over the plans 
 with Mr. Karsten and found that every part of the 
 building of importance was already in the hands of 
 Mr. Brumidi, he having made designs which had 
 
LIFE STORY OF REV. J. A. OERTEL. D.D. 41 
 
 been accepted by Captain Meigs, been photo- 
 graphed, and passed into commissions. 
 
 He at once sent to the captain the following 
 indignant letter of protest and resignation : 
 
 "Washington, D. C, April 27, 1858. 
 "Captain M. C. Meigs. 
 
 "Dear Sir: I have endeavored three different times since 
 Saturday to see you, and not succeeding I take this method of 
 communicating with you. 
 
 "In consequence of your last letter of April 23, instant, 
 annulling my choice of room No. 65 and wishing me to make 
 another selection, I went at once to the Capitol to do so. The 
 proposition to 'paint one half of the library, leaving the other 
 half to Mr. Brumidi' I rejected once before verbally, as you will 
 recollect. I could not now accept it. 
 
 "On carefully reviewing, with Mr. Karsten, the plans of all 
 the rooms in both the extension wings I learned that there is 
 in either of them scarcely a single room of importance left, which 
 is not at present occupied as anticipated by Mr. Brumidi with 
 a sketch or design for decoration and paintings. 
 
 "When last year I responded to your call I did so as an 
 independent artist subject to no one but your own commissions. 
 
 "My position was then carefully defined. Agreeable to your 
 wishes I submitted to the irksome, laborious work of revising 
 and redrawing all the various State arms without ever entering 
 a complaint, trusting the time would arrive when, according to 
 your promise, I would succeed to a fair, impartial chance as a 
 self-producing artist. The Senate library was to be my field and 
 for this I labored hopefully, making studious preparations. 
 
 "When ready to begin upon the wall I was unceremoniously 
 despoiled of my right and commission by Mr. Brumidi. For this 
 wrong I have obtained no other satisfaction than a letter to Mr. 
 Brumidi could afford me, informing him that I regard his pro- 
 ceeding as an 'unjust interference with my rights.' 
 
 "But I had looked for an adjustment of my claims to your- 
 self, and could not honorably accede to a compromise — nor can 
 
 I ever. 
 
42 A VISION REALIZED 
 
 "Nor could I, after what passed, accept with self-respect any 
 work by concession of Mr. Bnimidi; the same insult, once prac- 
 ticed on me, would be liable to repetition. My feelings of pro- 
 fessional independence will not brook any other than a position 
 of republican level with any other artist. 
 
 "I could honorably descend to inferior work but not to an 
 inferior position. 
 
 "But there is also another and stronger motive actuating my 
 present course, from the fact of Mr. Brumidi having already 
 initiated to himself, for decoration by ornamentation and fres- 
 cos, nearly every available room in both wings at the Capitol 
 extension. This truth was not revealed to me but on compulsory 
 search for those rooms for which nothing had been designed, and 
 except for this circumstance I might have remained ignorant 
 yet for a time. 
 
 "It would ill become me, as an American citizen, with the 
 knowledge of these irregular facts, still to persist in writing my 
 solitary name upon the walls of the nation's first and best 
 building and to remain unimpressed by the entire absence of 
 sympathetic national art atmosphere within its spacious halls, 
 looking in vain around me for congenial society. 
 
 "Merely personal injuries I might have passed over and for- 
 given — to trespass my self upon national ground, I dare not. 
 
 "I therefore beg of you, respectfully, to accept herewith my 
 resignation and to kindly notify me of your acceptance. 
 
 "Eespectfully, "Johannes A. Oertel." 
 
 This letter was thrown into print by a friend of 
 Mr. Oertel, though without his knowledge— a gen- 
 tleman high in position in Washington— and widely 
 copied, as at that time public sentiment was much 
 aroused in regard to alleged abuses in the manage- 
 ment of the Capitol building. 
 
 A copy of one of the newspaper articles follows. 
 This is in Mrs. Oertel's scrap book, and there is 
 nothing to indicate the paper from which it was 
 taken. 
 
LIFE STORY OF REV. J. A. OERTEL. D.D. 43 
 ^^Art at the Capitol.'' 
 
 ^^It is now upwards of two years since I first 
 began, in my idle way, to call attention to the art 
 outrages committed by the Autocrat 4n charge of 
 the Capitol Extension.' A very honest gentleman, 
 he may have been competent to superintend the lay- 
 ing of stones and the mixing of mortar as the 
 worthy and accomplished architect might have 
 directed. But so inflated was he with his 'brief 
 authority' that he assumed the dictation of every- 
 thing, and even of the art decorations, which 
 remain a monument to his bad taste. 
 
 ''It has been whispered that in this department 
 a man named Brumidi (a dauber of speckled men 
 and red horses in true oyster-saloon style) has 
 assumed supreme control, receiving $10 a day for 
 his services. Full proof of this is found in the fol- 
 lowing letter, written by a gentleman with whom I 
 am only acquainted by reputation ; but that reputa- 
 tion is high and honorable." 
 
 Here follows Mr. Oertel's letter to Captain 
 Meigs. 
 
 "An Appeal to Congressmen." 
 
 "Will not each member of Congress give the 
 above letter a careful perusal? It needs no com- 
 ment. Venal editors who wish to have relatives 
 kept in Meig's employ may call it the work of a 
 disappointed artist, but it shows that it is not; and 
 if it is, why, that does not alter the case. I don't 
 care a snap for Mr. Oertel ; but I do protest, as 
 every citizen has a right to protest, against having 
 
44 A VISION REALIZED 
 
 the entire Capitol disfigured, at immense cost, by 
 ignorant and incompetent men whose bad taste 
 flashes out too outrageously to be mistaken. 
 
 ^^The Eemedy." 
 
 ^^ Don't vote a dollar of appropriation, Messrs. 
 Congressmen, until the entire decoration is taken 
 away from Meigs, Brumidi & Co., and placed in the 
 hands of competent persons ! I have no suggestions 
 to make as to whom these persons shall be. Let the 
 President appoint them; let Congress designate 
 them in the bill ; but let the National Capitol not 
 resemble a Neapolitan icecream saloon, a French 
 coffee house, or an English gin palace." 
 
 Similar articles appeared in various papers, 
 quite an excitement was raised over the subject, 
 a convention of American artists was called at 
 Washington, and an attempt was made to remedy 
 the conditions so plainly at variance with the spirit 
 of American art and art lovers throughout the 
 United States. 
 
 This convention met in Washington, March 20, 
 1858, and having resolved itself into a ^^ National 
 Art Association" elected the following officers: 
 
 Rembrandt Peale, Esq., of Philadelphia, President. 
 
 J. R. Lambdin, First Vice President. 
 
 H. K. Browne, of New York, Second Vice President. 
 
 John Cranch, of Washington, Third Vice President. 
 
 H. D. Washington, Secretary. 
 
 J. M. Stanley, Treasurer. 
 
 Executive Committee. — Dr. Horatio Stone, J. A. 
 Oertel, H. F. Darbey. 
 
LIFE STORY OF REV. J. A. OERTEL. D.D. 45 
 
 The object was stated as ^^for the purpose of 
 consolidating the members into an efficient body 
 and organizing means to promote the interests of 
 art before the American Congress, and to secure to 
 native artists the illustration of our national his- 
 tory in the public buildings of the Government." 
 
 A committee was appointed to draft a memorial 
 to Congress embodying the subjects and purposes 
 of the artists of the country. The committee pre- 
 sented a draft of a memorial and the association 
 adopted it. 
 
 It was signed by the members of the Associa- 
 tion of the National Academy of Design, New 
 York; Artists' Friend Society of Philadelphia, 
 Philadelphia Academy, and leading artists of 
 Boston. 
 
 This ^^ memorial" w^as presented to Congress 
 May 19 by Mr. Marshall, of Kentucky. It was later 
 acted on and three of the best artists in the country 
 were appointed to serve as art commissioners— 
 Henry K. Browne, sculptor, of New York ; Henry 
 Peters Gray, painter, also of New York; and 
 Horatio Stone, sculptor, of Washington. These 
 were appointed, but with characteristic foresight 
 no appropriation for salary or expenses was made. 
 
 These gentlemen were very willing to make 
 some sacrifice for the good of the country, but could 
 not give all the time it would require without some 
 compensation; so the movement died a natural 
 death and the Italian decorators continued. 
 
 During his stay in Washington Mr. Oertel made 
 the acquaintance of Charles Lanman, well known 
 as an author of no ordinary literary merit and also 
 
46 A VISION REALIZED 
 
 as an artist, and they became firm friends, the rela- 
 tion continuing through life. 
 
 Though drudging daily at his task of copying 
 the State arms, his mind was busy on his own de- 
 signs and ideas, as shown by letters to his wife in 
 which he exclaims (Aug. 3, 1857) : ^^My mind is 
 made up for work, and work I will. Yea, work I 
 must^ to labor into existence all I have planned. 
 My mind is busy as a bee in my solitude. I should 
 only need the country and freedom from irksome 
 duties to make me half crazy with ideas." 
 
 He complained bitterly of the *^ distracting 
 noises of the city," children with drums, tin trum- 
 pets, etc., and the piano played by a young girl in 
 the next house. 
 
 One day he writes: *^I have comparative quiet 
 if there were not just now a villain of an organ 
 grinder about ; not only is the sweet girl gone but 
 her piano after her. " It is plain to see how irksome 
 was the task on which he was engaged. In one 
 letter he breaks out with: '*Pay day again! The 
 laborer is now going to get his hire, and so in 
 reality it is. I am on a par with the stone cutters 
 and tile layers just so long as the State arms last, 
 and I verily believe they are without end." 
 
 During this time he determined to turn his at- 
 tention to sculpture, though he was unable to carry 
 out his plans. Of this he says : ^^ There are some of 
 my compositions especially suited for sculpture, 
 and they are thoughts it would be a pity to lose ; 
 and besides this I am aware of my predilection for 
 form, irrespective of colors and of my choosing 
 such subjects as in the main appear to as much 
 
LIFE STORY OF REV. J. A. OERTEL, D.D. 47 
 
 advantage in pure white and black, as in colors, 
 and perhaps to the only advantage." 
 
 He moved his family to Washington in the 
 spring of 1857 and rented a house on I Street, No. 
 1357 *^near the park (Franklin Square) where one 
 may hear the tinkle of cowbells at night." But 
 once again he must move. His wife and children 
 returned to Madison about the 1st of May, 1858, 
 and he to the house of his brother ^^ Fritz" at 
 Stapleton, Staten Island, where he fitted up a room 
 for a studio. The failure of the Capitol work was 
 a great disappointment, yet he did not regret his 
 action in the matter. He writes (May 13, 1858) : 
 **Mr. Ensing Miiller was amazed at my appear- 
 ance. That was natural; but my motives are 
 acknowledged everywhere. This sympathy of all 
 is a consolation and an encouragement. God 
 alone knows what the whole occurrence is good 
 for." 
 
 For the next two years, most of the time at 
 Brooklyn, he painted principally cattle, sheep, and 
 horses, in which branch of art he attained consider- 
 able reputation. 
 
 In a criticism upon a collection exhibited by 
 Snedicor at the National Academy of Design in 
 1859, the New York Evening Post said : 
 
 ^^Oertel aims at sentiment as well as life. Less 
 attractive in color than some others, his pictures 
 more than make up this deficiency in accuracy of 
 drawing and composition. As faithful transcripts 
 of nature his animals leave little to be desired. 
 They are also moralists, poets, and philosophers. 
 His cattle not only delight in green pastures ; like 
 
48 A VISION REAUZED 
 
 Landseer's, they have a story to tell. The largest 
 piece in the collection is his '^Rich and Poor"; at 
 the right is the poor man's cow looking from a 
 barren and stony roadside with a subdued forlorn 
 longing into the exuberant pasture where the rich 
 man's cows are frolicking or resting in their surfeit 
 and looking at the hungry outsider with almost 
 human haughtiness and disdain in their expression 
 over the division wall between. Near by in the 
 background is the poor man's cottage and a woman 
 bearing a bundle of sticks on her head, while past 
 her, enveloping her in dust, gallop a lady and 
 gentleman on horseback toward their elegant man- 
 sion on the high ground in the distance. 
 
 *^The common story of every day life is here 
 told as eloquently as it could be expressed in a 
 dozen volumes." 
 
 This period offered but little opportunity for 
 the practice of Christian art. Some pictures were 
 painted, but none of great importance. 
 
 All these years the yearning in his soul had to 
 be satisfied with work done in the late night hours 
 by crayon or pencil— ^^ to keep my spirit alive," as 
 he wrote once, ^'for if people prefer to make 
 stables of their parlors, then in the daytime I 
 must perforce paint cattle instead of prophets and 
 angels." 
 
 While on Staten Island he attempted to gain 
 financial and artistic independence by going into 
 dairy farming— that is, he bought cows and had a 
 partner to care for them and run the business. 
 This partner was a ^* practical man" and, as is 
 usual in such cases, ran the farm for his own profit 
 
LIFE STORY OF REV. J. A. OERTEL, D.D. 49 
 
 alone, and the artist was finally compelled to with- 
 draw and leave him the business. 
 
 He worked very hard to establish this. ^^ Cat- 
 tle," he writes, ^'all is cattle— horned and un- 
 horned ; cattle to make cattle, dead ones converted 
 into live ones. I shall be celebrated yet for my 
 cattle, whether for dead or live ones is the ques- 
 tion.'' In December, 1860, he made a drawing 
 called **The Circling Year," a flying group of four 
 boyish figures. The following description of this 
 picture was written by Mrs. Oertel : 
 
 "In rapid^ ever circling round, this joyous brotherhood. 
 O'er the fair face of Earth dispense their varied gifts. 
 First Cometh Spring — so soft and dewey-eyed. 
 With sweet reposeful features, and a smile 
 Benignant and serene. Enwreathed in flowers. 
 His sway is one of love and gladness, even his tears 
 With sunbeams bright are mingled. 
 Then full, ripe, rosy Summer, severs with sickle keen 
 The bending grain, and round his sun-bronzed brow 
 Entwines the golden treasures. 
 
 Drunk with the purple juice of the rich luscious grape, 
 Bedecked with tendrils of the vine, luxurious Autumn 
 Joins the merry band — and danceth on 
 With joyful shout and roystering, gleeful laugh. 
 But louder still, hale, hearty, fur-clad Winter 
 Glides on his way o'er the black glittering ice fields 
 Upon his steel-shod heel. In wild tempestuous mirth 
 He passeth by, and gentle Spring again 
 Flower crowned, resumes his mild and peaceful reign." 
 
CHAPTER V. 
 
 In April, 1861, seeking relief from the many 
 annoyances of city life, and to find a home where 
 expenses were not so great, he removed to Westerly, 
 E. I. Here he built a studio and settled down to 
 earnest and serious work, hoping soon to be able to 
 take up his religious designs. In this studio some 
 of his most important paintings were produced. 
 
 His first picture there was ^^ Father Time and 
 his Family." This was a flying group. In the 
 center Father Time, the conventional old man with 
 wings, scythe, and hourglass, with a lovely female 
 figure representing the Year, were surrounded by 
 the months as children, each bearing typical ob- 
 jects, fruits, etc. The Year held a cornucopia from 
 which she poured out a variety of things upon the 
 earth. An explanation of this painting from his 
 own pen follows : 
 
 *' Father Time and His Family." 
 
 *' Symbolical and typical expression is the most 
 primitive and the most suggestive. It is the 
 expression of poetry and of poetic art. By simple 
 emblems a great number of thoughts are often com- 
 prehended and various and manifold relations 
 suggested. In the desire to describe forcibly and 
 
LIFE STORY OF REV. J. A. OERTEL. D.D. 51 
 
 compactly the mind, as by instinct, seizes upon 
 resemblances or illustrates by analogy. In this 
 manner many of the deepest truths and broadest 
 facts are associated in the popular mind with 
 simple signs and phrases. Time and the Seasons 
 are thus suggested. 
 
 ''Prom early antiquity the old, winged man with 
 hourglass and scythe has told of rapid flight, of 
 power and death— and every child understands the 
 symbol. The Seasons have often been sung and 
 often painted in various manner. Their constantly 
 recurring changes make everybody familiar with 
 their characteristics, and hence with their symbols 
 when represented by art. They are connected with 
 our lives, our joys, and our griefs. Childhood's 
 outdoor sports have endeared their varied phases 
 to our hearts, and the thickening experience of 
 advancing age deepens that love. We are the 
 recipients of the blessings they abundantly supply, 
 of the rich beauties they scatter with a most lavish 
 prodigality; of the joys and sorrows they bear 
 along; and of the buoyant hope their very fleetness 
 and certainty of return inspires. They mark our 
 existence and its duration upon earth; and when 
 we are reaped by that solemn mower, 'Time,' we 
 still hope that some significant flower may peace- 
 fully bloom over our heads, and our silent graves 
 be gently enfolded in the wintry vesture as an 
 emblem of rest after labor. 
 
 "In order to represent on the same surface the 
 changing aspects and gifts of Time, as experienced 
 and enjoyed by man, it becomes necessary to make 
 use of poetic license. For this the subdivisions of 
 
52 A VISION REALIZED 
 
 time by years and months furnish a universally 
 understood basis, regarding, for the picture, the 
 Year as the spouse of old Father Time, and the 
 twelve months as their offspring, thus constituting, 
 as it were, a family, and developing the diversified 
 features of time from one central idea. The repre- 
 sentation of 'Time' and, to a degree, that of the 
 * Seasons or Months,' is traditional. The Year, in 
 the form in which she appears in the picture, is an 
 invention, as is also the combination of all the 
 figures into a family. 
 
 '' Rapidity of flight that can not be stayed, 
 resistless vigor and power too strong for created 
 beings are the marks of 'Time.' With a most 
 earnest, relentless purpose he watches our fast- 
 running sands, ready to cut when the last one falls. 
 His encircling arm hurries on the fair, fruitful 
 Year, draped in white and girt with the red of joy 
 and life; and as death envelops and follows life, 
 so she is shrouded in a black mantle of mourning 
 and sorrow, the scythe of Time coming in where 
 the white and black join, ready to sever the golden 
 cord. Emblems of human experience, from out of 
 the golden urn of fate, are dropped by the Year 
 as she passes over the Earth— the jeweled sword 
 of war and power ; the palm of victory ; the olive 
 of peace ; pearls and coins of wealth ; the cross of 
 faith ; the red rose, life, followed by the white rose, 
 death; the sharp thorn of affliction; and, last, the 
 ivy of hope. These she empties amidst her chil- 
 dren, the months, who carry the attributes of their 
 respective characters, mostly relating to the fruits 
 borne by each in reward to man's toil; and in this 
 
LIFE STORY OF REV. J. A. OERTEL. D.D. 53 
 
 manner, also, in turn, humanizing the interest of 
 the picture. 
 
 ^*The blusterer March initiates this idea by 
 holding the spade and shepherd's horn ; him follows 
 the husbandman, April, sowing his seed. Joyous 
 and gentle May, the month of poets, is bending over 
 these two, tossing from his lap the spontaneous 
 growth of delicate spring flowers. Then there is 
 June, the leafy, hay, and rose month; the heated 
 July, shadowed under his sheaf ; the ripe, auburn- 
 haired August, mellow like his fruit; the baccha- 
 nalian September, the connecting link between sum- 
 mer and autumn. These, in which life renews and 
 activity prevails in nature, are ranged in front as 
 belonging to life typified in the Year; and where 
 floats the dark mantle of death, those months are 
 situated in which decay begins and gradually 
 resumes sway. October, in the sere drapery, bears 
 with the heavy load of fall fruits also the yellow 
 and the bright autumnal leaf. From his abun- 
 dance prudent November provides for winter store, 
 while in December the temporal blessings of the 
 months are crowned by the choicest spiritual bless- 
 ing of God to man. His own Son, of which the 
 Christmas Tree stands as the type, and from it the 
 tricolor floats, acknowledged emblem of liberty, in 
 its highest sense most fitly springing from Chris- 
 tianity. The ice month, January, and the stormy 
 snow month, February, close the group. 
 
 *^The character of allegory is regarded through- 
 out the whole picture ; forms, colors, and relations 
 being chosen in reference to expressiveness and 
 sentiment. Time, with stern power; the Year, 
 
54 A VISION REALIZED 
 
 with admonishing gentleness dispensing life and 
 death, joy and sorrow; the months, fraught with 
 labor, hopefulness, and blessings, move ever onward 
 by divine command, and in this constant round, all 
 of man's earthly experience, from the cradle to the 
 grave, from the beginning to the end of the world, 
 is compressed, nor will fail to be so, according to 
 the promise : ^ While the earth remaineth, seed time 
 and harvest, and cold and heat, and smnmer and 
 winter, and day and night, shall not cease.'— Gen. 
 8:22.'' 
 
 This picture was exhibited in New York at the 
 gallery of Goupel & Co. and found a place in the 
 collection of the late Marshall O. Roberts. It was 
 the first to give Mr. Oertel a substantial footing 
 there as a painter. 
 
 Early in 1862 he had a fall from a step ladder, 
 breaking three ribs and his right wrist, which for 
 a time stopped all work, but in a few weeks he was 
 again in harness. 
 
 ^^The Final Harvest" followed in 1862. 
 
 This was a flying group of three angels in a 
 6-foot circle, founded on the text *^The harvest 
 is the end of the world, and the reapers are the 
 angels." One angel carries a sheaf of wheat, one 
 lifts high a golden vessel filled with grapes, and 
 the third with a saddened face and empty hands 
 points below, where a lurid fire is burning on the 
 sea shore, showing that his task has been the burn- 
 ing of the chaff. This picture was largely exhibi- 
 ted and enough written about it to make a volume. 
 In Boston the papers at last refused to publish 
 anything more, as a controversy had arisen in 
 
LIFE STORY OF REV. J. A. OERTEL. D.D. 55 
 
 regard to the doctrine involved. One of these 
 articles from a Boston paper follows : 
 
 * ' Final Harvest. ' ' 
 
 **What differentiates Westerly from all other 
 places at this moment, is the fact that the artist, 
 Johannes Oertel, has his studio there. 
 
 " ^If ever thou should'st come by choice or chance 
 To Modena, pray thee forget it not. 
 Enter the house, and look awhile upon a picture there, 
 'Tis of three angels in their glorious youth.' 
 
 ^*The subject of the picture is *The Final Har- 
 vest.' The Eeapers are the angels. The end of all 
 things has come. Time shall be no longer. A 
 black waste spreads over what was once the earth. 
 There is a suggestion of a ruined city, and a smoke, 
 on which are reflected lurid lights from below, 
 indicating the fire that goeth not out. But above 
 the earth which was and is not, soaring to the 
 Heaven which is their home, are the immortal 
 reapers. 
 
 ^^We have all seen angels in other pictures. 
 Over beautiful, hiunan forms, more or less exalted, 
 floating in drapery, is painted, wings of quill and 
 feather are added, and you have your angel com- 
 plete. 
 
 ^^But in Mr. Oertel 's picture the robes of right- 
 eousness are a part of the angelic essence, and the 
 wings are powers mighty and harmonious. 
 
 *^The central flgure bears a sheaf of grain, *He 
 shall gather the wheat into His garners.' 
 
56 A VISION REALIZED 
 
 ^*One knows the meaning of the word seraphic 
 when one has seen this angel's face. 
 
 ^^It wears the rapture of him whom God keeps 
 forever in perfect peace. 
 
 *'The coloring of this figure is white, with blue 
 which becomes deeper in the wings. 
 
 ^'If this angel represents, nay is, Purity and 
 Peace, that at the left is Purity and Love. It is 
 clothed in robes of flame, and the color deepens 
 with intense and burning ardors in the upward- 
 soaring wings. Even the feet are not so still as 
 those of the first, and the arms are extended to 
 their full length. 
 
 **The second angel bears aloft a vessel of 
 grapes. 
 
 ^'You understand that this is a religious 
 picture. The motive is Christian, the execution 
 devout. The whole thought is scriptural. 'He 
 shall send His angels and they shall gather His 
 elect. ' ' They shall be Mine in the day when I make 
 up My jewels.' Wheat and grapes. His own choic- 
 est gifts to man, such will the Lord require from 
 field and vineyard. May there not yet be another 
 meaning in the sheaf and clusters borne hence by 
 the Angelic Harvesters? These two were often 
 used by the Lord as typical of Himself. *I am the 
 true vine,' 'I am the bread of life'; and these were 
 chosen also as the sacramental emblems of His most 
 precious body and blood. But the third angel; 
 what is his work to gather? *And the chaff into 
 unquenchable fire.' 'In the time of harvest, I will 
 say to the reapers, gather ye together first the tares, 
 and bind them in bundles to burn them.' This 
 
LIFE STORY OF REV. J. A. OERTEL. D.D. 57 
 
 reaper has performed his task. One hand is placed 
 on the breast, the other hangs by the side. 
 
 '^I thought there was more strength in the 
 beauty of these hands than the others. 
 
 ^^ There is a wonderful nobleness in this third 
 angel; a profound measureless joy and love in the 
 face, and the burnished emerald wings gleam 
 bright, no shadow dinmiing them from Hhe smoke 
 of their torment, ' in the corner below his hand. 
 
 ^^On all the faces is the sign manual of Heaven. 
 The hands adore, the feet are holy, the wings seem 
 glancing and glowing with awful splendors that 
 kindle anew as we gaze. 
 
 ^^Had the artist told us that not upon canvas, 
 not by the aid of oils and ochres and pigments of 
 mundane origin and use he had made this picture, 
 but that these angels had suddenly floated out of 
 their glowing Heaven and w^ere projected on a 
 background of cloud, we must have believed him. 
 
 ''The 'Final Harvest' is to be exhibited in New 
 York next month, and I wished that it w^as also 
 to be shown here— that it was to stay here. 
 
 "I was about to say that its native state ought 
 to possess such a marvel of beauty, but Ehode 
 Island is not its native state. We may say that it 
 was painted here, but to none of the original 
 thirteen does its nativity belong. 
 
 *'Its birthplace was above the stars. Never, 
 surely, since that Sabbath when it began to dawn 
 toward the first day of the week, has there been on 
 this earth such 'a vision of angels.' 
 
 ''I say nothing, I know nothing, of the technical 
 execution of this painting. Art critics, who know 
 
58 A VISION REALIZED 
 
 the words and how to use them, may do that here- 
 after, if they can. I have only aimed to express my 
 own feeling of the matchless beauty of what I saw, 
 to speak of the divine idea so nobly interpreted. 
 
 *' There was no stammering in that utterance in 
 the studio of Westerly, believe me, poor as is the 
 speech of your correspondent in attempting to 
 convey an impression of it." 
 
 (Signed) S.S.J. 
 
 This picture would have sold readily but for its 
 size and circular shape of frame. One gentleman 
 said he would take it, but found that he had no 
 space in his house large enough to hang it, and so 
 cancelled the contract. During the many moves 
 which followed in the ensuing years the frame was 
 broken up and the picture so damaged that it was 
 eventually destroyed. 
 
 During this period he commenced in crayon the 
 preparatory cartoon for the first of the great series. 
 It was 5 by 4 feet in size and was studied and 
 drawn with the greatest accuracy, but only in out- 
 line. 
 
 When ^*The Final Harvest" went to New York 
 for exhibition, the drawing of ^^The Dispensations 
 of Promise and the Law" was taken down also, to 
 be shown to a few friends of whose understanding 
 and appreciation the artist was assured. A pub- 
 lisher who saw it persuaded him to work it over 
 and finish it up to full effect in light and shade, so 
 that it could be photographed, being very enthu- 
 siastic in his hopes for it in the market. He did so, 
 working almost night and day on it to get it done 
 in a given time, making serious inroads upon his 
 
LIFE STORY OF REV. J. A. OERTEL. D.D. 59 
 
 health, as by the time it was finished he broke down 
 completely. He suffered intense pain which nothing 
 would relieve but the most violent exercise. He 
 would run for miles, returning exhausted, and then 
 he could sleep a short time, only to repeat the 
 exercise when he awakened or suffer great agony. 
 The doctors did not know what was the trouble 
 nor could they relieve him in any way. Mrs. Oertel 
 grew desperate as time went on and he became 
 worse instead of better, and as a last resort she 
 took her little boy ^^ Fritz," then nearly 7 years 
 old, and without telling Mr. Oertel where she was 
 going set out for Newark, N. J., to visit and consult 
 a clairvoyant— Dr. Perkins— of whom she had 
 heard from friends in her old home. 
 
 When Dr. Perkins was ^^put to sleep" by his 
 wife with a lock of Mr. Oertel's hair pressed to his 
 forehead he immediately began to act like him when 
 in his studio ; he walked up and down, backed off as 
 if from a picture, and in response to Mrs. Oertel's 
 question ^^who is it. Doctor^" he replied: ^^ It is a 
 man— your husband— a great man and a great 
 work to do. You think he is going to die ; he is sick 
 enough, but he can't die; he has too much work to 
 do, too many great works to produce. He canH die 
 now ; he must wait until it is all finished." 
 
 Prophetic words, truly. Whatever one may 
 think of this kind of manifestation, certain it is 
 that his words were true, and certain it is that 
 after taking his medicine a few days Mr. Oertel 
 was free from pain and working away with his 
 usual strength. 
 
 The cartoon was sent to New York and photo- 
 
60 A VISION REALIZED 
 
 graphed, but never found the recognition that the 
 publisher predicted for it. 
 
 After having it handsomely framed— under 
 glass— it was placed on exhibition at the National 
 Academy. Here it was given a place in a corner 
 of the corridor, and the critics said that there was 
 ^'not a single important work on the walls that 
 year'M 
 
 No wonder the heart of the sensitive enthusiast 
 sank at this. These works were the children of his 
 soul rather than of his intellect ; they were a por- 
 tion of his life, and therefore when the world 
 treated them slightingly he was wounded deeply, 
 not for himself, but because of the Divine subjects 
 of which they speak. He was hurt, but not in the 
 least shaken in his resolves for the series. He went 
 on just as if he had never met the rebuff, seeking 
 only to find work that might be remunerative 
 enough to prove a steppingstone to gain the height 
 of his desires— to be able to go on and paint the 
 four grand designs. 
 
 This cartoon was damaged and torn in moving 
 it from place to place and he cast it aside as worth- 
 less, but after his death it was discovered rolled up 
 with some old drawing paper and it was placed in 
 the hands of an expert in Washington who mounted 
 it on cloth and almost completely restored it. 
 
CHAPTER VI. 
 
 The war now raged in the South and some of 
 Mr. OertePs friends urged him to go to the scene 
 of the conflict and make studies, as in their opinion 
 when the time of peace came every record of the 
 strife would be of interest. In accordance with 
 this advice he set out September 21, 1862, spent 
 several days in New York buying his outfit, and on 
 September 28, he went to Washington, leaving 
 there for the front October 3, when he joined the 
 Sixth New York Cavalry, then under General 
 Burnside, at Pleasant Valley, Md. 
 
 His letters to his wife show the usual enthu- 
 siasm which he displayed in all undertakings where 
 he felt he was doing his duty. From New York he 
 wrote: '^I expect to get a special letter of intro- 
 duction to General B. I do not want to be classed 
 among the ' Special artists. ' I expect to serve my 
 coimtry as but few can, and men like General B. 
 ought to assist me. 
 
 *'I am leaving for Washington; once more I 
 shall see that city on a strange enterprise. Before 
 I paused there ; now my field lies beyond. The feel- 
 ing of being cast adrift upon an untried sea is mine. 
 
 ^^I have put my new painting box in order and 
 this took me some time, as I find tinkering neces- 
 sary after every mechanic. 
 
62 A VISION REALIZED 
 
 ^^I bought a pair of cavalry boots and a rubber 
 blanket; likewise a soldier cap in wbich I look 
 ^a la militaire' to the amusement of my friends, who 
 never saw me but with exuberance of wild hair 
 and an easy felt hat in a backward inclination 
 planted on top. 
 
 ^^The little defenseless group of a mother and 
 two children on the platform of the depot in West- 
 erly at night is ever before my sight. May God 
 bless and preserve you, and permit us to meet again 
 in the safety and happiness of home and quiet. 
 
 ^^I go from all I value to obey a strange call. 
 May the almighty arm of the good God never depart 
 from shielding and guiding me." 
 
 He soon fell into the ways of soldier life, going 
 on reconnaissance along the front with General 
 Burnside's bodyguard and doing picket duty, and 
 says ^^This is an exciting life full of wild interest 
 —I rather like it." 
 
 ^^I have material for fine subjects and have 
 made studies for 'An Army Train,' he writes from 
 Warrenton, Va., November 11, 1862. 
 
 ''It seems at first a subject of little importance, 
 but to those who know it it is a subject illustrating 
 much of a soldier's life and the life of a large army. 
 Indeed one of those countless, endless trains is cal- 
 culated to show more forcibly the magnitude and 
 ponderousness of a great army than the scattered 
 camps over a stretch of many miles and invisible 
 one from another. Nor is it the wagons only that 
 move in the train ; the army that has marched ahead 
 leaves its many representatives. There is the 
 straggler from the ranks who throws his musket 
 
LIFE STORY OF REV. J. A. OERTEL. D.D. 63 
 
 and knapsack upon some team and saunters along 
 leisurely, and more, there is the poor, weary, sick 
 man, who is willing but can stagger no further, 
 and, like the overworked horse or mule he is almost 
 forgotten and left by the wayside. Forsaken, 
 smouldering campfires all along tell where a rest 
 has been made, lame horses tied to the backs of 
 wagons are dragged along. Stony roads, with ruts 
 and steep, rough hills impose dreaded difficulties 
 on man and beast ; and many more and sometimes 
 thrilling incidents conform with the variety of 
 anmiunition and company wagon, the hay wagon, 
 the ambulance, the caisson, and quartermaster, sur- 
 geons, etc. This is an army train. On the moun- 
 tains of Virginia the eye can sometimes trace it for 
 miles, winding, disappearing, and appearing again, 
 still further and further off, till the white wagon 
 tops seem like sheep in single file on the distant 
 hiUs. 
 
 ^^I shall make a large picture of it, and am now 
 at work on the material. 
 
 ^^ To-day I saw General McClellan depart from 
 his army for home. General Burnside accom- 
 panied him to the depot. I followed an impulse 
 and went into the car to bid him good-bye. It 
 needed but a mention of my name. 
 
 **I begged leave to shake hands with him as I 
 might never have another opportunity. He was 
 sad and seemed to struggle with his feelings, and 
 after the train had got in motion he raised the car 
 window and gave one more long look upon the 
 crowd of officers behind, then shut it down again. 
 
 *' Burnside also was unusually quiet, and for 
 
64 A VISION REALIZED 
 
 once Ms fine teeth were not so prominent when he 
 spoke— I was going to say smiled, but he did not 
 smile, not to-day—^ Some political deviltry has been 
 intriguing again.' 
 
 ^^The army has made a tremendous demonstra- 
 tion at his leave-taking and feel bereaved of a 
 friend and father. The event has saddened me 
 also, though I never before spoke to the man, but I 
 believe in him. May his removal at this juncture, 
 when the whole army is in motion against the foe, 
 work no great mischief to the country!" 
 
 This was the time of which has been said that it 
 would only have needed a word from General Mc- 
 Clellan for him to have returned to Washington at 
 the head of his army as Dictator. 
 
 The month of November was spent in camps 
 at Liberty, Morrisville, and Eichards Ford, on 
 the Rappahannock, where he was ^^busy making 
 sketches in oil, a pile of which is constantly increas- 
 ing," and he adds, ^^If a battle does not result in or 
 around Fredericksburg I am mistaken. 
 
 ^^We are but 2 miles this side of Falmouth 
 (Nov. 28), and the army is enlarging constantly— 
 all now is life, expectation, and constant drill. The 
 army lies close together, as it would before a great 
 battle is fought, and the land literally swarms with 
 an armed host. Nothing meets the eye than the 
 sight of martial life, and martial sounds the ear. 
 The plains and the woods, the hills and the valleys, 
 are vast camps, and parks of wagons and dark 
 columns of men moving hither and thither; and 
 supply trains going and coming; and new armies 
 moving thickly in, to fill what vacant place is left. 
 
LIFE STORY OF REV. J. A. OERTEL. D.D. 65 
 
 It is a grand spectacle. They cover indeed 'the 
 face of the earth. ' 
 
 ^*It can never be rendered in a picture, only a 
 hint conveyed, and this I propose to do in the com- 
 position I have sketched. 
 
 *^I am becoming more and more enlightened 
 about the way of painting 'The Army Train' every 
 day as I move among this new and tragic life all 
 around me and see the men and objects which 
 are to compose part of it, and I believe the 
 picture will not be a failure. I can be literal, 
 when needed, and literal I will be, even to the 
 very rags, and dust, and dirt. The people shall see 
 their soldier as he is and the people will not be un- 
 merciful of the truth. 
 
 ''You know my maxim is to strike few, but hard 
 blows. Little pictures fret a man 's energies ; I have 
 tried that. Few men can paint comprehensively, 
 but many will be the penny productions cooked up 
 from photographs and fancy which will flood the 
 market after this war. I shall not belong to the 
 latter class ; I will endeavor to tell my story by one 
 or two works of importance, and the one in con- 
 templation will have as great variety of feature 
 crowded into it as anything I have yet made." 
 
 So he continued to prepare for the work which 
 he believed it his duty to execute even though it 
 was not to his liking. He made about 80 studies 
 and, the last of December, left camp and returned 
 north to his home in Westerly, intending to go on 
 at once painting ' ' The Army Train " or " The Army 
 in Motion" as he decided to call it. 
 
 This plan he never carried out, partly because 
 
66 A VISION REALIZED 
 
 the public seemed rather to prefer to bury the 
 remembrance of these events in oblivion than to 
 have them perpetuated on canvas, but more because 
 he realized that there was so little in it all to fill his 
 own mind that he feared he would not be able to 
 keep his interest alive long enough to finish it 
 successfully. 
 
 Under date of June 2, 1863, Mrs. Oertel wrote a 
 friend: ^^I do not believe that my husband will 
 ever paint the first stroke on that army picture 
 after all. He is evidently very much disinclined to 
 the work ; besides he feels that his years are fleeing 
 away and if he is ever to work in his Master's 
 cause it is time he was about it." 
 
 He painted, however, six war scenes of consider- 
 able size, most of them treated as animal pictures. 
 Two of them were bought by Sir Morton Peto, the 
 great English financier, and taken by him, with 
 Bierstadt's ^^Eocky Mountains,'' to England. One, 
 *^The Virginia Turnpike," showed a six-mule team 
 and army wagon laboring up a hill in the awful 
 mud which signalized General Burnside's winter 
 before Petersburg as ' ' the mud campaign. ' ' It was 
 bought by a company of gentlemen and presented 
 to Ex-Governor Fenton, of New York. 
 
 He also painted ^^The Gallop of Three" and 
 *^The Raid" for Mr. J. E. Paine, of New York. 
 
 **The Raid" was sent to the Brooklyn Art Asso- 
 ciation's Exhibition (Dec. 22-26, 1865), by Mr. 
 Paine, about which he wrote the artist: ^*The 
 ^hanging committee' gave it the central position on 
 the long or unbroken wall, and what I should con- 
 sider the ^ place of honor,' certainly the most prom- 
 

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 m . ■ ■^■v 
 
 
 THE ROCK OF AGES 
 
LIFE STORY OF REV. J. A. OERTEL. D.D. 67 
 
 inent and the one of all others that I should have 
 chosen for it. 
 
 ^^I have no hesitation in saying that it had a 
 hundred times more attention bestowed on it than 
 any other picture, and gave more pleasure, not only 
 to the pleasure seekers merely, but to the thought- 
 ful and intelligent. 
 
 **The picture was considered one of extraor- 
 dinary power and very great merit.'' 
 
 On the death of Mr. Paine this picture passed 
 into the hands of his son-in-law, Mr. J. A. Edwards, 
 of Chicago, 111. 
 
 ''The Walk to Emmaus," ''Easter Morning," 
 "Mary Magdalene at the Sepulchre," and other 
 religious works were painted, all remaining in 
 Ehode Island and never being exhibited. Then 
 came the work about which so much has been writ- 
 ten and which has been reproduced and is to be 
 found all over the world where art has penetrated 
 at all, in the palaces of the rich and cultivated, in 
 the homes of the poor, ignorant and lowly, some- 
 times changed, it is true, in some of its details, but 
 always bearing the same name, carrying the same 
 message, and teaching the same lesson of Faith (as 
 it was at first called) and trust in the cross of 
 Christ-" The Rock of Ages." 
 
 As has been said, the artist's name has not fol- 
 lowed this work. Had it done so, no name of 
 modern times would be better known. From first 
 to last a strange fatality seemed to hover over it 
 and to prevent the reaping of any benefit by the 
 artist either in a financial way or as to reputation. 
 It has been copied in every possible way, produced 
 
68 A VISION REALIZED 
 
 in every process, given away as premiiim on the 
 purchase of soap or of a cheap magazine. It has 
 been used by churches to illustrate their pamphlets 
 and circulars, stamped on medals, and sold as a 
 *^ picture postal'' for a penny, yet rarely, if ever, in 
 all these various publications has the name of the 
 artist been mentioned. It has been described as 
 **the greatest religious picture," "the most popular 
 American painting," etc., but through all this is 
 never seen the statement *^ painted by Oertel," and 
 though the copies sold by his publisher bore his 
 name, yet few there are of all the millions who 
 know and love it can tell whence it came. 
 
 Can this be said of any work as popular and of 
 such widespread distribution— if indeed such a 
 work exists? 
 
 It has been made the subject of scores of news- 
 paper articles, and its story varied in as many 
 ways. No doubt the writers received their regular 
 pay per line for all this, but never, so far as is 
 known, did it result in the slightest benefit to the 
 artist. 
 
 The whole story of this work had best be told 
 here, though it extends over a number of years. 
 
 The title, as entered in his record book (June 
 10, 1867) is ^' Saved, or an Emblematic Representa- 
 tion of Christian Faith." 
 
 Later he called it ^* Faith"; then the name of 
 *^the Rock of Ages" was adopted as being the more 
 popular title. 
 
 The first sketch of the subject was made in the 
 album of a Westerly lady, in pencil. Next a small 
 painting, and then a painting 12 by 18 inches, which 
 
LIFE STORY OF REV. J. A. OERTEL. D.D. 69 
 
 was presented to Mrs. Rowse Babcock, of Westerly, 
 after which came a larger painting 26 by 49 inches. 
 
 This was sold the second day of exhibition, at 
 Shaus's, in New York, to Mr. Augustus Storrs, of 
 Brooklyn. 
 
 Mr. Oertel did not realize the importance of this 
 design, but when it came before the public the 
 popular heart was touched as it has not been by 
 any other modern picture, and he soon had offers 
 to purchase the copyright and to publish. George 
 T. James, of New York, was selected as the pub- 
 lisher and copies both in photograph and chromo 
 were made and sold rapidly. 
 
 When it was decided to publish the picture Mr. 
 Storrs was requested to loan his copy for the pur- 
 pose of making the necessary photographs, but this 
 he refused to do, so Mr. Oertel painted another for 
 the purpose. 
 
 This was 36 by 61 inches. Some years later it 
 was sold to Mr. William Fogg, of New York. After 
 his death his collection of paintings was sold at 
 auction, and it is understood that this copy at that 
 time was purchased for the Museum of Art, Cin- 
 cinnati, Ohio. 
 
 Two editions of the chromo, made in France, 
 sold in London before one copy was brought to this 
 country. The explanation of this is easily seen 
 when it is known that Mr. James claimed all the 
 receipts from foreign sales and paid royalty only 
 on what was disposed of in the United States. 
 
 For some time they could not be printed fast 
 enough to supply the demand. 
 
 For once it seemed he had achieved a financial 
 
70 A VISION REALIZED 
 
 success. But, alas, the popularity was so great that 
 it aroused the greed of the dealers in such wares. 
 They took the trouble to look closely into the mat- 
 ter of the copyright and discovered a ^^flaw." 
 
 Mr. Oertel had always considered himself a New 
 York artist, although living in Rhode Island, and 
 all his art business was done in New York. So in 
 New York he took out the copyright. The law, of 
 which he was ignorant, said that it must be taken 
 out in the State in which the artist resided, or in 
 the general office in Washington, D. C. 
 
 So the picture pirates commenced publishing 
 for themselves various forms of cheap imitations. 
 Oertel's publisher got out injunctions against them 
 and three expensive law suits ensued in defense of 
 the copyright which the artist had to wage single 
 handed, as Mr. James insisted that under the 
 terms of the contract he had no responsibility in 
 the matter. The artist paid the expenses from his 
 royalty of one-fourth while the publisher looked on 
 complacently, pocketing the while his three-fourths 
 in safety. 
 
 The first two suits, in New York City were 
 decided in favor of the artist. Judge Cardoza 
 holding that, the technical flaw in the copyright 
 notwithstanding, the artist had a right to the income 
 from the work of his own brains and hand— a just 
 decision indeed. In fhe third trial, however, which 
 was held in Chicago, the decision was against him, 
 the copyright was broken, and from that time on 
 the **Rock of Ages" was the property of anyone 
 who chose to use it. 
 
 It would seem that David Thoreau was far from 
 
LIFE STORY OF REV. J. A. OERTEL. D.D. 71 
 
 wrong when he said, ^^I have learned that trade 
 curses everything it handles ; and though you trade 
 in messages from heaven, the whole curse of trade 
 attaches to the business." Even this *^ message 
 from heaven" could not be made an object of trade 
 without being subjected to the curse, and it is no 
 wonder that a man with the principles and aims of 
 Oertel preferred rather to give away his religious 
 pictures than to have them brought under its bane- 
 ful influences and be tainted, as he said, by the 
 spirit of the money changers whom Christ scourged 
 from the Temple. 
 
 In 1895, July 10, another copy was made, 24 by 
 40 inches, ^^for my son Eugene, to be reproduced 
 in the ** photochrome process." This copy is still 
 (1915) the property of his son. Dr. T. E. Oertel, of 
 Augusta, Ga. Several small copies were made at 
 various times as presents to his friends. 
 
 It was painted again in 1898 (August), this time 
 life size, 7 feet 8 inches by 12 feet ^^for purpose of 
 exhibition and possible publication." 
 
 The exhibition referred to was arranged for by 
 H. Jay Smith, whose business was to exhibit for 
 various artists, and who came with good indorse- 
 ment. Several paintings were placed in his hands, 
 of which mention will be made later, and these were 
 exhibited in Boston, Mass., that fall. 
 
 After the exhibition closed all the pictures were 
 returned except the large *^Eock of Ages" and an 
 animal piece which Smith said he wished to buy. 
 The ^^Eock of Ages" he expected to exhibit in 
 Chicago, whence he wrote saying he had arrived 
 and would *^soon send payment for the ponies.^ ^ 
 
72 A VISION REALIZED 
 
 Once more Chicago was fatal, as neither Smith 
 nor the paintings were ever heard from again. 
 Every effort to learn of his whereabouts proved 
 abortive, nor has the slightest trace ever been dis- 
 covered of the big canvas. 
 
 Such is the history of this famous design. Even 
 though the name of the artist be unknown, yet will 
 it continue to live throughout the ages, ever telling 
 its story to the world ; and though obscure in life 
 yet in this will he live while the world endures. 
 
 As he himself wrote, *^I wish to preach even 
 more than instruct; and if this photograph goes 
 out by the thousands, I shall have delivered so 
 many earnest sermons and continue to deliver them 
 even when my stanamering tongue is silent in the 
 grave.'' 
 
 In October, 1867, he began a series of eight 
 designs illustrating the poem of William CuUen 
 Bryant, ^^ Waiting by the Gate," and at that time 
 the first, *'The Gate,'' was made. 
 
 A plan was now evolved by which it was hoped 
 to introduce copies of ^'The Dispensations of 
 Promise and the Law" throughout the country. 
 It was thought that clergymen, especially those of 
 the Episcopal Church, would take an interest in 
 this work if it could be brought to their notice, and 
 the artist's wife undertook the thankless task of 
 attempting to see and interest them. Armed with 
 letters of introduction from her pastor in Westerly 
 and others she visited New York and several east- 
 ern cities, but succeeded in awakening no interest— 
 finding least where most was expected. 
 
 In this effort weeks were spent going from city 
 
LIFE STORY OF REV. J. A. OERTEL. D.D. 73 
 
 to city and tramping from door to door carrying a 
 heavy portfolio of specimens. Rebuff, refusal, and 
 even insult was met— little encouragement— but she 
 kept bravely on until satisfied that nothing could 
 be accomplished in this way, and returned home. 
 
 The success of ^^Faith" ('^Eock of Ages") 
 prompted Mr. Oertel to produce also *'Hope" and 
 ''Charity," but they were never popular and had 
 little sale. 
 
 The first was a female figure standing by the 
 side of a rock on a bluff overlooking the sea and 
 gazing out over the expanse of water— where was 
 seen a ship standing in toward the land. 
 
 The second was the same scene as the ''Faith," 
 only the figure clinging to the cross held on with 
 one hand only while with the other she helped a 
 sister to climb up on the rock. 
 
 In a circular issued by Mr. James they were 
 thus described : 
 
 Christian Hope, 
 "patient in suffering, joyful in hope." 
 
 This is not the ancient allegorical maiden who 
 has been leaning from time immemorial on an 
 anchor, but a transcript of a human soul, the senti- 
 ment and expression of which is truly told in the 
 passage of scripture here quoted. Hope bears upon 
 a rock (typifying Christ), to which clings the ever- 
 green Ivy. 
 
 While the shadows of a parting tempest are 
 fleeting across the lower part of her figure her face 
 looks up into the bright clear blue above, dressed 
 in the white robe of imputed righteousness, bearing 
 
74 A VISION REALIZED 
 
 the red mantle of Joy clasped with a golden 
 anchor. 
 
 Upon her bosom, suspended below this emblem 
 of Hope, is a Jet Cross— the Cross not of Faith 
 only but also of self-denial and suffering. 
 
 The sky and ocean are symbolical of the storms 
 of life, and upon the shore are strewn wrecks of 
 earthly things. 
 
 Christian Charity, 
 
 the companion picture to the ^^rock of ages." 
 
 Taking the same scene of a storm-beaten Cross 
 in the midst of a raging sea ; a female clinging, but 
 with a more assured grasp, shows her grateful 
 appreciation by assisting a sister straggler, almost 
 gone, who has just secured a feeble hold. A most 
 beautiful exposition of that highest of charities— 
 true Christian charity which cares for perishing 
 souls around her. 
 
CHAPTER VII. 
 
 Social life was not in any way neglected. 
 Though spending most of his time in his studio, he 
 made many friends and took an active interest in 
 public matters. His music was kept up and he 
 played his flute weekly with Dr. Gorham, who also 
 played the flute, and Edwin Vose, pianist. He had 
 with him at various times several pupils who came 
 in as members of his family and as friends. Among 
 these should be mentioned Miss Cornelia A. Conant 
 and Miss Mary Gove, of New York, and Edward L. 
 Hyde, of Mystic, Conn., afterward Eev. E. L. Hyde, 
 of Boston, Mass. No more appreciative pupil or 
 true and stanch friend ever blessed the ^^ Master's" 
 life than *^ Edward." Through all the years of life 
 they were close friends and regular correspondents. 
 The ^^ Master" wrote to him as he did to no other, 
 and from him always received sjonpathy and 
 appreciation. When there came to the notice of 
 ^^ Edward" any idea or scheme by which it seemed 
 possible the ^^ Master" might benefit, he never 
 failed to bring it forward and ever remained the 
 same true friend and brother. 
 
 In 1902 the ^^ Master" writes him thus: 
 * * My Dear Friend of Many Years Ago : Indeed 
 how long it has been since we lived and worked 
 together in the Westerly studio ! And how many 
 
76 A VISION REALIZED 
 
 and varied have been the experiences of each of us ! 
 In truth, I sometimes, thinking back and trying to 
 locate facts, have to unravel them like knotted 
 thread to get at the proper sequence. But the 
 essence, the vital parts, and the prominent person- 
 alities always stand out distinct in memory; and 
 surely your name could never be effaced or remem- 
 bered with diminished affection and interest." 
 
 The last letter the '^Master" wrote was penned 
 with trembling hand to this, his dearest friend, 
 whose interest and love had never flagged. All the 
 letters ever written to this friend by either the 
 ^^ Master" or his wife were preserved, and when he 
 was informed that the compiling of a biography of 
 Mr. Oertel was contemplated he gave them all to 
 the latter 's sons to be used in furthering the pur- 
 pose. Many passages from these are quoted, and it 
 is a matter of regret that some can not be given 
 entire. 
 
 During the stay in Westerly Mr. Oertel formed 
 a friendship with the Rev. John C. Middleton, who 
 was then rector of the Episcopal Church in Mystic, 
 Conn. Here also was one with whom he was in 
 close sympathy and he was closely associated with 
 him in later years when rector of St. Paul's parish, 
 Glen Cove, L. I. 
 
 Though not a large man, weighing not over 
 165 lbs., Mr. Oertel was very powerful and very 
 proud of his strength and willing at any time to 
 exhibit it. On one occasion, at a gathering of 
 friends when he was alluded to as *^a small man" 
 he walked to the center of the room, placed his 
 hands on the floor, and invited two of the largest 
 
LIFE STORY OF REV. J. A. OERTEL. D.D. 77 
 
 men present to stand on them. Those who came 
 forward weighed 220 and 236 pounds, respectively. 
 When they had each placed a foot on one of his 
 hands he rose with them, carried them across the 
 room, and gave them a toss upward as he let them 
 fall to the floor. He was a very rapid walker and 
 never seemed to tire ; his stride was like that of a 
 thoroughbred horse, and this he maintained mile 
 after mile with machine-like regularity. He would 
 not ^^keep step'' with a companion, nor moderate 
 his speed; they must step with him and keep up 
 with him or be left behind. Sometimes he walked 
 over to Mystic, 6 miles distant, to see his friend 
 Middleton, allowing himself one hour each way and 
 always coming in on time. 
 
 Of his home life there is little to relate. His 
 studio was his home, and his work hours there from 
 12 to 24, according to the exigencies of the case. 
 He always had a couch or lounge in his room where 
 he rested and slept either day or night when 
 exhausted nature demanded. He came into the 
 house to retire at any hour, from 10 o'clock p. m. 
 to daylight— or not at all, as was often the case 
 when engaged on important work. 
 
 The first call to meals was seldom heeded. When 
 the bell had been rung for him the family took their 
 places at table and waited. If he did not come in 
 some minutes one of the children was sent to ask if 
 he had heard the bell. Often he was so absorbed in 
 his work that he had not ; frequently he would say, 
 rather impatiently, ^^Yes, I come," in which case 
 there was nothing to do but wait, and continue to 
 wait imtil he appeared. Often the dishes of food 
 
78 A VISION REALIZED 
 
 were returned to the kitchen to be kept warm until 
 it pleased him to come. A meal was never eaten 
 without him, for at the table was about the only 
 time the family were together and after it was over 
 he would often remain for some time and talk. 
 
 Useless noise or chatter he could not endure and 
 had little patience with the children at their play. 
 Such a thing as a drum, horn, or any noise-making 
 toy was a forbidden article in his household. 
 
 He had infinite patience to bestow on his work, 
 but none at all with the petty annoyances of every- 
 day life. 
 
 The bark of a dog or the continuous cackle of a 
 hen would soon bring him from his room with the 
 impatient ejaculation '^ March off, you beast, and 
 stop your confounded noise." 
 
 He loved to talk of his work to any visitor 
 who showed intelligence and appreciation or who 
 seemed to have an honest desire for information, 
 but he shut up like a clam in the presence of those 
 who came out of mere idle curiosity and who pre- 
 sumed to know much and to criticize, or as if duty 
 bound to express admiration. 
 
 At one time, when he had on the easel a fine 
 marine— the setting sun throwing a fiood of golden 
 light over a rough sea— a lady visitor entered and 
 with a glance at the canvas exclaimed ^*0h, how 
 pretty! a prairie on fire!" He used to tell this 
 anecdote with great gusto, adding that the funniest 
 part of it and the joke on him was that the lady 
 left without changing her opinion. 
 
 In 1867 he took an important step which largely 
 influenced his subsequent life. Having been for a 
 
LIFE STORY OF REV. J. A. OERTEL, D.D. 79 
 
 long time teaching a young ladies' Bible class, 
 which Bible lessons had gradually taken the form 
 of lectures, and on account of the illness of the 
 rector being also obliged to act as lay reader of the 
 services, the rector pressed him to take deacon's 
 orders, as he was doing the work of a deacon with- 
 out the authority. After much consideration he 
 consented and prepared at once for his examina- 
 tion. He was ordained to the diaconate in June, 
 1867, by Bishop Clark, of Rhode Island, under the 
 canon **for restricted deacons," and had no inten- 
 tion of going further into the ministry, but only 
 desiring to make himself more helpful to his rector. 
 
 At the end of seven years it seemed imperative 
 for him to be nearer New York, and in the spring 
 of 1868 he removed to Tarrytown-on-Hudson. 
 It had been his intention to reside permanently in 
 this section, and property near Irvington had 
 previously been purchased; but in the meantime 
 the land adjoining had been sold off to a most 
 undesirable class of people and he was forced to 
 dispose of his holding for what it would then bring, 
 being, of course, less than the purchase price. 
 
 The following summer he went for a short time 
 with his brother Fritz to the Catskill Mountains, 
 and while there met a young lady, a student of art, 
 Miss Laura Norwood, of Lenoir, N. C. From her 
 he learned much of the general situation of the 
 South at that time, and particularly of conditions 
 existing in her home town— the people impover- 
 ished by the war, without the means to educate their 
 children ; the church building having been used as a 
 hospital by the soldiers and in a most dilapidated 
 
80 A VISION REALIZED 
 
 and neglected condition, and no church services held 
 for months at a time. 
 
 She also gave a glowing description of the 
 natural beauties and advantages of that part of the 
 country— its grand and imposing mountains, crys- 
 tal streams, and forest of noble pines and oaks ; its 
 incomparable climate and life-giving air ; and the 
 exceeding cheapness of all the real necessities of 
 life. 
 
 All this appealed directly to the mind of the 
 artist, the missionary, the lover of nature and of 
 his fellow-man. 
 
 Here was a land in which he could live on the 
 moderate income which he had from his publica- 
 tions and go on and paint his great designs ; here 
 he could use his means to the best advantage, and 
 here, being independent of any remuneration for 
 clerical services, he could do the most good for his 
 Church and for his people. 
 
 The cry ^^come and help us" seemed to echo in 
 his ears, and after his return to Tarrytown and a 
 consultation with his wife it was decided to make 
 the move. 
 
CHAPTER VIII. 
 
 In April, 1869, with his family of three chil- 
 dren and his father and mother he set out for his 
 new home. A tedious journey it was then—to 
 Washington, D. C, by train ; stage across the city 
 to the wharf at foot of Seventh Street; steamer 
 down the Potomac River to Aquia Creek; by the 
 old Virginia Midland Railroad to Salisbury, N. C, 
 and from thence over the Western North Carolina 
 Railroad to its terminus at Hickory (then ^^ Hick- 
 ory Tavern") . From this point to Lenoir the jour- 
 ney had to be made by ^* stage." 
 
 Hickory was reached about noon of the second 
 day, and, after a dinner of ham, eggs, and corn 
 bread at the ^^ Tavern," a double log cabin then 
 kept by ^^Snediker," all climbed into the rickety 
 stage and were slowly dragged over the 20 miles of 
 miserable road by two sorry and raw-boned nags, 
 relics of ante bellum days, to Lenoir, the future 
 mountain home where it was hoped so much good 
 could be done and so much artistic work accom- 
 plished. Lenoir at that time was an educational 
 center for that section of the south, and several 
 schools were there maintained. Its people were 
 impoverished by the war and everything was in a 
 sad state of dilapidation and neglect, but here were 
 culture and refinement ; petty strife and bickering. 
 
82 A VISION REALIZED 
 
 so common in the average small town, were here 
 miknown; the place was as yet mitouched by the 
 spirit of commercialism, and those of every sect 
 and opinion lived together in peace and harmony. 
 All were poor, so poverty was not considered ; all 
 needed help, so each one helped his neighbor. An 
 ideal place indeed it was for such work as he pro- 
 posed to do in art, an unlimited field it offered for 
 him as a missionary ; considering all this, and that 
 his new home was in the midst of the most beau- 
 tiful scenery in the world, what wonder the artist 
 was enthusiastic over the prospect. 
 
 The whole party went to Miss Norwood's plan- 
 tation home, ''Oak Lawn," and were received with 
 open arms. Here they remained until the house- 
 hold and studio goods, shipped from New York, 
 arrived, when they took up their abode at the 
 rectory, a most unique little building standing in 
 a grove of gigantic oaks and white pines. 
 
 It seemed as if the time had at last arrived 
 when his mind was to be liberated from carking 
 care and from a burden of liabilities which, though 
 small in themselves, had yet been insurmountable 
 in the years of struggle behind him, and that at 
 last in peace and quiet he could take up the execu- 
 tion of his great works and bring them to com- 
 pletion. He at once began to build a studio large 
 enough for the proper execution of such work. 
 But just here, when scarcely six months in Lenoir, 
 and before the studio was completed, came the blow 
 which deprived him of his income, destroyed all his 
 hopes, and left him again in a hand-to-hand fight 
 with uncertainties, having loaded himself already 
 
LIFE STORY OF REV. J. A. OERTEL. D.D. 83 
 
 with Church and educational work in his parish 
 which could not be shaken off, and having also the 
 terrible drain of lawyers' fees to meet. Among 
 other things, a mission school had been established 
 several miles in the country for the education of 
 the poor whites. He had depended on his income 
 from the publications. Mr. James informed him 
 that there was no longer anything to be expected 
 from that source. He wrote (Nov. 18, 1869) : ^^The 
 robbers have copied the 'Eock of Ages' in all sizes 
 and for all prices and defy me to my face, and they 
 say that as soon as I put ^Charity' on the market 
 they will do the same with that. ' ' 
 
 To show the far-reaching effect of this blow to 
 him is quoted below a letter written by one of his 
 parishioners and signed ^^ Gratitude." 
 
 ^^ME. OERTEL 'S ^EOCK OF AGES.' 
 
 Artist-Clergyman in his Southern Home — Faith exemplified in a life. 
 [Correspondence of Laura Lenoir Norwood in the Journal of Commerce.] 
 
 'TiENOiR, Caldwell County, Western North Carolina, 
 
 February 5, 1870. 
 
 "In a late number of the Journal of Commerce there is an 
 account of the lawsuit in regard to the copyright of Johannes A. 
 OertePs picture, *The Eock of Ages,' and the decision of the 
 court in Mr. Oertel's favor. Perhaps, as a lover of art, you felt 
 some interest in the case, and I think you were glad that the 
 decision of the court secured to the gifted artist the proceeds 
 of his own work. 
 
 "The losing party in the suit (Mr. Wood) is advised by his 
 lawyers to appeal and carry the case into another court or another 
 term of the court, and if he does so the decision may be reversed, 
 or, if it is affirmed, the expenses of the suit will be heavy, and 
 almost more than the artist can sustain. 
 
 "I see in the artist's life a far more beautiful example of the 
 
84 A VISION REALIZED 
 
 power of faith than any picture can ever teach; and if you 
 could see it, too, you would think some of your time and strength 
 well spent in saying a word that may very possibly, as I believe, 
 prolong a life so devoted to good works, as well as so honorable 
 in the record of American art. 
 
 "We who see Mr. Oertel's daily life among us do not need 
 to buy his lovely picture of 'Faith.' For the painter of 'The 
 Rock of Ages' is the rector of our little church; our faithful, 
 loving pastor, who came to us as an unlooked-for blessing (when 
 we were too poor to have a minister), and asked that he might 
 do us good for Christ's sake alone. The income derived from 
 the publication of the picture in question (though it would seem 
 very small in New York, as he is only paid for the copyright), 
 was sufficient in our cheap country to support his family in the 
 simple way in which they live, and also to minister to the wants 
 of many poor and friendless ones who have learned to bless his 
 name. We hoped that in the beauty of our scenery, our delight- 
 ful climate, and the quiet and peace which he loves, Mr. Oertel 
 might find some pleasures in return for the many advantages 
 which he gave up to become our missionary; but we did not 
 expect him to share our poverty as well as our loneliness, and 
 to endure hardships which, alas, we can not relieve ! For, indeed, 
 we are truly poor now, and the years since the war have done 
 nothing yet to build up our desolated country. 
 
 "You do not want to hear of this, and we do not wish to 
 complain. Our lovely mountain country is too remote to feel 
 the waves of returning prosperity, but we have learned to endure 
 patiently many hardships and to look calmly on the graves of 
 our buried hopes. 
 
 "You who live in the midst of so much brightness and motion, 
 and feel the bounding of the pulse of life through a great city, 
 can not imagine what it is to be as we are. If you did know 
 it, you would perhaps realize what a blessing Mr. Oertel's faith 
 has brought to us, for he believes the word of our Saviour, that 
 it is more blessed to give than to receive. And he gives us the 
 comfort we most dearly prize in his faithful and loving minis- 
 trations. 
 
 "You perhaps know that Mr. Oertel is a clergyman of the 
 Episcopal Church, but no one to hear that he is both artist and 
 minister would think that he could accomplish so much good 
 in the latter character as he does. 
 
 "Real devotion and unsparing self-denial for Christ's sake 
 
LIFE STORY OF REV. J. A. OERTEL. D.D. 85 
 
 are so rare in our time that one must see the results of such 
 a life in order to believe in it. 
 
 "The members of this parish feel themselves unworthy of 
 the treasure which they possess in such a pastor, and the earnest 
 and beautiful sermons which go straight to the hearts of his 
 people are made more eifective by the thought that they are 
 generally written in the silent hours of the night, after a day 
 of hard work in a profession which certainly taxes the brain not 
 lightly. Heaven knows we would gladly save our pastor from 
 some of the hardships which he endures for our sakes, but it 
 seems that there is no selfishness in his heart to which we can 
 appeal. The poor, the sorrowing, the troubled are around him, 
 and he will love them and help them ; the ignorant are here and 
 he will teach them; and his gentle wife is ever ready to aid in 
 every new labor of love. Is it not enough that he must bear 
 on his heart the burdens of others, that all beyond a mere main- 
 tenance is freely given to the cause of Christ, and that his life 
 is one of constant toil, but must his means of living be taken 
 from him now, when the locks are whitening on his temples? 
 
 "He has struggled through long years of poverty and trial, 
 true always to his high ideal of Christian art, and true to 
 himself in the childlike simplicity and unquestioning faith which 
 have upheld him, and is he not entitled to enjoy what is his 
 own, and was so dearly earned? 
 
 "Is it only a question of money that will be decided in this 
 suit when the appeal is taken? 
 
 "Gratitude." 
 
 Great as this disappointment and serious the 
 situation, it must be met. 
 
 If he must ' ' depend on his brush, ' ' as Mr. James 
 said, he would *^make it fly," and Mrs. Oertel at 
 once appealed to friends at the North for assistance 
 in their parish work. ^^But oh,'' she writes a 
 friend, ^^the Church work and everybody besides 
 so needs hard cash that I can not help wish for it. 
 Our work so grows upon us that we are perfectly 
 appalled. The mission school list has now increased 
 to about 50 names; we have Sunday school out 
 
86 A VISION REALIZED 
 
 there, too. I go out three times each week, and 
 that makes a weekly walk of about 17 miles. We 
 do so much need teachers for this and other schools, 
 both white and colored. We have now in these 
 schools nearly 200 under instructions. Oh, for 
 more fellow- workers ! ' ' 
 
 Thus it was that the minister's wife met this 
 emergency, by thorough cooperation in all of his 
 undertakings, by personal self-sacrifice and unre- 
 mitting toil, and be it remembered all was a gift, all 
 was done ' ' In His Name, ' ' without money and with- 
 out price. Not only this, they continued to give 
 from their slender means. None who asked went 
 away empty handed so long as there was anything 
 left to give. 
 
 When he had money, during the first months, he 
 was what might be termed extravagant, but not in 
 the indulgence of himself or family. He writes in 
 
 one of his letters, ''I have lent Mr $400 to buy 
 
 a farm. It is a great privilege to be able to help so 
 worthy a man.'' This was ^4ent," but so far as is 
 known was never returned and never asked for. 
 Groceries were ordered in quantity from New York 
 and the poor country folk came to the rectory for 
 their coffee, sugar, medicine, etc., as they would to 
 a store, except that at the store they would have to 
 trade in some of their meagre stock of produce— 
 a chicken, some eggs, or medicinal roots dug in 
 the mountains— here it was freely given, and in 
 the pastor's wife they found a ready listener to 
 all their tales of woe and were always sure from 
 her to receive words of encouragement and sym- 
 pathy. 
 
LIFE STORY OF REV. J. A. OERTEL. D.D. 87 
 
 When the crash came and the flow of money 
 stopped, these pensioners did not ; nor did they seem 
 to understand how it could be that there was not 
 the usual sack of coffee and barrel of sugar from 
 which to supply their needs. They continued to 
 come as usual with empty baskets, which seldom if 
 ever went out of the rectory grounds in the same 
 state. Notes like these frequently went from house 
 to studio: '^ Johnny, give B. a dollar to buy some 
 ^shucks' for his cow." ^^Give H. some money 
 to-day; they are all sick," etc. 
 
 Considerable in the way of contributions for 
 the parish was sent by friends at the North, both 
 in money, clothes, and various articles which it was 
 thought might be of use. One kindly disposed lady 
 forwarded a ^^case of Shaker bonnets" for the mis- 
 sion school children. Those who know the **po' 
 whites" can picture them wearing ^^ Shaker bon- 
 nets." The people of Christ Church, Tarrytown, 
 having put in a new organ in the church there, sent 
 down their old one, the same instrument mentioned 
 by Washington Irving in one of his letters. It was 
 a complete wreck, but Mr. Oertel with his own 
 hands rebuilt it, making new pipes, a new wind 
 chest and bellows, and then a carved and illiuni- 
 nated case. It was placed in the church and is there 
 doing duty still. He also made for the church a 
 carved reredos and altar. This was his first attempt 
 at wood carving. He did not have to learn to 
 carve; he just did it. As he once said, '*It is 
 perfectly simple; what I want is in the wood; 
 all I have to do is to cut away what don't belong 
 there." 
 
88 A VISION REALIZED 
 
 Description of the Eeredos in St. James' Church 
 Lenoir, N. C. 
 
 [Written by Clinton A. Cilley.] 
 
 **Eev. Mr. Oertel on Christmas day placed in 
 the chancel of St. James' Church the result of 
 nearly two years' labor, and presented it to the 
 church. 
 
 ^^The work consists of a painting and its frame. 
 The painting, on a backgi^ound of gold, shows the 
 Saviour offering bread and wine to a male and a 
 female communicant, and is characterized by the 
 same depth of religious feeling and faithfulness of 
 rendering that in his former paintings have given 
 the distinguished artist so high a rank among the 
 professors of Christian art. 
 
 ^^ Beautiful as is the picture, however, it is more 
 than matched by the exquisitely carved and elab- 
 orated frame. This is an architectural design, and 
 reminds one of the portal of some mediaeval cathe- 
 dral. There are the arch and pillars of the door- 
 way, the buttresses, the sloping roof, the lofty 
 spires, and the cross that crowns the structure. 
 Over the picture, forming the arch, is a strikingly 
 natural representation in chestnut wood of grapes 
 and heads of wheat, the fruit, the foliage, and even 
 the tendrils of the former being carved with an 
 exactness that would be surprising even were the 
 material better adapted to a work of such infinite 
 delicacy. The slopes of the roof are adorned with 
 crockets, seemingly alike, but in truth each in some 
 slight particular varying from the other. On each 
 side of the roof are pinnacles ; back of them stand 
 
LIFE STORY OF REV. J. A. OERTEL. D.D. 89 
 
 two angels with wings folded as if they had just 
 alighted there; and crowning the whole towers a 
 double cross. 
 
 ''On every part of this masterpiece, composed 
 of over 400 pieces of wood, chestnut, oak, poplar, 
 holly, cherry, beech, and pine, where work could 
 be put it has been lavished. Every part susceptible 
 of ornamentation has been beautified by the touch 
 of carving tools wielded as deftly as the artist's 
 brush. 
 
 ''Flowers of many kinds are here; the rose and 
 cactus blush in cherry and the tulip blooms in yellow 
 poplar, while over various parts of the structure 
 the climbing ivy throws its veil. No carving of so 
 lofty design or so skilful workmanship beautifies 
 the chancel of any church in America, and the 
 costly cathedrals of Europe can boast of few orna- 
 ments as splendid as this. 
 
 "No description can do it justice, and to see it 
 will well repay a visit to our mountain town." 
 
 In the meanwhile the necessities of the parish 
 seemed to make it imperative that he should take 
 priest's orders. The bishop especially desired it, 
 and he finally yielded and bent himself to the 
 preparatory study. He was ordained by Bishop 
 Atkinson, August, 1871. 
 
 In addition to the parish at Lenoir he had two 
 mission stations at which he held services on alter- 
 nate Sundays. The "Chapel of Peace," the mission 
 before mentioned, 3 miles south of the village, and 
 another station in the Yadkin Valley, 8 miles dis- 
 tant. This Chapel of Peace was built by contribu- 
 tion from friends at a distance and voluntary work 
 
90 A VISION REALIZED 
 
 of the people. When nearly completed it was 
 wrecked by a severe storm, but, imdamited by the 
 disaster the rector and his helpers rebuilt it. This 
 work from its inception was attended with the 
 greatest difficulties. First a day and Sunday school 
 was started and soon had an attendance of over 40 
 scholars; this was held in a ramshackle old log 
 schoolhouse. The teachers were all voluntary 
 workers, and one might have thought that such a 
 chance for education would have been welcomed by 
 all; but there were many who opposed the move- 
 ment. All sorts of stories were circulated amongst 
 the poor ignorant people. ^^The children would be 
 taken away as soon as sufficient hold on them was 
 obtained, and killed. ' ' Another story was that they 
 would be taken to town and ^^made to worship the 
 golden calf." Such was the depth of ignorance 
 and superstition among these poor people. 
 
 The farmer who owned the land on which the 
 schoolhouse stood at last refused to allow it to be 
 used for the purpose. Then it was that a move was 
 made to build. Friends at the North contributed 
 liberally and by dint of persistent effort on the part 
 of the rector and his faithful people it was at last 
 completed and a school maintained for many years. 
 
 In order that those of his parish might have the 
 advantages thus afforded and in the general inter- 
 est of education, he decided to establish a school for 
 girls. This was done, and the first session opened 
 February 26, 1872, Miss Mary A. Massenberg 
 teacher of the English branches and Miss M. Mag- 
 dalena Oertel teacher of French and music, under 
 the name of **St. James' School for Girls." 
 
LIFE STORY OF REV. J. A. OERTEL. D.D. 91 
 
 It was the intention of the rector to advance the 
 interests of the school as rapidly as possible, and to 
 make it a diocesan institute. By this was meant 
 that the grounds and buildings contemplated should 
 be deeded to the diocese and be subject to the 
 authority of the bishop and such trustees as he 
 might appoint. 
 
 In this undertaking no effort was spared to 
 reduce expenses to pupils to the minimum. It was 
 continuous self-denial on the part of all the workers 
 concerned in the interest of Church education. 
 
 The rector gave his time and contributed also 
 in money; his wife opened her house to the girls 
 and cared for those who boarded there as for her 
 own, having nothing in return save the bare cost of 
 board, based on the lowest estimate, and which in 
 fact often failed to meet expenses. 
 
 The teachers worked for a mere pittance. Miss 
 Massenberg having only $100 per year, her board 
 and lodging being contributed by the rector. His 
 daughter had no regular salary, turning back most 
 of what she received into the fund for the building 
 up of the school. 
 
 It was opened in the vestry room of the church, 
 but by superhuman efforts a school room was built 
 on to the rectory, and though still unfinished was 
 occupied by the end of the first session. 
 
 In 1873 the name of the school was changed to 
 * ^ St. Euphemia 's Hall, " as it was not for St. James ' 
 parish alone. 
 
 During 1874 it was under the direction of Eev. 
 C. T. Bland. About a year later the whole scheme 
 had to be abandoned for lack of f imds and support. 
 
92 A VISION REALIZED 
 
 A failure ? Yes ; from one point of view it was. 
 It struggled into existence, its existence was a con- 
 stant struggle, and it died for want of strength to 
 live. 
 
 But w^hen it is considered what was accom- 
 plished during the time of life can it be classed as 
 a failure ? 
 
 Many of the girls received education and train- 
 ing absolutely free, and but for this would have 
 had none. Indeed, no one was turned away ; if they 
 could pay the moderate amount charged for tuition 
 and board, well and good; if they could not, the 
 school and the home of the rector were open to 
 them just the same. 
 
 It is impossible for those who were in that school 
 and in that home not to have carried the teaching 
 and influence through life to their own benefit. 
 Here again must ^^bookkeeping be kept by double 
 entry; one for this world, one for the next." 
 
 The rector and his wife never regretted having 
 made the effort, much as it cost them. 
 
 Contributions were at times made by interested 
 friends, but the main burden of the undertaking 
 was borne by the rector and his devoted wife and 
 daughter. 
 
 Had he received from the Church at large the 
 cooperation the movement deserved, the result 
 would have been quite different. 
 
 Parish duties now took much of his time. The 
 strain has been so great, of study and disappoint- 
 ment—study to prepare for his examination for the 
 priesthood and disappointment in regard to his 
 publications and the outcome of the lawsuits which 
 
LIFE STORY OF REV. J. A. OERTEL. D.D. 93 
 
 deprived him of the means to carry out his plans 
 both in art and for the good of his people— that 
 his health gave way and he suffered desperately 
 with his head, so much so that physicians feared 
 softening of the brain. And what wonder. Even 
 his iron constitution and strength which enabled 
 him to handle dumb-bells of 50 pounds each as if 
 they were toys could not stand what he forced him- 
 self to do. For instance, after a week of work from 
 6 a. m. until early morning hours, he presided over 
 the Sunday school at 9 o'clock on Sunday, held 
 services at 11 o'clock, rushed home to a hasty lunch 
 and then mounted his horse for a ten-mile ride over 
 the mountains to the Yadkin Vallley, where he 
 held service at 3 p. m. and then rode home again, 
 often arriving late at night. This was his ''day 
 of rest"! 
 
 His sermons were usually written on Saturday 
 night and it was often daylight on Sunday morn- 
 ing before he came in the house to rest. No call of 
 distress was unheeded by day or by night, in fair 
 weather or in foul, over rough roads, mountain 
 paths, and swollen streams, on horseback or on foot, 
 he visited the poor and needy, giving comfort, sym- 
 pathy, and help. 
 
 He had made something of a study of medicine 
 and so doctored the body as well as the soul, giving 
 in this as in all else to all who asked or needed. 
 
 In writing of his condition at this time Mrs. 
 Oertel says : 
 
 ''His brain is in very bad condition ; he schemes 
 continually, in such an impatient way ; everything 
 annoys and irritates him ; he works, works, works, 
 
94 A VISION REALIZED 
 
 and plans, plans, plans in the fiercest and most ex- 
 cited manner. I fear softening of the brain." 
 
 Dr. Perkins told him ^*You must rein in your 
 horses or they will run away with you" and this 
 they seemed to be doing. 
 
 But his work was not yet done. He changed his 
 manner of working, took more sleep, and at last 
 recovered. 
 
 Still he continued to do double duty, keeping up 
 with all the details of parish work and at the same 
 time doing everything possible with brush and 
 pencil that would bring in the money so sadly 
 needed. 
 
 His friends urged him to rest and take a trip 
 into the higher mountain country. To this he con- 
 sented, and spent some two weeks on horseback 
 riding through that magnificent region. 
 
 In later years he wrote a description of this 
 trip imder the caption ^^On horseback through the 
 mountains" from which it is well to quote a few 
 passages, as the artist shows in these pen pictures 
 quite as plainly, and with as much strength, as ever 
 with brush or pencil. 
 
 '^ There they were," he says, *'the Grandfather, 
 the Eoan, the Table Eock, Hawksbill, and the Black 
 Range. I had been wont to gaze often across the 
 many miles at their ethereal summits, lifting them- 
 selves with a giant repose and power high over their 
 companions, often with that peculiar wistful emo- 
 tion that seizes the mind when alone on the ocean 
 shore on a still day and an unbroken mystery of 
 deep blue like the mantle of eternity spread upon 
 the far outreaching waters. 
 
LIFE STORY OF REV. J. A. OERTEL. D.D. 95 
 
 ^^ Mountains and sea have a certain kinship not- 
 withstanding their opposite character. They be- 
 guile the susceptible soul into similar moods. So 
 does the clear unfathomable sky. So does the 
 mighty firmament with its miracles of glory. 
 Whatever invites the mind to excursions into vast 
 expanse, draws it onward, out of itself and away 
 far off to where the distance hides the unknown and 
 maybe the unattainable, stirs up a strange and irre- 
 sistible longing, a sad delight, a delirium of wakeful 
 dreaming, feeling from the night of our earthly 
 prison with the antennae of the spirit for news 
 from the unseen world. 
 
 ^^Do you know why in the symbolism of color 
 blue is the emblem of truth ? It is the blue we look 
 into when striving to penetrate the distance, the 
 ocean, the sky. But what we gaze into seems to 
 recede more, to grow deeper, to become more un- 
 searchable. 
 
 ^^The peaks on the horizon, massive and yet 
 unsubstantial in their glorification of trans- 
 parent blue; the indigo line of the sea that cuts 
 with a straight razor edge your inquisitive 
 stare into what lies beyond; the vast empyrean 
 that seems so near and only tells you when at 
 night the remote myriads of nebulae astonish 
 the astronomer as he watches through the powerful 
 telescope that no one has ever yet looked to its 
 limits— these all conceal the knowledge which in 
 part only they reveal. 
 
 ^^Blue signifies mystery. What is remote, with- 
 held from the vision and hidden, is wrapped in a 
 veil of blue, the * daughter of darkness and of the 
 
96 A VISION REALIZED 
 
 light'— emblem of truth, which is made known and 
 yet forever disclosing itself. 
 
 ^^ And so in the wondrous trinity of colors it sig- 
 nifies the Divine Spirit, the Revealer of secrets, the 
 Giver of knowledge, the Fountain of wisdom, the 
 Incomprehensible, Unknowable, the All encom- 
 passing." 
 
 He had as guide and companion a genuine old- 
 time planter who was enthusiastic over this moun- 
 tain country, and owned a considerable estate 
 among those ^^ fixed billows of the earth." Of him 
 he says: ^^Now this excellent and educated gentle- 
 man was just the guide I wanted. None other than 
 an enthusiast can be your best leader and teacher 
 in any matter. Beware of machine men when you 
 wish to learn. They will give you, with all honesty 
 in the giving, nothing but husks. It is all they have 
 and are capable of knowing. They stick to outside 
 as if it were covered with burrs or pitch. The 
 secret to read the inner life— the soul— of things 
 they have not the talisman to discover. But my 
 friend was aglow from head to foot with this sub- 
 ject. He was in love with it— and people can not 
 be in love without a heart. Those mountains spoke 
 in majestic tone to his affections. They had been 
 his faithful companions for many years. They 
 showed him their hidden beauties. They whis- 
 pered into his ear their tales of stored-up treas- 
 ures. He knew each twist in the links of their 
 tremendous chain, the intricate sinuosity of their 
 passes and paths and roads, the names of their 
 cliffs, the flow and individuality of their sparkling 
 waters, their varied, abundant verdure, and the 
 
LIFE STORY OF REV. J. A. OERTEL, D.D. 97 
 
 signs they hang out aroimd their summits as proph- 
 esies of sunshine or storm. He also was com- 
 municative without garrulity, a traveler accus- 
 tomed to the horse, attentive, polite, acquainted 
 with the manners of the people and easily satisfied 
 with their fare and accommodations. I was 
 fortunate in having such a guide." 
 
 Mr. Oertel was a great admirer of the horse, 
 fond of riding and at home in the saddle. After 
 describing his mount on this occasion he says: 
 ^^And when a man feels the living moving power 
 under him that obeys his every wish— the untamed 
 woods about him, a promising sky overhead— and 
 has just enough money in his pocket for moderate 
 fare and an excellent feeling of independence and 
 manly energy does not quicken his pulse, put a rod 
 of steel into his back and fire and gladness into his 
 eye, he is not fit to travel among the ramparts of 
 liberty nor ride the noble beast of war and the 
 desert, but deserves to have his joints cracked, his 
 bowels churned, and his soft brains beaten like bat- 
 ter on the back of a vicious mule that now and then 
 can salute his brother with low-dropped jaw by his 
 renowned philosophic exclamation." 
 
 He speaks first of the timber growth, which he 
 describes as being ''of a size that dwarfs the woods 
 about New York into respectable shrubs." 
 
 ''Think," he says, "of the gorgeous rhododen- 
 dron shooting up snake-like trunks to the height of 
 16 and 18 feet before the glossy spear-headed 
 foliage expands itself in clustered masses with 
 purple magnificence of bloom on the end of every 
 branch ! And then imagine whole slopes covered in 
 
98 A VISION REALIZED 
 
 June with that wealth of royal splendor; the 
 somber blush of sunset cloud spread out on moun- 
 tain side; hemlocks stretching between the main 
 spurs of the *' Grandfather" for a number of miles 
 and which my experienced guide computed of an 
 average diameter of 4 feet ; some prostrate colossals 
 over which, 20 and 30 feet from their roots, we 
 could scarcely see as we attempted to surmount 
 them ; the spindling weeds of the lowlands here con- 
 stituting a forest smiling the praises of the gen- 
 erous bosom that nourishes them. 
 
 ^^Our first objective point was the Grandfather 
 mountain. For many months I had seen its impos- 
 ing outline toward the setting sun. It heaved up 
 over the lesser ridges with a commanding, wide- 
 spreading, angular severity,— a salient feature in 
 the wavy blue that could be traced from the Vir- 
 ginia line on the North to almost that of South 
 Carolina in the Southwest. 
 
 ^'The name it bears is not a mere fancy; indeed 
 I do not know but there is in that name a poetic 
 appropriateness, whether intended or not, more 
 far-reaching than it has in the mouth of people 
 who use it so often. Seen from the south or north, 
 the long profile of the mountain exhibits in a clear- 
 cut outline the features of a bearded man. It is a 
 remarkable face: the high intellectual forehead; 
 the nose of projecting aquiline strength; the dis- 
 tinctly marked moustache shading a firm mouth; 
 the chin rising from a bold depression and ending 
 in a long beard— a grand, calm, majestic face, up- 
 turned to the sky as if the enormous giant were 
 lying in solemn repose on his back, the undulating 
 
LIFE STORY OF REV. J. A. OERTEL, D.D. 99 
 
 length of his body stretching westward for near a 
 hundred miles in the continuation of the ''Blue 
 Eidge. " It is no mere knob or piece of rock, but a 
 whole mountain somewhat higher than Mount 
 Washington in New Hampshire, a face of truly 
 colossal, godlike dimensions such as Milton scarcely 
 fancied when he extolled the tall stature of his 
 prince of fallen spirits ; dwindling into dwarfs the 
 Genii rising from the uncorked bottle in the Ara- 
 bian Nights, or the fabled bird of the Talmud that 
 stood in the deepest part of the ocean with the water 
 reaching only to his knees. The gods and heroes of 
 the Iliad are microscopic pygmies compared to it. 
 That is something of a face, tossing up its features 
 for about seven miles, with a horned helmet at the 
 upper end of several miles more. You will grant 
 that old North Carolina contains a veritable and 
 most venerable giant ! 
 
 ''And think how long he has lain there and 
 looked up with the same unchanging profile at the 
 silent stars! The nations of the earth are mere 
 ephemera to him. Their boasted empires are insti- 
 tutions like the dissolving pictures of a stereopti- 
 con. He counted his many untold ages already 
 when the Sphinx began to raise his mysterious head 
 and the pyramids were piled against the sky. 
 
 "Brief four thousand years have left upon their 
 flinty sides the traces of decay ; but he reposes now 
 as green and strong and young as when he saw the 
 day on which creation smiled first upon the pure 
 primeval human pair. The sun's determined fire 
 that beat into his face with each recurring summer 
 scorched there no scars. The bitter blasts of winter 
 
100 A VISION REALIZED 
 
 for all these centuries have not disturbed his 
 solemn calm. Ten thousand tempests raging in 
 untamed fury over him could not so much as cause 
 one wrinkle on that mighty brow. The lightning 
 spent, the thunder still, the clouds roll off and leave 
 him gazing in primitive sereneness as ever he had 
 done. 
 
 '^However often and again the flames like mon- 
 strous serpents run up his sides and lay the forest 
 waste, they only singe the down upon his cheeks but 
 can not harm the unmoved giant's form. The 
 earliest kiss of morning ray bathes him in rosy 
 light, and the departing king of day robes him in 
 purple melancholy. He smiles or he is sad, or stern 
 and dark and lowering, or covered dreamily as with 
 a veil for sleep— but there is always the same grand 
 godlike impassiveness of line ; his moods are things 
 of surface only that ruffle not his majesty of mien. 
 
 '^And pray of what might he be thinking? 
 What does he see with all that steadfast upward 
 look ? Most certainly he contemplates not anything 
 of earth! That gaze must be a silently adoring 
 seraph's in waiting before the * great white 
 throne.' What are to him the noisy strifes of 
 men ? What care has he for change of kings and 
 politics and for the schemes that surge the millions 
 here below ? 
 
 ^' Their history resolved its tortuous troubled 
 length around the globe, a trail of blood and woe, of 
 toil, and tears, and death, unheeded all by him. 
 The wild red man that tracked in ages past the 
 panther and the wolf across his brow ; and now the 
 white that pops the rifle on his face at deer and 
 
LIFE STORY OF REV. J. A. OERTEL. D.D. 101 
 
 prowling bear, are both to him alike. He marks 
 their habitation with stalwart ruggedness, and 
 keeps his watch in awful solitude. His thoughts 
 are up on high. He never turns for aught on earth 
 but with an everlasting glance he looks full hard 
 into the infinite— by day and night, in storm and 
 calm, from age to age, with only one long, great, 
 unfathomable thought of dread Divinity." 
 
 In describing the ascent of this grand peak he 
 speaks of the last quarter mile being the roughest 
 part of the work ^'requiring a sharp, determined 
 conflict, like many another enterprise in the battles 
 of mind and matter, that reserves the most formi- 
 dable opposition for near its summit." * * * ^^The 
 dark and solemn balsam fir was now the dominant 
 growth. It veils the mountain's brow with massive 
 shade— a somber gloom of earnestness becoming 
 to the contemplative mood of ^Grandfather' who 
 rests as on a pillow upon the sportive shades the 
 changing woods put on far down around his base ; 
 the downy, mellow, delicately varied gown of infant 
 Spring; the emerald fulness and fresh, exultant 
 strength of Summer; the gorgeous symphony of 
 tint that paints the robe of the expiring year ; and 
 the sweet nunlike grey of Winter that holds in 
 cloistered seclusion for a few short months impa- 
 tient, budding life. But that mighty Pace above 
 wears one unchanging hue of darksome green. 
 The innumerable company of closely serried pines 
 are the only fit emblem of its calm, strong stability 
 of mood. And as the eye drops down the vast sweep 
 and mounts up again at the further crest that be- 
 gins the formation of ^Grandfather's' face, the 
 
102 A VISION REALIZED 
 
 pointed cones crowd as thick as grass and all their 
 millions bend with one obedient impulse to the 
 south, not infrequently blasted by the power that 
 rules up there with rude violence, the northwest 
 storm. 
 
 ^* Every tree-top inclines fixedly in one direction 
 and tells its story of struggle and battle-scarred 
 endurance. The pine is the only tree for such a life. 
 God made it for the hard places of the earth. 
 
 *^At last the lessening pines let the sky appear 
 overhead, and a sharp turn through the dense brush 
 brought us out upon the summit. 
 
 ^*Did you ever step upon the giddy edge of a 
 high mountain in that sudden way"? It is very 
 much like launching bodily into space and sends a 
 thrill of surprised ecstasy through the frame, an 
 electric tingling in every nerve as if all at once the 
 solid ground had vanished from under the feet and 
 one were floating in air. 
 
 '^ Above, below, and round about, everything is 
 blue. The mountain base itself looks unsubstantial. 
 It is swimming on a heaving sea. 
 
 ^^ There was but just room enough for our small 
 company of three among the rocks and bushes 
 where the absence of pines left a free outlook. I 
 had a seat of heather as springy as can be found on 
 the mountains of Scotland ; rather a luxury among 
 the North Carolina ranges where it grows only here 
 and there on the lofty summits. 
 
 ^' There I sat and looked— and the look was 
 almost supersensuous delight. But do not expect 
 a rhapsody on what I saw ! What idea can the most 
 picturesque word-painting convey of such a scene 
 
LIFE STORY OF REV. J. A. OERTEL, D.D. 103 
 
 unless you have beheld something similar'? And if 
 you have— then— well, recall vividly the sight! It 
 will not be exactly like the one from 'Grandfather' ; 
 but it will refresh in you that altogether unique 
 sensation, that of lifting up out of common exist- 
 ence, that cutting loose from the lower dust with all 
 its leaden cares and petty doings, that full-breath- 
 ing, soaring energy of soul which is answered by 
 every fiber of the body ; that daring of spirit all at 
 once conscious of its own broad pinions despite the 
 clay still riveting it to the earth. You will know 
 the leaps of a hundred miles straight out made by 
 the joy-intoxicated eyes; the delirious plunges 
 downward into vast abysses of amethyst and sap- 
 phire ; the giant strides that skip with the glad free- 
 dom of youth from peak to peak, across the long- 
 rolling ridges, among the leagues of complex 
 sinuosity in the valleys. 
 
 ''You will know also that with such an illimit- 
 able horizon about you, among such colossal 
 surroundings, you feel very little indeed, more dis- 
 posed to true humility of soul than you thought 
 possible when disporting below among your kind 
 in their assemblies where fashion and vanity flutter 
 and scheme for a brief glance of recognition; for 
 up there on those silent heights one is in a two-fold 
 sense breathing a purer atmosphere— and nearer 
 heaven. 
 
 "And then, if possible, get for 15 minutes by 
 yourself ; be all alone where human voices can not 
 reach your ear nor other influences disturb, and a 
 something super-earthly will steal upon you, an 
 over-mastering awe as of an oppressive mystery, at 
 
104 A VISION REALIZED 
 
 once grand in its manifestation of power, and 
 soothing like a benediction of peace from the deep 
 sky overhead. One comprehends why the Saviour 
 of men should have chosen the lonely mountain top 
 for prayer— and there continued all night." 
 
 A visit to the falls of the Linville river called 
 forth the following : 
 
 *'A waterfall is always strangely interesting 
 and attractive whether it slides down over a many- 
 colored rocky incline with lisping splash ; or skips 
 in fan-like cascades of silver thread from rounded 
 ledge ; or pours a single stream of light from a dizzy 
 wall, collecting its misty rain in the pool below ; or 
 leaps out with a bold bound for the plunge into the 
 darkness of a chasm, it has its own mysterious 
 charm of energetic life. 
 
 ^'Let it be a little rill only, trembling into flakes 
 and spray in the joyful descent, or the cataract of 
 a mile in extent, rolling a thimdering flood with 
 awful majesty over the yawning abyss, there is a 
 fascination in the unceasing commotion, the daring 
 precipitancy, the silvery gleam or glitter or flash, 
 the spray unfolding like a vestal veil, the spiritual 
 form so stable in general feature, so everlastingly 
 changeful in the detail of its swift-moving parts. 
 Even the waste water of the commonest milldam, a 
 thin, glassy sheet split into many ribbons with care- 
 less frolic as to their evenness of width, shares with 
 the most romantic cascade in shady glen, or the 
 wild fury of a river's headlong rush into a thousand 
 feet of frowning gorge, the same interest that is 
 always new and intense only in different degree. 
 
 ** Water is the lifeblood of nature. Its pulsa- 
 
LIFE STORY OF REV. J. A. OERTEL. D.D. 105 
 
 tions on lake or ocean, in meadow brook or moun- 
 tain torrent, in modest rivulet or gliding expanse of 
 an Amazon that drains a continent, correspond too 
 nearly with the throbbings and variable moods in 
 man's own veins not to touch his liveliest sym- 
 pathies. And therefore he will undertake long 
 journeys and climb dangerous places with toil and 
 fatigue just to feast upon the sight of a waterfall 
 and let its living beauty or grandeur electrify the 
 forces of his nature to bound and toss and leap in 
 harmony with the wonderful element." 
 
 The first artistic work done in the new studio 
 was a set of paintings for the Church of the Heav- 
 enly Rest, Fifth Avenue, New York City. As 
 Church work they were painted for a mere pittance. 
 These pictures are five in number. The central 
 canvas is 13 feet high. It bears the figure of the 
 Saviour as our High Priest in Heaven. *^He ever 
 liveth to make intercession for us." He stands 
 upon the clouds, in the full robes of the High 
 Priest ; His hands spread out, showing the sacred 
 wounds ; on His head a mitre of gold ; and a golden 
 censer in His right hand, from which the smoking 
 incense ascends. As the figure is lighted from 
 above, the shadow beneath, by the outstretching of 
 the arms, forms a cross in beautiful significance 
 under his feet now. 
 
 The face is solemn and earnest; the eyes up- 
 lifted and truly full of intercession; the whole 
 image very intense in expression. It is 8J feet in 
 height. The other four figures are 6 feet high. 
 They are attendant angels, representing the Cheru- 
 bim and Seraphim. The two which come next the 
 
106 A VISION REALIZED 
 
 center— the Seraphim— are draped in white and 
 red and with uplifted hands and adoring faces per- 
 sonify glowing, rapturous love. The two outer 
 ones— the Cherubim— are draped in white and hlue. 
 They stand with folded hands in passionless medi- 
 tation, eternal knowledge and eternal truth ex- 
 pressed upon their coimtenances. 
 
 These paintings were on exhibition at the studio 
 for several days and the announcement of an art 
 reception made quite a stir in the little community. 
 The schools were given one day and all came— 
 teachers and pupils. Many persons came from 
 great distances— 20, 30, and even 70 miles— on pur- 
 pose to see these pictures. This did not mean 
 coming comfortably seated in a railroad car, but 
 traveling on horseback or in vehicles over rough 
 mountain roads, fording dangerous streams, and 
 imdergoing much fatigue and exposure, the more so 
 as the weather was persistently rainy all the time. 
 
 The next work was ^^ Darkness and Light," a 
 young girl reading to an old blind man. This was 
 presented to Bishop Atkinson, of North Carolina. 
 
 There are no entries in his record of works pro- 
 duced for the years 1870-74, but his letters show 
 that in spite of his numerous duties as priest the 
 artist was by no means idle. A design of the Cruci- 
 fixion was made which w^as published as a steel 
 engraving. *^When I Rise to Worlds Unknown 
 and Behold Thee on Thy Throne" was painted. 
 The wild ocean spreads below, the rocky cross is 
 there, the figure is loosened from it and rising above 
 it, with outstretched arms and enraptured face; 
 and, in the clouds, amid a flood of light is a vision 
 
LIFE STORY OF REV. J. A. OERTEL. D.D. 107 
 
 of Christ on His throne, surrounded by His angels. 
 He expressed himself as thinking this picture bet- 
 ter than ^^The Rock of Ages," but would not re- 
 serve the copyright because the purchaser had 
 suggested the subject. 
 
 The series of designs illustrating William Cul- 
 len Bryant's *^ Waiting by the Gate," begun in 
 Westerly, was taken up and finished. Of these the 
 poet wrote him, *^ You have indeed made a poem out 
 of my poor verses." 
 
 There were eight in number, one for each 
 stanza, and were sent to Mr. James in New York, 
 who had reproductions made and placed them on 
 the market. 
 
 Of the result of this Mrs. Oertel writes : 
 
 ^*I think it is easy to see why they failed. No 
 one has said anything against them as works of art 
 —indeed they are highly praised; but they are 
 about Death and the fashionable crowds who fre- 
 quent the picture stores pronounce them Herrible.' 
 The truth is, they have sermons in them and the 
 multitude will not be preached to that way." 
 
CHAPTER IX. 
 
 In the early part of 1873 he made plans to go to 
 Europe. 
 
 It was quite evident that little could be expected 
 from the sale of his pictures, especially such sub- 
 jects as he wished and most cared to paint, these 
 coming before the public as painted in America and 
 by an American artist. 
 
 At the same time he believed that if such works 
 were offered as having been painted abroad they 
 would be viewed in a much more favorable light. 
 
 Also it appeared that abroad such works as he 
 wished to produce would be more appreciated and 
 there, especially in his native country, he would 
 receive the encouragement and support denied him 
 here. 
 
 He therefore determined to go to Dresden and 
 there locate for a time and endeavor to make money 
 to pay his debts and place himself in a position to 
 go on with his greater works. 
 
 An arrangement was made with his publisher 
 to furnish the funds necessary for the journey and 
 to supply a small amount monthly to meet current 
 expenses. 
 
 However, after he had made many preparations 
 for the trip, Mr. James informed him it would be 
 impossible for him to furnish the funds promised. 
 
LIFE STORY OF REV. J. A. OERTEL. D.D. 109 
 
 He then determined to make the necessary 
 amount himself and set out on a tour of southern 
 cities to paint portraits, going first to Rock Hill, 
 S. C, the home of one of his former pupils. Miss 
 Annie Jones, afterwards Mrs. Eobertson, of 
 Columbia. 
 
 From there he writes Mrs. Oertel : ''If I am not 
 successful in making a sufficient amount to keep up 
 our school and have a surplus we shall, though in 
 utter sorrow, have to break up family and perhaps 
 home. I tremble at the thought, but the sad work 
 has already begun, and God only knows where it 
 will stop. I greatly fear that the gloominess of our 
 affairs has not yet reached its apex." 
 
 ''And later, from Salem, N. C. : 
 
 "It truly appears that our cup of sorrow is not 
 yet full, though it has been filling near the brim 
 these three years ; but let us bravely hope still, even 
 to the last. 
 
 "If I am obliged to continue portrait painting, 
 or anything away from Lenoir, I must resign my 
 parish. 
 
 "Your last letter read as solemn as the sighing 
 storm in the cedars of Salem graveyard avenue. Is 
 it the prelude of our farewell from Lenoir? I fear 
 we shall shortly be driven to that, for how can we 
 hold out under the circumstances'? How can I 
 prevent it, even if all my earnings go into that 
 vortex?" 
 
 During this period of portrait painting he also 
 did much ministerial work and in the evenings 
 wood carving, as he had taken his tools with him for 
 the express purpose. 
 
no A VISION REALIZED 
 
 He went home for a week at Christmas, 1873, 
 and then returned to Salem. From Salem he went 
 to Charlotte, N. C, where he had an exhibition of a 
 number of his paintings, including ^^The Final 
 Harvest," which had been on exhibition for some 
 time in Raleigh. He was much discouraged by the 
 life he was compelled to lead and the class of work 
 he had to do. 
 
 In his letters to his wife he made plans of 
 various kinds to ^^save the school." One of these 
 was to offer his studio building for a schoolhouse if 
 the bishop would pledge support, and it was deter- 
 mined to put the matter before him at the conven- 
 tion soon to be held at Wilmington. 
 
 He also decided to give up the European trip 
 and work to pay his debts and make a new start. 
 Though a considerable sum had been realized from 
 portrait painting it was all absorbed as fast as made 
 by paying pressing debts and keeping up the school. 
 
 May 8, 1874, he writes: ^^The hymn of poor 
 Newman has been ringing much in my head— 
 ^Lead, kindly Light'— and particularly the line *I 
 do not ask to see the distant scene. One step enough 
 for me', so good-bye conjecture and speculation and 
 welcome faith and hope." 
 
 May 22, from Wilmington he writes : **I am not 
 encouraged about school affairs. I think we will 
 have to fight that out pretty much alone. We can 
 hope for no help from the bishop. Probably, the 
 best course is what you (wife) suggest, to carry it 
 through the present year." 
 
 While in Wilmington he was requested to take 
 charge of the parish of Dr. Watson (afterwards 
 
LIFE STORY OF REV. J. A. OERTEL. D.D. 1 1 1 
 
 bishop), and did so for three months. After this 
 he resumed his portrait painting in Charlotte. 
 
 Every effort was now made and every bit of 
 energy put in to the paying of debts— debts which 
 had not been incurred on his personal account but 
 in an effort to build up school and parish. Alas, the 
 odds against him w^ere too great for even the Hercu- 
 lean efforts he made to overcome, too great in spite 
 of the patient and resourceful wife who bravely 
 faced the desperate situation at home and in his 
 absence bore the brunt of the battle. An insight 
 into the cause of much of the difficulty is given on 
 reading a letter written by Mrs. Oertel to a friend 
 Februaryie, 1874; 
 
 ^^ You know we have the school here ; last session 
 we had the teacher, her niece, and four school girls 
 boarding with us. As three of them, the teacher, 
 her niece and one of the girls were ^dead heads', 
 and the other three left without paying one cent on 
 their bills, you can imagine that my financial condi- 
 tion has not been the most prosperous. 
 
 ^^We have fought valiantly for the school the 
 past two years ; if He will accept and bless the work, 
 well; if not, why, then, well, too; He knows best." 
 
 Many things in this wandering life were hard 
 for him to endure. ^'1 am getting very tired," he 
 says, ^^of my present life. Visions of art float 
 ahead and of a congenial atmosphere which I every- 
 where so sadly miss, among a people who are very 
 good but can give me nothing I need, nor sympathy 
 with my efforts in the manner I require. 
 
 *^Iron fetters hold me down and chafe my soul, 
 and were it not for other thoughts, that this life is 
 
112 A VISION REALIZED 
 
 a discipline and a man's identity not closed or fin- 
 ished with his departure from earth, I should feel 
 truly despairing while the years fly so swiftly and 
 I see so little of life's plans accomplished. Pa- 
 tience, submission ; oh how much are they needed ! 
 How hard are they to practice! How slowly are 
 they learned in true spirit!" 
 
 He was deeply grieved at the situation in the 
 parish where he had worked so hard and sacrificed 
 so much. ^^How far off," he says, ^^and yet how 
 near my poor parish seems to me, the w^ork I did 
 there, the people who compose it ; and it seems also 
 as if I must remain associated with it and still be 
 the guide and teacher and the builder up in that 
 primitive mountain land. 
 
 ^^What is to become of if? What is to become 
 of the poor I have helped and whom I can help no 
 longer?" 
 
 In the months spent at Wilmington his brush 
 was not idle. He painted a large landscape of an 
 old southern home surrounded by towering live 
 oaks and in the foreground a trellised scupernong 
 vine so common in that section. Also he made 
 many marine sketches, going as often as possible to 
 the ocean beach. 
 
 ^^I have spent," he says, '^a night on the ocean 
 shore alone and stood on the roaring brink in the 
 dark, lonely, and feeling the pitiless mystery before 
 me like the fateful future into whose unfathomable 
 extent we peer, a dark infinitude knocking at our 
 hearts with rolling surf that crawls on as if to swal- 
 low us up and thunders of things strange and 
 unknowable." 
 
LIFE STORY OF REV. J. A. OERTEL. D.D. 1 1 3 
 
 This great sea with its ever varying moods, its 
 * things strange and unknowable," made a deep 
 impression on him and he began to paint a large 
 canvas, '^ After the Struggle, Peace." 
 
 Another seashore picture was painted, ^'Home- 
 ward from the Marshes," cattle coming up from 
 feeding in the marsh land in the evening light. 
 
 He left Wilmington the first of December, going 
 to Greensboro to continue portrait painting there. 
 He became in a way reconciled to the life he had to 
 lead and tried to see in what he had done all the 
 good possible and to comfort himself therewith. 
 
 In letters to his wife at this time he says : 
 
 ''What I have done for this year past appears 
 indeed very little to the purpose, and yet perhaps 
 more real good has been done, more seed sown, 
 more of helping here and there which none other 
 could do as well or in the same way, than if Mr. 
 James had furnished me the money to sail off in 
 grand style with a flourish in the papers. 
 
 "I am sent here and there, sowing seed, exert- 
 ing some influence, and whether in future settled 
 or not if I have grace to labor faithfully there will 
 be fruit not to be ashamed of. Better men than 
 myself have been wanderers, St. Paul, and all the 
 apostles among them. Yet their lives certainly 
 were not lost. I am now settled in the belief that 
 this earthly life of mine may have to be passed in 
 humbly doing what men call "small work," jobs 
 like a journeyman carpenter, day work for day 
 wages ; not in the execution of vast designs of a far- 
 reaching character, lifting my name among the 
 world's great and daring spirits to be inscribed 
 
114 A VISION REALIZED 
 
 upon the annals of fame and known in the front 
 rank of enterprise and achievement. I may have 
 the thoughts, but they must be to myself only; I 
 may have the boldness, but it must be carried like a 
 reserve strength for enduring hardship. It is 
 well then to look into the unbounded activity of a 
 life yonder. When a misgiving steals over me— as 
 it does— that I am making a practical failure of my 
 career, and I study the manifold windings an invis- 
 ible hand leads me, and the real divine object of 
 human life, the consummation after the eyes close 
 to the sun, I feel calmly reconciled and ready to do 
 any work faithfully which to-day this unseen 
 Power lays in my path, doing the same to-morrow, 
 and after to-morrow, just as a child would do in 
 trust, and then worry, anxiety, and fear and disap- 
 pointed hopes all vanish like shadowy specters of 
 night when the heavenly light breaks into the 
 gloom. I can then be reconciled to anything and 
 my eyes open to the untold blessings contained in 
 this very denial, and submission and peace calms 
 down the agitated deep of my soul. " 
 
 With the certainty that the work in Lenoir must 
 be given up and the struggle against fate abandoned 
 came a kind of relief and a looking forward to the 
 future with more hope and complacency. 
 
 ''We have both of us,'' he writes his wife, ''fret- 
 ted ourselves too much in times past. We have dis- 
 quieted ourselves about what was still ahead and 
 sometimes things which never came to pass. All 
 this is wrong. It consumes strength, resolution, 
 and peace. We must do so no more. The rough 
 places must be gone over, the deep waters crossed, 
 
LIFE STORY OF REV. J. A. OERTEL, D.D. 115 
 
 the steps attained by labor and toil in the striving 
 for the bright land beyond. It is enough that the 
 end be glorious, though the race be hard and trying 
 and long, and God will increase our power if from 
 the heart we trust in Him. ' ' 
 
 Feeling that he could never resume work in his 
 Lenoir parish, he at last resigned, December, 1874, 
 and the parish and school passed into the hands of 
 the Rev. C. T. Bland. He wrote regretting that he 
 could not be present at the last, and said to his wife 
 '^God bless you for your heroic exertions in my 
 former parish, and especially during my absence 
 and this last Christmas season." Being absent at 
 this time was particularly trying to him as during 
 the years he had charge of the parish Christmas 
 tide was made, as it should be, the great feast of the 
 year, and in all that was done he took an active part. 
 
 The little church was always most elaborately 
 dressed with evergreens; usually an ornamental 
 screen of his design was made with his own hands 
 for the front of the chancel, and all the young folks 
 gathered there in the evenings to help cover it with 
 spruce and laurel. There was the Christmas tree 
 to decorate and all the simple little presents for the 
 Sunday-school scholars to arrange. Then at the 
 old rectory all was bustle to prepare the feast of 
 good things to which all were invited, and on 
 Christmas eve the young folks went out and sang 
 carols from house to house. 
 
 All this came up in his mind as he spent this 
 Christmas away from his parish and his family and 
 among strangers and realized that it must now be 
 reckoned among the things of the past and that he 
 
116 A VISION REALIZED 
 
 was no longer the pastor of his beloved people 
 whom he had served so faithfully. 
 
 To show what this Christmas time was to him 
 and his devoted wife is quoted a portion of a letter 
 written by her in 1884 to The Church Messenger, 
 published in Charlotte, N. C. Mrs. Oertel wrote for 
 this paper for some years under the name *'Lada." 
 
 ^^Dear old Christmas! Hallowed feast! With 
 a magician's wand thou bringest out of the past the 
 trooping memories. 
 
 *'I see a group of worshippers in a village 
 church on the far-away foot hills of the Blue Eidge 
 in the Old North State. It is Christmas Eve. I see 
 this group after the service stand talking around 
 the stove near the door, until, when the rector's 
 wife announces her determination to leave, not- 
 withstanding the effort made to prolong the conver- 
 sation, one of the girls seizes the bellrope and rings 
 out a merry peal upon the night air. I hear the 
 rector utter some chiding words, but they do not 
 have very much effect on the high spirits. I see the 
 rector and his wife go toward home. They are 
 astonished that the rectory parlor seems brilliantly 
 lighted, a cheerful fire upon the hearth, the lamps 
 burning, the room decorated with evergreens, and 
 everything— sofa, piano, tables, and chairs— piled 
 up with beautiful and useful things, while an illu- 
 minated shade over the lamp on the center table 
 greets them ^^Merrie Christmas." Not a soul is to 
 be seen ; all is silent save the cheery crackle of the 
 fire upon the hearth, and then they know that the 
 peal upon the church bell was to warn the fairies 
 who had wrought this transformation to flee. It is 
 
LIFE STORY OF REV. J. A. OERTEL. D.D. 1 1 7 
 
 Holy Innocents ' night. I see the same rectory blaz- 
 ing from one end to the other with lights and danc- 
 ing fires upon every hearth stone. The doors are 
 wide open and I see coming up the winding road 
 from the gate through pure white fresh-fallen snow 
 a long procession of old and young, rich and poor, 
 all in one happy band, coming from the enjoyment 
 of the Christmas Tree at the church and making 
 the snow-laden pines shiver to their very tops with 
 the volume of glad voices shouting the melodious 
 strains of * Wonderful Night.' I see good cheer 
 spread in abundance. I see, ah ! I can see no more 
 for the blinding tears." 
 
 As he was now no longer in charge of a parish 
 he began to work harder than ever with brush and 
 pencil, and besides the portraits on which he was 
 engaged made many designs for more important 
 work to be executed in the future to which he again 
 looked forward with hope and confidence. 
 
 He had made a design of ^^The Shadow of the 
 Eock" and writes he had ^^frequently tried to im- 
 prove the figure. Last night it came to me. How 
 my best things have always been a gift. ' ' 
 
 He improved much in health and strength, no 
 doubt because the burden of the parish and school 
 had been lifted from his shoulders and he was at 
 the time making enough money to supply im- 
 mediate needs and had besides good prospects of 
 more remunerative work. 
 
 Of this he says: ^^And while the artists at the 
 North are reduced to the verge of want, I, strange 
 to contemplate, in a country without art and money, 
 am having orders ahead and a reasonable prospect 
 
118 A VISION REALIZED 
 
 of being able to go forward on the laudable and 
 happy road of paying the debts of more disastrous 
 years.'' 
 
 Several important designs were made at this 
 time, ^'Isaiah on Mount Horeb,'' of which he made 
 a finely finished and deep-toned drawing, and 
 ^^Ezekiel,'' or '^The Vision of Dry Bones." This 
 was afterward painted and will be later described. 
 
 February 15, 1875, he received a call to the as- 
 sistant rectorship of the church at Wilmington, but 
 declined, *^for," he said, ''how can I pay my debts 
 if I go ? How can I follow art at all ? I am not a 
 free man to choose." 
 
 Most of the work on his important designs was 
 done at night, as the portrait painting consumed all 
 of the daylight. It was to him an irksome task, 
 with his mind so filled with children of his own crea- 
 tion which he so longed to produce ! He thus gives 
 vent to his feelings in a letter to his wife (Mar. 18, 
 1875) : ''I go in the 'painting room' and look with 
 horror at the row of stretchers gaping their backs 
 of canvas with my name on each at me as in ghastly 
 grin at the labor I, poor fellow, had to bestow on 
 their opposite sides. It reminds one, this wretched 
 sight, of the organ grinder you once saw in Tenth 
 Street, New York, one fearfully hot day, drawling 
 out dolefully the air 'Jordan is a hard road to 
 travel' and some lounging chap tosses him a penny. 
 What a pity that artists and clergymen have to eat 
 and drink and need money like other folks; that 
 they can not feed themselves and their families on 
 beauty and morals. 
 
 "If the business I am now engaged in wore out 
 
LIFE STORY OF REV. J. A. OERTEL. D.D. 1 19 
 
 only brushes they could easily be replaced; but I 
 have to be watchful it does not wear out my mind 
 much more and leave it in a blank condition. It is 
 not particularly enriched by the process." 
 
 Early in the spring (April) he went over in 
 ** Stokes" county to paint horses, and while there 
 wrote he had held the first church service ever seen 
 or heard in that county. 
 
 In the latter part of April his daughter and 
 younger son left Lenoir for a visit to friends in the 
 State and, as his elder son was already away at 
 school, Mrs. Oertel was left alone and he planned 
 to return. 
 
 *^ Eight long weary months," he says to her, 
 '^ since I have had the light of your face. We have 
 tried to be doing good, and by Divine grace have, 
 1 believe, effected our desires; but it has been at 
 fearful expense to ourselves. I myself do not 
 reckon it, but we are now by His own hand broken 
 up and warned away from Lenoir, and since He has 
 thus set us in motion on this course and race for 
 freedom, I mean to keep on the run until I have 
 crossed the Mason and Dixon line." 
 
CHAPTER X. 
 
 He returned to Lenoir May 24, 1875, and moved 
 Ms furniture into the studio where he and his 
 wife lived for some time. He at once began to plan 
 for important art work and determined to risk 
 painting, '^The Shadow of the Rock," but the 
 general conditions and surroundings were not con- 
 ducive to the freedom of thought so necessary to 
 its successful execution. Though living in the 
 studio, he and his wife had to go to a neighbor's, 
 half a mile distant, for meals, which made a serious 
 break in his days. Then the separation from the 
 children, the scattered condition of his household, 
 and being forced to remain in his former field of 
 labor and see day by day his cherished work fade 
 away and die and be unable to raise a hand to save 
 it was hard to endure. 
 
 ^*As for the parish," writes Mrs. Oertel, '*we 
 feel much like standing by the bedside of a dying 
 loved one and watching each breath grow fainter ; 
 disintegration and decay seems to be written over 
 the door." 
 
 Besides this, he had been out of the art world 
 for years and constantly drawing on his own mental 
 resources without opportunity for study or aid of 
 any kind whatever. 
 
 He felt this keenly and so feared to trust him- 
 
LIFE STORY OF REV. J. A. OERTEL. D.D. 121 
 
 self to go on with the large work in his present con- 
 dition that he made plans to go to New York and 
 paint it there. 
 
 This, however, he was forced to relinquish for 
 lack of funds, though about the same time he gave 
 $50 toward the support of the mission school and 
 paid over $1,300 on his debts. 
 
 It was no new thing for him to work under every 
 difficulty, so he began, June, 1875, to paint, as best 
 he might, ^^The Shadow of the Rock," 8 by 10 feet 
 in size, with the intention of sending it to the Cen- 
 tennial Exposition soon to be held in Philadelphia. 
 
 This is from the text : 
 
 *^ And a man shall be as a hiding place from the 
 wind, and a covert from the tempest; as rivers of 
 water in a dry place, as the shadow of a great rock 
 in a weary land. " Isaiah 32 : 2. 
 
 On the left-hand side of the picture stretches 
 the awful waste of the desert. It lies under the 
 glaring noon-day sun, yellow, shimmering with in- 
 tense heat, stones strewn about, their keen edges 
 sharply defined beneath the fierce sunshine, and 
 along the distant horizon the death-dealing sand 
 storm is sweeping up with a terrible fury, a ^^ weary 
 land" indeed! 
 
 On the other side of the picture, covering nearly 
 half of the canvas, there rises a rock so high that 
 the top is not seen. At the base, from a cleft in its 
 side, there gushes out a bubbling spring of bright 
 water. All around the rill formed b}^ the spring, 
 emerald green grass gemmed with flowers, olean- 
 ders in full bloom, with other shrubbery in luxuri- 
 ant profusion, cover the otherwise arid soil. 
 
122 A VISION REALIZED 
 
 The shadow of the rock is thrown in the imme- 
 diate foreground by the meridian sun, and it 
 suggests the form of a cross. 
 
 Herein is contained the powerful teaching of 
 this design. In this shadow lies a youth, oriental in 
 face and garb. He has evidently, just at the last 
 moment of endurance, escaped from the blazing 
 sunshine and the oncoming wind and tempest; he 
 has cast himself at full length upon the living grass 
 and presses hands and cheek against the cold moist 
 rock, while his large dark eyes are lifted in unutter- 
 able thankfulness. At a distance away, upon the 
 sand, lies a figure that for some reason has failed to 
 reach the Eefuge, and one feels that destruction 
 must soon overtake him. 
 
 The one who has gained the shadow shows by 
 the expression of exhaustion in the whole figure, the 
 cut and bleeding feet, and parched lips, that his 
 race for life has been a severe one. 
 
 The parable is plain to imderstand. The desert 
 —this sinful world; the rock— Christ; the spring— 
 the living waters; the shadow— His full life-giving 
 salvation. On the one side— danger, destruction, 
 death; on the other side— rest, refreshment, safety, 
 life. ^^So run that ye may obtain," and ^^and that 
 Rock was Christ" are the legends on the frame. 
 
 It was for such art as this that Mr. Oertel fought 
 his whole life through, a hand-to-hand fight with 
 the materialism of the age. 
 
 Painting this picture exhausted all his re- 
 sources, but he felt it his duty as an American artist 
 to do something toward the showing of American 
 art in the great exhibition, and doubly so as a Chris- 
 
UFE STORY OF REV. J. A. OERTEL. D.D. 123 
 
 tian artist to place a work there to testify to Gospel 
 truth. 
 
 For some days before it was sent to Phila- 
 delphia it was on exhibition at the studio and 
 almost everyone in the town and surrounding coun- 
 try came to see it. The people were so proud to 
 have such a work go to represent their town that 
 they insisted on paying the expense of sending it to 
 Philadelphia. 
 
 It was sent to the Exposition and attracted a 
 great deal of attention, though only 15 words of 
 explanation or description were allowed in the 
 catalogue. 
 
 It was shown in New York at the National 
 Academy exhibition in 1877. Mr. Oertel had an 
 understanding with the hanging committee about it 
 before it left Philadelphia, and they expressed 
 themselves glad to give it place. The place they 
 gave it was one where it could hardly be seen at all. 
 A critic, in an article on ^^ Christian Thought in the 
 National Academy" said: ^^In wandering through 
 the galleries of the Academy, with all the variety 
 of color and effect upon its walls, and the display 
 of technical ability, a thoughtful mind can not but 
 be struck with the meagerness of idea in the works 
 which our painters put before us. As the true end 
 and aim of art should be to instruct and teach, to 
 lift the soul from this earthly level to purer 
 heights of spiritual contemplation, to place before 
 the eye facts and ideals lofty and elevating in a 
 tangible form, one would expect to find a larger 
 recognition of this principle in the exhibition of the 
 National Academy ; but looking for this, and Chris- 
 
124 A VISION REALIZED 
 
 tian thought especially, I find but few represen- 
 tatives. 
 
 ^^The most important work of the character, 
 No. 108, ^The Shadow of a Great Eock,' by J. A. 
 Oertel, to which the hanging committee have in- 
 deed proved themselves executioners, is hung in the 
 corridor above one of the large doors! * * * The 
 excellency of the rendering of details can not be 
 seen in its present position. It is only those who 
 saw the picture under more favorable circum- 
 stances at the Centennial who can know what they 
 are. * * * This picture is a sermon of powerful 
 Christian teaching. Can that be the reason it was 
 hung so near the sky?" 
 
 Another work which deserves mention was ex- 
 hibited at the same time: ''Elijah on Mount 
 Horeb." It is a powerful rendering of the grand 
 old prophet in his hour of deep depression and 
 almost despair, when he exclaimed (I Kings, 10) : 
 ''And I, even I only am left, and they seek my 
 life to take it away." 
 
 Next was finished "After the Struggle, Peace," 
 begun in Wilmington, and this also was sent to 
 New York for exhibition. 
 
 It is a grand and imposing picture. It trans- 
 fers you almost bodily to the lone low shore on 
 which the restless waters beat. You can almost 
 hear the roar and hiss and see the mad foam crawl 
 up to your feet. Darkness settles upon the deep, 
 and the light of the departing sun glows only in the 
 long-stretched army of the sky like a battlement of 
 glory, conducting the eye to the restful blue over- 
 head. But below there is commotion and strife and 
 
LIFE STORY OF REV. J. A. OERTEL. D.D. 125 
 
 the mystery of danger and suffering and death, for 
 there lies, just cast out, a piece of a wreck, and a 
 sealed bottle washed upon the sand— the tale of 
 some lost crew upon the mighty and treacherous 
 deep. 
 
 In this manner he proposed to teach more than 
 how the surf breaks upon a shallow beach, and make 
 it a poem of life, of death, and of eternity. 
 
 Again came up the question of how he should 
 attain his object of painting the ^^ series," and all 
 sorts of schemes were alternately discussed and 
 abandoned for the same reason— lack of funds. 
 
 He felt that Providence had so far restrained 
 him from the work, as he now felt ready both 
 in mental discipline and technical knowledge, 
 which he was not at the time the designs were 
 given him. 
 
 ^^But now," he says ^Hhe time has come, if 
 ever," and Mrs. Oertel writes : ^^I would go to Cali- 
 fornia or the South Sea Islands, or any other cor- 
 ner of the world if I was convinced that by doing 
 so I should advance the possibility of this great 
 work. No sacrifice I could make should stand in 
 the way." 
 
 However, nothing could be done without money 
 and he again started out painting portraits, going 
 first to Raleigh, while Mrs. Oertel went to visit her 
 relatives in New York (May 22, 1876). 
 
 So at last Lenoir was left behind and the years 
 of struggle in the attempt to benefit and help his 
 people were now only a remembrance. The break- 
 ing away had been gradual, but because of this all 
 the harder. As he expressed it, *^It is in some 
 
126 A VISION REALIZED 
 
 respects like the mercy shown the dog by his owner 
 when he cut off his tail by inches to save pain." 
 
 In Raleigh he was engaged on all kinds of work, 
 little of which was to his liking, and he vents his 
 feelings in letters to his wife. In May, 1876, he 
 wrote: 
 
 ^^An old chronic and periodical desire has again 
 seized me this spring, and at times I suffer terribly 
 from it, the more so because it seems as if I must 
 bear it in patience without much prospect of a cure. 
 It is that miserable art fever, and it comes on worse 
 with every attack because I am getting to be more 
 and more starved out; consequently I have less 
 power to resist. It shakes me from morning to 
 night and is a daily visitor— not an intermittant. 
 
 ^^This last week I worked very hard, but it was 
 to purpose. Once a while, you know of old, there 
 comes to me such a fit of activity and then the labor 
 of two or three days is compressed into one." 
 
 July 16 he wrote from Raleigh to his wife : 
 
 ^^And now let us see what my log book has 
 marked down for the past week. Speed, 12 knots 
 an hour; advanced well the picture of the ^Man in 
 the Boat'; painted in a day and a half a very fine 
 fruit piece for Mrs. Battle as a present, nearly fin- 
 ished a small fruit piece for myself. Dead calm 
 prevailing (as regards wind, for my speed is per 
 steam, you must know, not being able to use the sails 
 of pecuniary advantage by absence of breezes of 
 fortune). Weather murky, damp, and threaten- 
 ing; sky covered and preventing observations; 
 drifting with powerful undercurrent in an un- 
 known direction, afraid shoals near but can not see 
 
LIFE STORY OF REV. J. A. OERTEL. D.D. 127 
 
 them ; keep watch in top and fire signal guns once 
 in a while without response ; no use of rockets, as 
 air is too foggy and thick; hope to get sight of 
 something this week, but uncertain; have nearly 
 decided to alter course and steer westerly. 
 
 ''An advertisement in the papers in flaming 
 capitals would certainly be the proper thing: 'The 
 greatest artist of all North Carolina in this city! 
 Extraordinary chance! Unparalleled advantage, 
 most wonderful bargains ! $75 a head for the most 
 striking and beautiful likeness done to the life. 
 Would deceive a man's own dog and run his wife 
 distracted. Now is your time, positively the only 
 and last chance; go at once and secure your for- 
 tune ; wake up to the magnificent opportunity and 
 save yourselves the pangs of everlasting regret," 
 etc. 
 
 On August 4, 1876, he returned to Lenoir to 
 pack and ship some of his goods and take final leave, 
 "have another inch of the tail removed." 
 
 Prom here, on the 23rd, he writes Mrs. Oertel, 
 now at her old home in Madison, N. J. : 
 
 "The date of our silver wedding (minus the 
 silver) is September 4, and we ought to be together 
 on that date. We have had many ups and downs in 
 the last 25 years, and now we are back where we 
 started— without a home and beginning once more. 
 
 ' ' The poor people of the parish came to say good 
 bye; they send love to you. I suppose many a 
 broken prayer goes up from these poor creatures 
 on our behalf. Alas! this stricken parish!" 
 
CHAPTER XI. 
 
 September 1 (1876) he left for the North, 
 spending some time in Madison, and Glen Cove, 
 L. I., where he visited his friend. Rev. John C. 
 Middleton, then rector of St. Paul's Church. 
 
 On October 17 he took a studio in the T. M. C. A. 
 Building, New York City. Of this move he says : 
 ^^What else can be done I am unable to see. All is 
 a subject for trust, and not for sight." He had 
 been seven years in the South, isolated from artistic 
 intercourse, and knowing of art life only by occa- 
 sional clippings from the newspapers sent him by 
 his friends at intervals. He soon realized that the 
 spirit and fashion of art had drifted farther than 
 ever away from him. He found some of the best 
 artists spending their strength on illustrations and 
 decorations which to his mind were trivial and un- 
 satisfying. His serious turn of thought, his ideas 
 of elevation in art, seemed all out of place. A few 
 of the old names were left, but only a few ; from 
 these he received a hearty welcome, but withal he 
 felt a stranger ; a stranger personally to the multi- 
 tude of new artists who had meanwhile arisen, a 
 stranger to the style, method, and aim of prevailing 
 taste. 
 
 Certainly this move was, as he said, one of trust 
 and not of sight. The first night in his new room 
 
LIFE STORY OF REV. J. A. OERTEL. D.D. 129 
 
 was without fire, though it was quite cold. He had 
 only a few of his things and slept on the floor, ^^ with 
 paint box for pillow and some light robes, used for 
 draping, for cover." 
 
 **It seems like a monstrous venture," he says, 
 *Ho go into such a room— and such expenses— with 
 $15 in one's pocket. I have felt for some days very 
 sober and anxious, but yesterday, coming down on 
 the cars, I asked the serious question whether if 
 $500 were in my pocket these despondent thoughts 
 would rule me ? Whether in that case it would not 
 be, after all, the money my heart trusted in to help 
 me through instead of the Great Banker in Heaven, 
 my almighty and ever-faithful God, and, conscience 
 stricken, I humbled myself and begged forgiveness 
 and grace and faith to trust implicitly always and 
 with a cheerful courage in whatever trial of pa- 
 tience and endurance might come." 
 
 And so he began this period of his career (1876) 
 which was to result only in fruitless effort— in dire 
 distress, poverty, and privation over which it is 
 best to pass. 
 
 It is not desired to weary the reader of these 
 pages by a rehearsal of all the trials, care, and dis- 
 appointment which fell to his lot; nevertheless, 
 in writing of a life which was for the most 
 part struggle and privation, much must be told; 
 at least such incidents as directly affected his 
 artistic career. 
 
 Many failures were due without doubt to his 
 own errors of judgment, though who can say 
 what the result would have been had the op- 
 posite course been followed? Most of such, 
 
1 30 A VISION REALIZED 
 
 however, can be traced directly or indirectly to 
 the tenacity with which he clung to his ideal 
 and religious art. 
 
 For this was the sacrifice made, and even when 
 disposed to murmur at the hardships he was called 
 on to endure he had a sublime faith in Almighty 
 power and over the troubled waters of his soul came 
 the voice of his Master saying ^* Peace, be still" and 
 there was a great calm. 
 
 So as year succeeded year, each bringing to him 
 new trials and difficulties, each bearing him nearer 
 the end of life yet sternly withholding that for 
 which he strove, did this faith and trust bear him 
 up and give him strength to rise above each suc- 
 ceeding surge which swept over him and strike 
 
 out toward the calm water bevond with renewed 
 
 •/ 
 
 vigor. 
 
 Nothing was accomplished in the New York 
 studio, and, after spending the winter there, early 
 in the spring (1877) he sought again the retirement 
 of a country home. 
 
 Attracted by the prospect of the society of val- 
 ued friends, he made his new home at Glen Cove, 
 L. I., and was soon by vote of the vestry offered a 
 complimentary position as assistant minister of St. 
 Paul's Church, which he accepted, glad to render 
 what assistance he could to his cherished friend, the 
 rector. 
 
 At this time the Stewart Memorial Cathedral at 
 Garden City, L. I., was being built, and Bishop Lit- 
 tle John proposed Mr. Oertel's name to the architect 
 as the proper man to make designs for the windows 
 and other artistic work. In this he was seconded 
 
LIFE STORY OF REV. J. A. OERTEL, D.D. 131 
 
 by Dr. Middleton, then warden of the cathedral 
 schools. 
 
 He became very enthusiastic over the prospect 
 and even made some designs, but Judge Henry Hil- 
 ton, who had charge of the whole matter for Mrs. 
 Stewart, refused to consent, putting a stop to any 
 further operations. 
 
 He fitted up a sort of a studio in the carriage- 
 house of the property rented and began to paint. 
 Only two important works mark this period, ^^The 
 Holy Grail" and the reredos he erected in St. 
 Paul's Church **to the glory of God and as a testi- 
 mony of his heartfelt appreciation of the many 
 kindnesses and delicate attentions he had received 
 from the members of the congregation.'' The seed 
 thought of the painting of *^The Holy Grail" is 
 contained in the well-known stanza from Tenny- 
 son's ^^Sir Galahad." 
 
 "A gentle sound, an awful light, 
 
 Three angels bear the Holy Grail, 
 With folded feet, and stoles of white 
 
 On sleeping wings they sail. 
 blessed vision. Blood of God ! 
 
 My spirit beats its mortal bars. 
 As down dark tides the glory rides 
 
 And starlight mingles with the stars." 
 
 But merely to give embodiment to the poetical 
 idea expressed in these lines would not satisfy our 
 artist. He never could give the image supplied by 
 the mind of another without draping it anew from 
 his own storehouse. So the picture stands com- 
 pleted, not the beauteous vision the poet laureate 
 brings before the knight, but as showing the sacra- 
 
132 A VISION REALIZED 
 
 ment of the Holy Eucharist in the keeping of the 
 ministry of the Church, 
 
 The three angels who bear the Holy Grail are 
 clothed in the vestments of the altar service. The 
 central figure in the alb and chasuble of the cele- 
 brant, and representing the bishop, looks up with 
 a face full of rapt adoration at the Holy Burden 
 lifted high above their heads. To the right the 
 angel wears the surplice of the priest. He, too, 
 gazes upon the mystery he helps to bear, but with 
 more of anxious deference in the expression of his 
 coimtenance ; while the angel on the left side has the 
 dalmatic, or short surplice of the deacon, with the 
 stole crossed under the left arm. He assists with 
 one hand in bearing the Holy Grail but the other is 
 pressed upon his breast, and his gaze is downcast 
 and full of the deepest reverential awe. 
 
 The Cup is blood red upon a base of gold and 
 jewels. It emits seven rays; three from the top 
 symbolizing the Trinity, the four pointing down- 
 ward being the number of earth ; in all seven, the 
 seven spirits of God, and the number of heavenly 
 and spiritual perfection. 
 
 The three figures with their wings make a star- 
 like form and are lighted from the cup, which is 
 glowing with light and blood red. The background 
 is a dark, star-studded sky with fleecy clouds below. 
 This is a most remarkable picture and the lighting 
 such that it impresses one as if it might still be seen 
 if the room were darkened. 
 
 The reredos is a piece of exquisite carving fill- 
 ing the whole back of the chancel. The wood is 
 chestnut with an admixture of holly. It contains 
 
LIFE STORY OF REV. J. A. OERTEL. D.D. 1 33 
 
 five paintings in oil and some illuminations, the 
 whole telling the story of the Incarnation in a full 
 and comprehensive manner. 
 
 This work was all done during the year 1877 and 
 early part of 1878. During the rest of the year 
 nothing of importance was produced. He had 
 many pictures on hand for which there was no sale, 
 and he had not the heart to paint more. Poverty, 
 failure, and disappointment had worn him out, and 
 he was in a serious condition physically. His 
 brother. Dr. Oertel, advised a change and sug- 
 gested that he go south again. So on the 3rd of 
 May 1879, the thirty-first anniversary of his leav- 
 ing the Fatherland, he set sail with his wife and two 
 sons on one of the Old Dominion Line steamers 
 bound southward to North Carolina. 
 
 After some months spent in the old Lenoir stu- 
 dio and among his former parishioners who loved 
 him so much, his health improved rapidly and he 
 was eager for work; so it was at last determined 
 to make a final settlement at Morganton, 16 miles 
 from Lenoir, in an adjoining county. 
 
 Buying a few acres of land on a most command- 
 ing site, where an unrivalled panorama of moun- 
 tain view surrounded him, looking into seven or 
 eight counties, and comprising the grandest eleva- 
 tions this side of the Rocky Mountains, he again 
 made a studio home. 
 
 Here once more he cherished the hope of going 
 on to paint his great designs. 
 
 For a time he was rector of the parish church— 
 unwillingly, but consenting to the position because 
 he felt that duty called him ; but later he resigned 
 
134 A VISION REALIZED 
 
 the rectorship and returned to art, believing that 
 his true mission was there and that he must preach 
 the glorious truths of the gospel by form rather 
 than words, being none the less a preacher by the 
 difference of the medium of communication to the 
 people. 
 
 The first painting of note produced in this 
 studio was ^^The Good Shepherd. '^ This does not 
 represent the earthly human shepherd according 
 to the conventional idea, but assumes that what our 
 Lord did while walking on the earth He is con- 
 stantly doing and by the same means. He still goes 
 out into the darkness of this sinful world with the 
 love of God and the power of His Atonement to 
 seek and save that which is lost. 
 
 In this picture the act is presented as fuly com- 
 pleted. Leaving the dark world behind Him, and 
 with the meek and thankful burden upon His 
 shoulders. He has entered upon the golden confines 
 of Heaven as in triumph, exclaiming, ^^ Rejoice 
 with me, for I have found my sheep." 
 
 A crown of 12 stars— the foundation number of 
 the Church— with the Cross as their center, encir- 
 cles His Head, and the tricolored numbers symbol- 
 ize the Trinity, and His own Divinity. The royal 
 mantle is on His shoulders while the other robes are 
 merely the suggestive red of love and white of holi- 
 ness. In His hands and His feet the stigmata 
 declare of the death on the cross once for all suf- 
 fered for mankind, and His arms with the shep- 
 herd's staff— for He is ^*the Bishop and Shepherd 
 of our souls," and the chief Shepherd— form a 
 cross, the symbol forever of our redemption. This 
 
LIFE STORY OF REV. J. A. OERTEL, D.D. 1 35 
 
 is sought to represent a summary of all the truths 
 contained in the subject of ^'The Good Shepherd" 
 and bring to the mind in one glance the character 
 of the blessed Saviour and the accomplishment of 
 His mission. 
 
 ''The Ark Restored/' painted at this time, is 
 one of his best works. It is from the sixth chapter 
 of I Samuel, where the five Philistine lords watch 
 the kine drawing the ark as they take their way 
 down the hill toward Beth Shemesh. It is fine in 
 color and full of dramatic action. This picture 
 was placed with a dealer in New York and the 
 price set at $1,000. Soon after it went on Mr. 
 Oertel received a telegram from the dealer 
 asking if he would take $600 for it. As usual 
 he needed money and could not afford to pass 
 the offer, so he replied that he would. After ex- 
 penses for frame and commission were deducted he 
 received $450. 
 
 The dealer would never tell to whom the picture 
 was sold and the artist always believed it brought 
 the full price and that the dealer pocketed the 
 balance. It is not known to this day who the 
 purchaser was. 
 
 Another painting was made here which deserves 
 mention. This was painted for Mr. Barns, of New 
 Haven, Conn. The subject was the three women on 
 their way to the sepulcher on Easter morning. 
 They walk out full faced toward you, their eyes 
 tear stained and the soul of sadness upon their 
 brows. You feel that they walk in silence, saying 
 only ''Who will roll us away the stone?" Behind 
 them rises Calvary with the three empty crosses 
 
136 A VISION REALIZED 
 
 outlined against the dawn and above that a cloud 
 all along the horizon, but over it an exquisite ex- 
 panse of sky palpitating with the dawning light, 
 and above the crosses flames the morning star— 
 telling that the stone is rolled away. 
 
 Mr. Hyde, during this year (1881), attempted 
 to make an arrangement with the Art Association 
 in Boston which would enable Mr. Oertel to go on 
 and paint the '^ Series," and for a time it seemed as 
 if his efforts would be successful. 
 
 Nearly 30 years had elapsed since the designs 
 were made, and always had he kept them in sight. 
 Mrs. Oertel writes (Sept. 19) ''When I look back 
 at his patience, at his faith in the future that God 
 would give him to execute these works, when I re- 
 member what inspirations they were, I feel as if the 
 time must come, and if it has not come now it does 
 begin to look hopeless." He also felt that surely 
 now the time had come and said that if the present 
 plan came to nothing he feared he would be ''a fail- 
 ure in art and have to worry out my life the best 
 lean." 
 
 However, when the plan of Mr. Hyde did fail 
 he did not despair, but set about devising a new 
 scheme to attain the desired end. His daughter 
 Lena had been teaching for some years in the Leake 
 and Watts Orphan House, New York City. His 
 elder son had cast his fortune with his and assisted 
 all he could, but still as they were now situated the 
 big works could not be attempted. So much was at 
 that time said and written of the possibilities of 
 easy living and making money in Florida that the 
 idea was evolved that here might be a chance to get 
 
LIFE STORY OF REV. J. A. OERTEL. D.D. 1 37 
 
 on a footing independent of art so he could be free 
 to carry out his plans. 
 
 He had some little correspondence with several 
 residents of the state and of course received every 
 encouragement to come and locate. In answer to 
 his inquiries in one locality he was told that the 
 business in which there was most immediate money 
 returns was lumber and that the growing of 
 oranges would soon bring a fortune. That was it ; 
 he would have a saw mill and an orange grove ; the 
 boys could run the mill and make the living while 
 the orange trees grew and he would be free to go 
 on with his artistic work. Accordingly, in the 
 spring of 1882 (Mar. 24), during the absence of his 
 elder son, he set out for the Promised Land, full of 
 hope and enthusiasm, taking with him his younger 
 son and dog ''Prince." As Mrs. Oertel wrote, it 
 surely was ''Innocents abroad." On his arrival in 
 Florida all was enthusiasm. The new and strange 
 country fascinated him. His artistic eye saw only 
 the beauty of moss-draped pines and gigantic live 
 oaks, of crystal springs and placid lakes. He be- 
 lieved all the stories told him of the wonderful 
 future of orange culture; one had only to plant 
 trees, watch them grow a few years, and then catch 
 the gold as it fell in showers from each bending 
 limb. His letters were all filled with glowing de- 
 scriptions of the beauty, healthfulness, and natural 
 advantages of the country. Alas ! he was soon to 
 learn that there was another side to life in the 
 Flowery Land; that the climate "so mild and 
 healthful to man" was also favorable to the exist- 
 ence of innumerable insect pests, and that it was a 
 
138 A VISION REALIZED 
 
 far cry from the orange seed to the gold dollar ; also 
 that though figures are not supposed to lie they do 
 so when it comes to estimating the capacity and 
 profits of a saw mill. 
 
 However, he located at Orange Spring, Marion 
 County, where with his sons and Mr. C. M. Mc- 
 Dowell of Morganton he went into the lumber 
 business, purchased a saw mill, and broke ground 
 for an orange grove. 
 
 Before joining him in his new home Mrs. Oertel 
 went on to New York to visit her relatives and 
 attend to art business there. 
 
 May 1 she writes of an attempt to have some 
 works published. She went to see the head of the 
 Scribner house and showed him the works. ^^He 
 asked," she says, ^^are they copies of any of the 
 great names'?" I said ^^Oh, no; they are entirely 
 original. " " Well, ' ' he said ' ' if they were copies of 
 any of the great names, they might be made to go ; 
 but as originals they are worthless." *^What can 
 one do with such sentiment as that?" She also 
 adds: ^^The pictures in the Academy are hung by 
 the neck until they are dead. The large one, ^ After 
 the Struggle, Peace' is consigned to the ^Eumple- 
 kammer' of the concern, down in the cloak room 
 among a lot of flowers and trumpery, and *^The 
 Child Jesus" has a negro picture to right of it, a 
 negro stealing whiskey beneath it, and a gay thing 
 full of unrest to the left of it." On the above it is 
 useless to comment. The only wonder is that he 
 continued to work at all or had any heart to try to 
 bring his art before the public. 
 
 Mrs. Oertel left New York to join the family in 
 
LIFE STORY OF REV. J. A. OERTEL, D.D. 1 39 
 
 Orange Spring on June 16 (1882), going by 
 steamer to Jacksonville, river boat to Palatka, 
 railroad to Johnson's Station, and ^* Florida phae- 
 ton" (a two-wheeled cart) the remaining 6 miles. 
 Judging from her written description of this trip 
 her first impressions of the new land were anything 
 but favorable ; it is very humorous and interesting, 
 but lack of space forbids quoting here. 
 
 A hard and toilsome life she came to, one where 
 physical strength was needed above any other 
 asset ; this she had not, but courage and endurance 
 she had, and she bore the burden uncomplainingly 
 through all the long campaign which followed. 
 
 The saw mill was set up, logs hauled, and the 
 first timber cut was for the new studio which he 
 began to build at once w^hile still enthusiastic over 
 the country and the prospects. The boys helped 
 him get the heavy timbers in place, but except for 
 this the building was the work of his own hands. 
 Very little art work, however, was done. He re- 
 made the design for the ^^Dispensations of Promise 
 and the Law'' and considered that it was *^ vastly 
 improved"; also he recomposed ^^The Era of the 
 Holy Spirit. ' ' The original design— the 12 apostles 
 stepping down from the clouds in obedience to the 
 command '^go ye into all the world," etc., he made 
 only in the clouds, while below he placed a com- 
 position almost as extensive as the first one. 
 
 He also did considerable toward elaborating the 
 last of the ^ ' Series. ' ' 
 
 During his stay in Orange Spring he held serv- 
 ices in the Methodist Church, which was seldom 
 used. Lena came down from New York in the fall 
 
140 A VISION REALIZED 
 
 and helped in this with the music. A small organ 
 was carried over from the house every Sunday and 
 she played and sang the hynms. After Mr. Oertel 
 went North, his wife and daughter continued these 
 services for nine months. She says: ^^I wrote to 
 Dr. Weller, the principal clergyman of the diocese, 
 and asked him what he thought St. Paul would say 
 to it" (the reading of the service and sermon by a 
 woman). He replied, ^' Under the circimistances, 
 I think St. Paul would say, ^Sister, go on,' so on I 
 went." 
 
 It soon became apparent that a permanent stay 
 here was out of the question. The business could 
 not be made to pay as was expected ; the boys 
 worked hard, but were dissatisfied and did not care 
 to remain ; the life was hard on his wife and indeed 
 hard on him. His health failed and his enthusiasm 
 ebbed to the vanishing point. He suffered intensely 
 from the numerous insect pests. Ticks, chiggers, 
 fleas, sand flies, gnats, and mosquitoes abounded, 
 and all seemed to have a special thirst for his blood. 
 He was in constant misery from their bites and 
 stings, and as his flesh was irritated so was his mind. 
 He said he ^^felt so humiliated, being a prey to 
 vermin." 
 
 Mrs. Oertel wrote to ^^Edward" (March, 1883) : 
 ^'He can not stay here. The insects make life per- 
 fectly unendurable for him. 
 
 ^^ Imagine him before his easel, the gnats in his 
 eyes, the mosquitoes singing about his ears, the 
 fleas working next to his skin, the ants on his 
 palate— and meanwhile the roaches eating up his 
 books and pictures. ' ' And so, feeling that a further 
 
LIFE STORY OF REV. J. A. OERTEL. D.D. 141 
 
 stay in Florida was useless and that nothing could 
 be accomplished either in business or in art, he 
 returned north, leaving Orange Spring alone and 
 with a small trunk and his paint box only, April 
 8, 1883. 
 
 The boys had already returned to North Caro- 
 lina, going up the coast in a boat built by themselves 
 from their own lumber. 
 
 Mrs. Oertel and Lena remained, as there was as 
 yet no other place to go, nor funds to go with. The 
 mill had been sold to some orange growers, but on 
 account of the failure of the orange crop that year 
 they were unable to pay for it. So once more his 
 family was thoroughly scattered and he cast adrift 
 to make what landing he might and begin the 
 struggle anew. 
 
 Begin anew ! and in his sixtieth year ! 
 
 What wonder that at first, though his aim was 
 still the same and resolve unshaken, that he felt 
 despondent. 
 
 He went first to Washington, taking a studio 
 there in the Corcoran building, where he lived and 
 worked. His condition of mind at this time is best 
 expressed in his own words to his friend Edward 
 Hyde: 
 
 ^^What of the Series I have for so long deter- 
 mined to execute at my own expense, scorning help 
 and the sacrificing of my own independence? It 
 now looms up to me as a foolish notion. The Fates 
 have knocked into flinders every scheme of mine 
 to achieve this independence in some other manner 
 unconnected with art. The last one, the Florida 
 dream, must go with the rest, and thus I am thrown 
 
142 A VISION REALIZED 
 
 back into my old and wearisome experience, with a 
 despairing sort of feeling at the heart because, 
 every effort failing, there is only left the drudgery 
 of toiling for a precarious living by what is almost 
 hateful work and seems devoid of aim as it is kill- 
 ing of aspiration. And as to help— where is it to 
 come from and who is to give it ? Is there such an 
 ideal man living, the miracle of his age, whose soul 
 could be fired with a grand conception to sufficient 
 warmth and trust as to risk his money on an under- 
 taking subject to so many contingencies ? And sup- 
 pose such a man not altogether impossible, how can 
 so obscure an individual as myself, and who can 
 boast of neither influence nor active friends of the 
 mercenary kind, ever hope to become acquainted 
 with him?" 
 
 Thus it was that he was again forced to resort 
 to painting portraits and ^^pot boilers," though he 
 managed, to produce quite a number of better works 
 during the same period, ^^The Seasons," using the 
 groups from ^^ Father Time and his Family"; 
 ^^ Footprints of the Storm," a large landscape from 
 studies made some years before in Venice Center, 
 N. T., after a tornado had swept over that part of 
 the country. ' ' The Walk to Gethsemane ' ' and then 
 two large canvases of the Four Evangelists for St. 
 John's Church, Georgetown, D. C. The sluggish 
 and laborious working that characterized his forced 
 efforts left him so soon as anything of this kind 
 was upon his easel; now it was bold and rapid. 
 ^^Give me," he says, ^^a big canvas and a broad 
 manner of treatment, and I am perfectly at home. 
 It's this miserable consideration of texture, and 
 
LIFE STORY OF REV. J. A. OERTEL. D.D. 143 
 
 technicality for itself s sake, and diminutive canvas 
 —and perhaps equally diminutive subjects— that 
 dwarf my energies." 
 
 These pictures were painted for about what it 
 cost for material but that mattered not; they were 
 for the Church, it was the work he loved and for 
 which he was best fitted, and he did his utmost to 
 make them all they should be. 
 
 He also painted the symbols of the Four Evan- 
 gelists upon the walls of the church. 
 
 During this period he did considerable modeling 
 in clay. 
 
 He modeled his design ''The School of the 
 Prophets" in figures 18 inches high and planned to 
 do the same with sections of the ' ' Big Series. ' ' But 
 here the balance wheel of his life (Mrs. Oertel) 
 came in and checked the speed he was gathering. 
 ''It seems to me," she writes, "you would under- 
 take too great a task in modeling in ever so sketchy 
 a manner for the big pictures. I can see the ad- 
 vantage, but the time, man; where is it to come 
 from?" 
 
 It was thus in all he planned; he never con- 
 sidered the work involved. Did some church want 
 an altar or reredos and stipulate the sum they could 
 pay, he immediately made a design which to execute 
 would require work worth fifty times the amount. 
 It was easy for him to put it on paper ; the labor of 
 execution was never considered. 
 
 The church work done, though at no profit, 
 immediately whetted his appetite for more. He 
 believed in this line— decoration and painting for 
 churches— he might receive recognition. 
 
144 A VISION REALIZED 
 
 ^^So you see," he says, ^'I am in work for 
 churches above my shoulders— but not my eyes or 
 brain. Measuring these I could employ several 
 pairs of hands with profit." 
 
 He was now in the same position as he had been 
 so many times before. Of this he says : 
 
 ^^Many years of experience only repeats itself 
 in my life, namely, plenty of hard work and very 
 slim compensation of the kind that would relieve 
 my family from care— and often want. Yet you 
 know I am in the position of starting anew in life, 
 and perhaps when my fourth score years begin I 
 shall have reached a development growing out of 
 the three that have gone before." 
 
 Efforts to make money by the sale of a lot of 
 small pictures resulted in failure and a bill for 
 auctioneer's expenses. *^But," he writes, ^Hhis 
 reestablishing is no mean battle, which deserves to 
 be fought to the end and my backbone is not broken 
 yet by a good deal. You know I can not be put 
 down." 
 
 On November 3, 1883, he reached the ^Hhree 
 score" years of his life. A poem written him on 
 this date by his wife will not be inappropriate here. 
 
 ** Threescore." 
 
 Threescore : 
 So long ago, my love, this day I see 
 Life's golden ladder was let down for thee — 
 Round upon round it rose before thy feet, 
 Up, up, to where the clouds swift winged and fleet, 
 Hid with their deep impenetrable mystery 
 The end. 
 No earthly eye 
 Nor mortal lore, 
 
LIFE STORY OF REV. J. A. OERTEL. D.D. 145 
 
 Could pierce the shroud that wrapped the path to be, 
 Nor know, whether it led to death's dark night, 
 Or to that region of perpetual light, 
 Heaven's shining shore ! 
 
 "Threescore : 
 So far away from youth's keen eager gaze 
 This point thou hast attained, by devious ways. 
 The clouds mysterious, crimson gleamed and gold, 
 And visions fair lurked in them fold on fold : 
 Thy spirit's wing by power of genius nerved 
 
 Was strong! 
 Heaven's precious gifts 
 
 From boundless store, 
 Thy soul grasped after, and thy faith ne'er swerved; 
 Firm trod thy feet, thine eyes' clear upward glance 
 Caught glimpses through the rifts of blue expanse 
 
 All star gemmed o'er. 
 
 "Threescore : 
 So many rounds, my love, thy feet have trod 
 Struggling and climbing nearer to thy God, 
 The clouds, so crimson hued to youth, would oft descend, 
 Wrap thee in gloom and direful woe portend ; 
 And evil birds of hell thy trembling soul 
 
 Affright! 
 Thy voice could scarce 
 
 Mercy implore. 
 Mid lightnings flash, storms rush, and thunders roll 
 Bruised, beaten, baffled, and thy nerveless wing 
 Seemed for a time a shattered, helpless thing. 
 
 Powerful no more ! 
 
 "Threescore : 
 From this fair height, my love, look bravely down, 
 See how the storm clouds are beneath thee thrown ; 
 How at thy feet the fateful lightnings play. 
 While o'er thy head shines Heaven's resplendent day ; 
 Earth's woes, grim storms, Hell's hosts, man's hate, their worst 
 Have done ! 
 These battles fought 
 Fear nothing more, 
 
146 A VISION REALIZED 
 
 Immortal fountains wait to quench thy thirst; 
 If all the conflicts of the past have failed 
 In power to crush, go on with courage mailed, 
 The peril o'er. 
 
 "Threescore : 
 Look up, my love, look up ; toward the sky 
 Stretches the golden ladder wide and high ; 
 Another score of steps each brighter growing 
 In lambent light, with heavenly music flowing, 
 And white-winged Helpers sent to cheer and guard 
 
 Thy way ! 
 The shining rounds 
 
 Of precious ore 
 Lead on and upward to thy great reward; 
 On to the "Father's House," the "crystal sea," 
 The land so fair where "many mansions" be. 
 Where years are counted not, nor sight grows dim, 
 And rings perpetually the seraph's hymn ; 
 Bathed in transcendent light, immortal truth. 
 Eternal beauty, and eternal youth. 
 The yearning soul with peace Divine be filled. 
 Each wish accomplished, all as God has willed ; 
 And thou canst Him adore 
 
 Forevermore. 
 
 "Orange Spring, Florida, November 3, 1883.' 
 
 J. A. 0. 
 
 ** Friend Duffield, in the specimen from him 
 among our rare letters quotes Emerson as saying, 
 ^We should give each other what we make, the 
 artist his picture, the poet his poem. ' As on many 
 similar occasions you have brought me your pic- 
 ture, so now I bring you my poem— crude and 
 hasty, but as Mrs. Barnett wrote of Robert Brown- 
 ing, ^a pomegranate, which if cut deep down the 
 middle shows a heart within blood tinctured. ' This 
 
LIFE STORY OF REV. J. A. OERTEL. D.D. 147 
 
 is all I claim for it, and to it I add my love and 
 blessing.'' 
 
 His yomagest son Eugene obtained a position in 
 the Navy Pay Office at Washington during this 
 year and came on and joined him, and on January 
 1, 1884, his wife also came back from Florida and 
 they took a house in Georgetown, D. C, and once 
 more had a place to call home. 
 
 They had not been able to collect their scattered 
 household goods ; part remained in Lenoir, part in 
 Morganton, and part still in Orange Spring. Mrs. 
 Oertel, in after years, often laughed at the remark 
 of the man who moved what they did have into the 
 Georgetown house. ^'D~ndst people I ever 
 moved,'' he said as he came up the steps with a big 
 frame; ^^aint got nuthing but books and pictures; 
 where be they goin' to sleep, and what be they goin' 
 to kivver with, I dimno. " 
 
 It was a problem, but it was met, as others had 
 been, by all kinds of makeshifts. Picture boxes 
 were converted into tables and bureaus and other 
 boxes did duty as chairs. At least part of the 
 family were again together. 
 
 Again struggle, disappointment, and privation 
 were too much for him and his health began to fail. 
 
 Mrs. Oertel writes a friend (Feb. 8, 1884) : ^^If 
 he could only go to New York so that his brother, 
 the doctor, could see him ; a little while out of this 
 house might do him good, but that means $20— and 
 a poor fellow has to die sometimes for want of 
 that." 
 
 No doubt he would have died but for the help of 
 a friend, who was a friend indeed in many ways, 
 
148 A VISION REALIZED 
 
 Capt. Thomas H. Looker, of Georgetown, then pay 
 director of the Navy. 
 
 Looking back on this time those interested can 
 never forget this noble friend, now passed to the 
 great beyond, and thus pay tribute to his memory. 
 The star in his crown earned by his kindness and 
 generosity to this one of God's servants will never 
 grow dim, and he has heard the Master's voice say- 
 ing, ^'In as much as ye have done it unto the least 
 of these. My brethren, ye have done it unto Me." 
 
 On March 22 he went on to his brother's in New 
 York for treatment, but although reduced to a 
 shadow he continued to paint. As he said of his 
 work there, it was "the picking up of inconsidered 
 trifles"; nevertheless and in spite of his rapidly 
 failing strength he made some fine things. Among 
 them was ''The Indian Scout," 10 by 16 inches, 
 painted for Mr. William Russell. A solitary Indian 
 scout in war paint on a white pony, arrived at the 
 banks of the stream just after a glowing sunset, 
 perceives the smoke of a campfire a little ways off. 
 He is bending low on his saddle bow with lance in 
 hand, peering savagely forward. His horse shows 
 the same spirit as its rider. Also ' ' The Poor Man's 
 Doorkeeper, ' ' a billy goat on the hard stone in front 
 of an humble dwelling. 
 
 The early part of April, while he was yet able 
 to be out and had strength enough to walk, he 
 attended an exhibition at the National Academy, 
 and of this he writes his wife : 
 
 ''I saw nothing else but what previous years 
 have shown. All the striving is for technical 
 superiority. The same paucity of thought, lack of 
 
LIFE STORY OF REV. J. A. OERTEL. D.D. 149 
 
 invention, and want of intellectual and spiritual 
 elevation does evidently characterize this as well 
 as previous exhibitions, judging from what I read 
 and hear. 
 
 *^The more need is there for an Elijah or John 
 in the wilderness, crying aloud for repentance from 
 dead works and belief in the Gospel that has power 
 to raise the dead. And as God has assuredly given 
 this mission to me, His priest servant, it is my duty 
 to strive with all my power to fulfill to the utmost 
 the work of an evangelist— and I shall be sustained 
 in that work." 
 
 On April 14 he had a relapse and was then con- 
 fined to the house. His brother wrote that he had 
 no hope of his recovery; yet he continued to do 
 some work, make plans for the future, and write 
 cheering letters to his wife. 
 
 By May 1 he was confined to his bed and there 
 seemed to be no hope he would rally. 
 
 It was then that his brother discontinued the 
 use of medicine and began treating him with cold 
 water applications. In a few days improvement 
 was noted and on May 8 the doctor wrote Mrs. 
 Oertel that he considered him out of danger. 
 
 His first letter in some days, written his wife on 
 this date, says: ^'A miracle has been wrought. I 
 have been snatched from the very jaws of death." 
 
 In a few days more we find him out buying 
 artist's material, and on the 20th he set out for 
 home and again took up the struggle. He returned 
 only a skeleton, with an insatiable appetite. As 
 soon as he came to meals he devoured with his eyes 
 all on the table and seemed to grudge each mouth- 
 
150 A VISION REALIZED 
 
 fill eaten by the others. As he afterward said, 
 while eating one meal he was speculating on what 
 he was going to get the next. 
 
 His worn-out body had to be entirely rebuilt. 
 While in such a state it was impossible for him to 
 do anything requiring much physical or mental 
 effort; yet he must work, so he determined to paint 
 small pictures for small prices and paint them well, 
 and see if that would not be a temptation to the 
 public to buy. 
 
 This he continued to do for some time and found 
 a limited market. Even very rich people were con- 
 tent to take from him for a few dollars what should 
 have brought a hundred or more. 
 
 This kind of work was done only while he was 
 regaining his strength, but no less than 25 of these 
 small things were painted— '^ In a Big Storm '^ 
 (horses), ''Through the Hammocks in Florida" 
 (cattle), and like subjects. Later he attempted 
 things more to his taste and made designs for ''The 
 Seven Sleepers" and "Charlemagne," both of 
 which were afterwards painted. He reproduced in 
 monochrome "The Four Evangelists" and painted 
 "Under the Holy Rood," which was presented to 
 the Theological Seminary, Nashotah, Wis. Soon 
 after Christmas (1884) he fell on the icy pavement 
 of the steep hillside on High Street, near his home, 
 and again fractured his right wrist. This put a 
 stop to art work of any kind for some time. 
 
 With all these discouragements, what wonder 
 that he seriously considered giving up art for a 
 time and taking a parish ? This, however, when it 
 came to the pinch, he could not bring himself to do, 
 
LIFE STORY OF REV. J. A. OERTEL. D.D. 151 
 
 though several places were open to him which would 
 assure a living for himself and family. Instead he 
 drifted into art work which was to take him a long 
 time to execute. 
 
 This was the designing, constructing, and carv- 
 ing of a reredos for St. Stephen's Church, Four- 
 teenth Street, Washington. With his wrist still 
 weak, he began work on this March 31, 1885, esti- 
 mating that he could finish it in three months, but 
 it consumed more than double that time. This was 
 not a gift, but only a nominal price was received. 
 
 Reredos for St. Stephens. 
 
 The idea embodied in this reredos is that of 
 the Church built upon the Apostles and Prophets, 
 Jesus Christ being the chief corner stone. 
 
 The Lord is represented over the altar by a 
 lamb carved in wood, nearly life size. It lies upon 
 a moimd of earth and around it the flames are 
 creeping up. It is in high relief, on gold ground. 
 There is a high pointed arch over the altar, on the 
 top of which is the cross, elaborate crockets on the 
 gable, and on either side, on pedestals, under hoods, 
 the Old Testament Symbols— The Paschal Lamb 
 on the cruciform spit, and the brazen serpent. On 
 one wing stand the figures of Isaiah and Jeremiah ; 
 on the other, Ezekiel and Daniel, painted on sepa- 
 rate canvases, figures about 4J feet high. All 
 across the top extends a panel. It is in three 
 pieces but makes a continuous picture 18 feet 
 long— the 12 apostles as ^^ seated on 12 thrones.'' 
 Then on the top are four angelic figures carved 
 
152 A VISION REALIZED 
 
 in the round with spread wings, these over 
 3 feet high. 
 
 So prophet, apostle, and angelic hosts are repre- 
 sented, with the ^'Lamb that was slain" in the 
 center. 
 
 Around the altar is a wide carving— wheat and 
 grapes in front, holly on one side, morning glory 
 on the other, emblems of sacrifice and resurrection. 
 An arch in front is supported by the symbols of 
 the Four Evangelists carved in the round. The 
 Alpha and Omega are also introduced and the 
 words incised ^^I am the Bread of Life" with the 
 Holy, Holy, Holy on the Eetable. 
 
 On July 15, 1885, he was informed by letter 
 that he had been elected assistant minister of 
 the Parish of the Incarnation, which position 
 he accepted. 
 
 Though there is no record of the exact date, the 
 *' Shadow of the Eock" was presented to the Uni- 
 versity of the South during the fall. 
 
 Early in 1886 Mr. Hyde wrote, suggesting that 
 his friend come to Boston. He believed he had a 
 scheme which would enable him to go on and paint 
 his great designs. 
 
 Some of his friends also suggested his removal 
 to Sewanee, Tenn., that being church headquarters 
 for 14 dioceses. 
 
 It was plain his object could not be attained by 
 remaining in Washington. Where should it be 
 next? For many reasons the latter course was 
 decided upon. 
 
 In a letter to Mr. Hyde (Jan. 25, 1886), Mrs. 
 Oertel reviews the situation very completely. 
 
LIFE STORY OF REV. J. A. OERTEL. D.D. 153 
 
 "2065 High Street, Georgetown, D. C, 
 January 25, 1886. 
 "My Dear Edward: 
 
 "Your two letters head the mail income for the week. Thank 
 you for your kind, unselfish efforts. 
 
 "It does not seem as if Mr. Oertel could go to Boston unless 
 perchance — or rather providentially, for there is no ^chance' — 
 there should be some solid reason for his going. Of course, if 
 your scheme should succeed, he would do his part faithfully; 
 but I must tell you as the truth that he has no faith in it. 
 
 "The long years since you were with him, 17 or 18, have 
 been full of painful disappointments and he is no more the 
 enthusiast you knew. Not that his art enthusiasm is in any 
 way cooled — oh, no — but his enthusiastic expectations from the 
 Church or the world in the furtherance of his great designs are 
 pretty well killed out. He can give away as much work as he 
 pleases, it is gratefully accepted; but when a living income is 
 expected from it, then it is quite a different matter. 
 
 "For instance, you find a reredos in St. James' Church, 
 Lenoir, N". C, of which he was rector; this was a gift. Then 
 in the church at Rock Hill, S. C, you will find an elaborate 
 credence table, 6 feet high, also a gift. Then in St. Paul's, 
 Glen Cove, L. I., a large reredos — 14 feet high, 13 wide, con- 
 taining four paintings, and much elaborate carving — this, too, 
 a gift. Then in St. John's Church, Georgetown, three panels 
 14 feet high; for this the brotherhood of the church paid for 
 the materials and paid the artist $50 ; and so on down the line. 
 
 "Now, dear brother, you see in all these years Mr. Oertel 
 has come in close contact with many in high places, and it has 
 needed no mediating friend to make his claims known either to 
 ecclesiastical or moneyed influences. Dr. Morgan Dix, the cham- 
 pion of Christian art in the church, has known him for 30 years. 
 Bishop Littlejohn knows him intimately; he has also been for 
 years the so called intimate friend of William Fogg, for a long 
 time President of the Union League; also of Heniy E. Russell, 
 a very wealthy man, friend and neighbor of the Vanderbilts, etc. 
 
 ^'The outcome of all is that his best friends in most cases 
 buy his pictures, under pressure, at low prices, and the church 
 will taTce what he can give. The Centennial picture is the prop- 
 erty of the ^University of the South', at Sewanee, Tenn., where 
 (D. V.) we are going — a gift to them. 
 
 "This is the way the dear man has gone through the world, 
 
154 A VISION REALIZED 
 
 giving on all sides, his ministry a voluntary one, only accepting 
 a small remuneration now and then where absolute necessity 
 made it imperative. 
 
 "Mr. Oertel has given much time to the study of architecture 
 and used to be styled ''diocesan architect' when in North Carolina ; 
 has built or remodeled about a dozen churches in that state — 
 this, too, all a gift. His is a curious life, Edward, a story of 
 self-sacrificing endeavor which is not often told. 
 
 "It is hard to rouse him to any belief that his efforts will 
 ever be recognized by men in high station, either in a Christian 
 or a monetary point of view. Nothing but the existing fact 
 would make him believe it. 
 
 "Don't be discouraged because I take the matter as I do. 
 I must tell you the truth as it is. I think if Mr. Oertel saw 
 any indications of real sympathetic help he would gladly avail 
 himself of it; if it came to him as money speculation I do not 
 believe he could be moved to any action in it. 
 
 "I think, dear Edward, that it is the Lord's hand which has 
 been ever in the way — why I can not see — or, I ask myself, is 
 it the Devil who sees that in defeating the performance of this 
 work he is making a great stroke of policy in his own interests ? 
 I confess to much bewilderment on the subject. 
 
 "It is not for us to choose our way, it must be His way; 'at 
 evening time it will be light.' 
 
 "God bless you for your faithful love and remembrance. 
 Don't be too much disappointed if your plans fail again, but 
 be satisfied with His overruling. We might make mistakes- 
 He can not. 
 
 "Now God be with you. 
 
 "Yours, as always, Julia A. Oertel." 
 
FIGURE OF CHRIST 
 
 Christ Church, Dayton, Ohio 
 
CHAPTER XII. 
 
 On February 25 he again left for the South and 
 after a few weeks spent with his son Frederick at 
 Morganton, N. C, went on to Sewanee, Tenn., 
 March 23. 
 
 Here arrangements were made for the building 
 of a house with studio on ' ' Morgan 's Steep, ' ' a most 
 beautiful situation on the cliff overlooking the 
 valley 2,000 feet below, and he was very enthu- 
 siastic over the prospect. 
 
 Soon after his arrival he began work on a rere- 
 dos and altar for the Church of the Incarnation 
 at Washington which occupied most of his time 
 for over a year. This is 23 feet high and 20 feet 
 wide, very elaborate in construction and richly 
 carved. It contains six paintings. In the center 
 and above is Christ as the High Priest, painted in 
 color. On either side are inserted in carved frames 
 monochromes of the Nativity and the Crucifixion, 
 and below these, almost life-size and also in color, 
 are the Four Evangelists, two on a canvas. This 
 was not entirely completed until the spring of 1888. 
 
 One of his best works was done here. A colossal 
 figure of ^^The Christ" for Christ Church, Dayton, 
 Ohio. It is placed above the font and stands in an 
 attitude of blessing. This has by some been pro- 
 noimced the greatest figure of Christ ever painted. 
 
156 A VISION REALIZED 
 
 A picture was painted called ^^ Peace on Earth" 
 for Clifford A. Lanier, brother of the poet, in 
 response to the following request : 
 
 "Please catch from the Invisible some shape of spirit, and, 
 enmeshed on canvas, embody his fonn for me that I may have 
 a memorial of you. Yours, sincerely, Clifford A. Lanier." 
 
 After a visit to his studio in September (1886) 
 Mr. Lanier wrote for a Nashville paper the follow- 
 ing article : 
 
 '^The aktist Oertel." 
 a visit to his studio. 
 
 "It is not possible to reproduce the gracious ease and cultured 
 simplicity of Johannes Oertel, painter of 'The Eock of Ages', 
 *The Shadow of a Great Rock in a Weary Land', 'The Climber's 
 Vision', 'The History of the Redemption', 'Prophecy', 'Dispen- 
 sations of Promise and the Law.' Light gray eyes burn with 
 the steady fire of vivid intellectuality. His garments idealize 
 the prosaic garb of this century; his gestures betray a subtle 
 mixture of strength with delicacy of touch. A long beard of 
 soft gray-black completes the charm of a manly and dignified 
 presence. In our visit to him he alludes to the want of space 
 in his crowded atalier, and shows with pride the drawings of 
 the new picturesque cottage which is now building for him on 
 the brow of 'Morgan's Steep.' He arranges chairs for his guests 
 (one of the chairs is the product of his own skill in joinery), 
 talking the while. A gleam of humor illumines his face as he 
 parries a deft compliment from Mrs. T. Protesting with a 
 gentle earnestness against the blindness of the many, mourn- 
 fully recognizing that they are few who see the 'beauty of holi- 
 ness' or love the 'holiness of beauty,' talking quietly of his own 
 work, vehemently of God's; gesticulating rather with the arms 
 of the spirit than of the body, criticising and praising a brother 
 artist as a brother. Oertel preaches us a lovely sermon on the 
 dignity and divinity of humanity; for this artist, painter, 
 sculptor, musician, carpenter, is above all a preacher. Every- 
 where you see the results of sin's warfare against the soul sym- 
 bolized. This Bunyan of painters shows the historic progress 
 
LIFE STORY OF REV. J. A. OERTEL. D.D. 1 57 
 
 of man from the birthdawn of Eden through the ages, assailed 
 at every epoch, fighting, fainting, triumphing, warned by proph- 
 ecy, cheered by promise, soothed by love, soiled by sin, led to 
 battle by the might of captains, taught by the majesty of wise 
 lawgivers, scourged by selfish heroes, harried by the demons of 
 greed, wrestling with Apolyon— on, on through the ages, on till 
 the devout imagination must climb the ladder of patient con- 
 secrated effort and strain the faintly illuminated eyes to get a 
 glimpse of the bright morning light, flashing radiance yonder 
 from the future as each to-morrow's sun flashes and shall flash 
 a pure white glory of day athwart this mountain's brow. A de- 
 sign of this picture, The Dispensations,' which is so far-reaching 
 and so crowded with forms that it should be called the spiritual 
 history of man from the creation, and the destiny of mans soul, 
 was once hung in an American gallery and the newspaper critic 
 chronicled that there was nothing that season worthy of his 
 condescension to criticize. 
 
 "Oertel will not fight under the infidel banner of 'Art for 
 
 Art's sake'; immoral, unmoral, unspiritual, helpless, faithless 
 
 art is the Saracen against whom his sword of the cross is drawn. 
 
 ^'He says that one of his unfailing impulses is^ 'Would you 
 
 know whether you can do anything or not? Do it!' 
 
 "Passing from the brush to the sculptor's model, then to his 
 musical instrument, and thence to his turning lathe and car- 
 penter's bench, whence his books wooed him to study— always 
 busy with fair imagination, he is defended against fatigue. No 
 garrulous complaints escape him; he mournfully recognizes that 
 a devout love of art belongs to the minority. It is said that 
 those who know how to make commercial copies of the well- 
 known picture 'The Eock of Ages' have made a large sum of 
 money by their sale while he has received nothing. Of this he 
 did not speak. 
 
 "A dry catalogue of the teeming conceptions of this artist 
 is a label tagged upon the spirit. Here is surely a soul faring 
 through the world with religion in one hand and beauty in the 
 other. He is a painter of human figures. He is gazing into 
 futurity from the height of the eyes of a man and seeks to 
 climb the spiritual ladder as high as a man may go. 
 
 "In smiling protest he had exclaimed what a victim he would 
 be did he attempt in so brief a time to set forth the work of 
 a life. Now lest the perfect mirror of gracious courtesy may 
 be blurred he walks down the winding path, chatting of the 
 
158 A VISION REALIZED 
 
 natural beauty of the place, of the way to find it, of the young 
 people, of the particular suggestiveness to the lover of natural 
 beauty of some of these prospects, of his new house now building 
 and its domestic appanages, of us and our whereabouts, till 
 the gate of exit swings against his interesting figure. Sincere 
 courtesies wave ^good afternoon,' and thus ends the lovely scene 
 (one scene of a reverent artistic Passion Play) of a half hour 
 with Johannes A. Oertel. 
 
 "Clifford A. L. 
 ''Sewanee, Tenn., September, 1886." 
 
 So passed the first year of his residence in 
 Sewanee. Little time had been given to the con- 
 sideration of new designs; it was all spent in the 
 hard toil of carving and carpenter work— done 
 because it was necessary to meet the expenses of his 
 family. His daughter's health had failed and she 
 had come to live with him, hoping that the moun- 
 tain air might be of benefit ; but on the contrary the 
 climate and electrical conditions in that high alti- 
 tude depressed her greatly, and this was the main 
 reason why he later gave up his home there. 
 
 When making the woodwork for various 
 churches he was often urged to employ some good 
 carpenter to do the heavy joining but seldom did 
 so. He followed no set course and could not tell 
 another exactly what he wanted done. He had a 
 design to go by, yes; but there was no certainty 
 that he would follow it to the letter ; perhaps when 
 he came to make a certain part he would wish to 
 change and improve it ; he must be left free to work 
 it out his own way. 
 
 One of his former pupils once wrote him 
 requesting instruction in flesh painting and asked 
 him to paint several heads in progression to show 
 
LIFE STORY OF REV. J. A. OERTEL. D.D. 1 59 
 
 the process used. His reply was : ^^I can not do it. 
 It is like asking me to paint my soul. I paint flesh 
 as I feel it at the time, sometimes in one painting, 
 sometimes in several." Here is shown the same 
 freedom from any rule, his own or another's, that 
 characterized all his work. 
 
 In February, 1887, his friend Rev. Dr. Beckett, 
 principal of the female seminary at Columbia, 
 Tenn., was taken ill and requested him to come 
 and fill his place for a time. To this call he imme- 
 diately responded, taking charge of the ministerial 
 work in parish and school. 
 
 He practically gave up art work during this 
 time, doing only a few smaller things as he was 
 *^ continually lecturing and speaking." He took a 
 great interest in the work at Columbia, and, when 
 Dr. Beckett at last returned and relieved him, left 
 with regret. He seems to have found there many 
 congenial friends and on leaving, April 27, wrote 
 his wife : 
 
 ^^My stay here has been a remarkable episode 
 with a great deal to impress it on my mind and 
 that of those with whom I have been associated." 
 
 From Columbia he went to Nashville, having 
 commission for some animal pictures there, and for 
 a time occupied part of the studio of Mr. Chambers, 
 a Nashville artist. He was much pleased with his 
 reception, and writes : ' ' People here wonder that a 
 man of my ability should be poor ; and I wonder 
 myself. To be sure, I may not sacrifice principle 
 to any degree ; but plain duty on one side can never 
 conflict with principle on the other." 
 
 ** Just now," he goes on, *^my sheep pictures are 
 
160 A VISION REALIZED 
 
 touching a certain public; sheep are harmless 
 things and remind me of the sheep in Christ's flock. 
 I will then regard them as symbols and fancy my- 
 self painting disguised religious allegorical pic- 
 tures." While in Mr. Chamber's studio they 
 painted a picture together, called ^'Evensong," a 
 girl driving home a flock of sheep in dim evening 
 light. He painted figure and animals ; Mr. Cham- 
 bers the landscape. 
 
 This seems to be the only instance in his career 
 when such a thing was done except that by request 
 of George Innis he several times painted figures 
 and animals in the landscapes of that artist. 
 
 Leaving Nashville early in May he returned to 
 Sewanee and resumed work on the Incarnation 
 reredos, which was completed by fall. 
 
 On account of his daughter's health and other 
 causes he determined to leave the mountain, and 
 the last of September moved to Nashville. 
 
 On October 30 he went on to Washington and 
 put up the reredos and altar in the Church of the 
 Incarnation. There it stands to-day, and except 
 by the few who attend the church is never seen. 
 Visitors and sightseers by the thousands come to 
 Washington every year, yet few, if any, ever see 
 this remarkable piece of work, remarkable in 
 design and execution and still more so for having 
 all been made by the one man. Design, carpenter 
 work, carving and painting all done by the same 
 master hand. If this was in Europe, tourists would 
 travel miles to see it and wonder at it. Here it is 
 almost buried. Why is this? 
 
 The record shows that for this work—which 
 
REREDOS AND ALTAR 
 
 Church of the Ineai-natiuu. Washington. I). C 
 
LIFE STORY OF REV. J. A. OERTEU D.D. 161 
 
 took over a year— he was paid the princely sum of 
 $700. For this the purchaser can not be blamed. 
 He was offered a certain sum and as usual counted 
 not his own labor but gave it freely in the cause for 
 which he worked. 
 
 Eeturning to Nashville he for a time took charge 
 of the department of wood carving, modeling, and 
 figure composition in the art school there. 
 
 With the year 1889 came affliction. Early in 
 January (4th) his beloved daughter passed away 
 and on the 20th of the same month the wife of his 
 son Frederick, then living at Washington, D. C, 
 was also taken. 
 
 His home being thus broken up his son gave up 
 his position in Washington and came to live with 
 him, and from that date until his death their lots 
 were cast together. 
 
 Then was put to the test a scheme which had 
 been often discussed, the manufacture of church 
 furniture as a business. It was thought that if the 
 clergy of the Church knew of him and his work 
 they would give him the preference in any con- 
 templated church decoration, either painting or 
 carving. Circulars were sent out to the clergy 
 informing them that he was prepared, with the 
 assistance of his son, to design and execute rere- 
 doses, altars, fonts, etc., and it was hoped by this 
 means a trade could be built up which would insure 
 a living and he would be enabled to go on with the 
 ^* Series." 
 
 Quite a number of requests for such things had 
 already been received, and these were made as 
 rapidly as possible, an altar and font for a church 
 
162 A VISION REALIZED 
 
 in South Pittsburg, Tenn., in oak; a communion 
 table and pulpit in cherry for the Western Metho- 
 dist Church in Nashville, and a large reredos for St. 
 Luke's Church in Jackson, Tenn. 
 
 While the latter work was in progress he 
 accepted a call from Halsey C. Ives, afterward 
 art commissioner for the Chicago fair, to take the 
 position of instructor in art at the school of Wash- 
 ington University in St. Louis, and in the fall of 
 that year removed to St. Louis and assumed his 
 duties there. 
 
 The reredos for Jackson was completed in St. 
 Louis, and as there had been no response to the 
 request for work of that character no more was 
 undertaken. 
 
 Only a few important paintings were the result 
 of this year's work, most of it being taken up with 
 carving. The principal ones were *^ Victorious," 
 an Indian who had just killed a grizzly bear— 
 which had fallen across his dead horse— shouting in 
 triumph to his companions who are coming up in 
 the distance. This was painted in monochrome and 
 a drawing was made. It was afterward published 
 in lithograph. 
 
 *^The Sands of Dee" from the poem of that 
 name by Charles Kingsley. This was a striking 
 picture, a Scotch lassie coming up the shore ^'call- 
 ing the cattle home," the ^^ creeping tide" coming 
 in, bringing with it bits of seaweed, and over the 
 waves the '^ blinding mist came pouring down and 
 ^hid the land.' " This picture was sold some 
 years later to Wood & Co., publishers, of New 
 York; and ^*A Eoyal Pair," lion and lioness. 
 
LIFE STORY OF REV. J. A. OERTEL. D.D. 163 
 
 which became the property of Gen. G. P. Thruston, 
 of Nashville. 
 
 During his stay in St. Louis his time was occu- 
 pied mainly in teaching, and only two large works 
 were produced: ^^ Christ known by His Breaking 
 of Bread at Emmaus," a canvas 4 feet 6 inches by 
 6 feet 10 inches, painted for the Eev. W. F. Brand, 
 S.T.D., Emmorton, Md., to go as a memorial into 
 the chancel of his church, and ^^EzekiePs Vision of 
 Restored Israel," from Ezekiel 37: 9-10. 
 
 This is one of his best compositions. It has 
 never been exhibited, and remains the property of 
 his sons. It is 50 by 70 inches. It was afterward 
 repainted, but will be described here. 
 
 It represents the '^Valley of Dry Bones." The 
 figure of the prophet occupies the center of the 
 picture and around him rise up those into whom 
 had come the breath of life in obedience to his 
 words, ^^an exceeding great army." Some in half- 
 dazed wonder are just rising, many are already on 
 their feet and joyously awaiting their loved ones; 
 husband is joined to wife, mother to child, and 
 many gaze rapturously upward to the flood of light 
 which streams from heaven over all. 
 
 The only bit of color is in the draping of the 
 prophet. From the rock on which he stands a 
 stream of water flows, and reflected in its surface 
 is what flames in the sky above— the Cross, this 
 teaching that it is by this sign that Israel is to be 
 restored. 
 
 The figure of the prophet above is draped ; all 
 else is flesh painting, yet the figures stand out as if 
 they might walk from the canvas. Even a person 
 
164 A VISION REALIZED 
 
 knowing nothing of art may realize the technical 
 difiSculty of painting so many nude figures close 
 together and producing this effect. 
 
 Toward the last of his second year of teaching 
 he felt the strain of it and the lack of the freedom 
 for independent work. He must have expressed 
 his feelings in writing to his wife, then in New 
 York, showing that his spirits were at a low ebb, 
 and as was always the case at such times she came 
 to the rescue, writing : 
 
 ** April 16. Do not let the Devil succeed in the 
 overthrow he strives for ; go on and do your best ; 
 he has not been able to keep you from making a 
 noble record for the right, with all his malice and 
 opposition. I think that instead he has driven you 
 to put the works in God's House, which will ever 
 witness for Him, that you would never have made 
 had you achieved worldly success ; and may be they 
 preach quite as forcibly as anything else you could 
 have done." 
 
CHAPTER XIII. 
 
 Mr. Oertel's engagement in St. Louis ter- 
 minated in the fall of 1981 (September) and he 
 again came East, this time locating with his son 
 Frederick in Vienna, Fairfax County, Va., a 
 small village about 12 miles from the national 
 Capital. 
 
 For a time he used one of the small rooms in 
 the house (12 by 14) for a studio; here he painted 
 only one picture of importance ''The Prophecy of 
 Balaam," but made an elaborate carved baptistry 
 for the Church of the Incarnation in Washington. 
 The room was much too small to admit of putting 
 such a large thing together, and it was made in 
 sections and never set up until put in its place in 
 the church. In speaking of the difficulties he had 
 he said: ''I certainly am doomed again to build a 
 cathedral in a closet." However, it was accom- 
 plished as such things always were, no matter what 
 the difficulty, by patient work and, as he said, 
 ''various contrivances which I adopt as I need 
 them." 
 
 This work has much elaborate carving, includ- 
 ing four figures 3 feet high cut in the round. There 
 is one painting showing the Ark upon the waters, 
 with the dove bearing the olive branch, and the 
 rainbow in the clouds, typifying the cleansing by 
 
166 A VISION REALIZED 
 
 water of the baptized as the earth was cleansed at 
 the flood. 
 
 In the spring of 1892 (March 7) he took a studio 
 in Washington (Seventeenth and G Streets N. W.) , 
 and it was of great benefit to him to be in touch 
 with his artist friends, especially Mr. Richard N. 
 Brooke, Mr. J. H. Moser, and Mr. J. A. Messer. He 
 was elected president of the Society of Washington 
 artists at this time. 
 
 As his first work in this studio he painted in 
 monochrome the four prophets— Isaiah, Jeremiah, 
 Ezekiel, and Daniel— for Rev. Dr. Brand, Emmor- 
 ton, Md. 
 
 He speaks of having a visit from ^'Dr. Audsley, 
 of New York," and goes on to say : ^'He (Dr. A.) 
 says my room is a revelation, etc., showing versatil- 
 ity he had seen in no other artist— and adaptability 
 that seems able to do anything, to be equally power- 
 ful in every branch (and I mentally ask Why not"?) 
 so he did not know which I could do best, etc.— and 
 all that. Now I have heard things of the sort be- 
 fore, they are very assuring, and keep up my spunk 
 but do not alter the hard facts of the position. It is 
 true aU the same that I am poor, obscure, that the 
 public do not buy my pictures nor seem to care for 
 them, and the best of my years have gone in 
 vain effort to make more than a bare living. 
 And still there may be a duty remaining— that 
 of continuing the battle; *I aint dead yet' you 
 know. My trouble is too much to do, too much 
 willingness to do it, too much resolution, and 
 too little time and strength. And again, no means 
 for adopting such plans as are recommended 
 
CHARLEMAGNE 
 
LIFE STORY OF REV. J. A. OERTEL. D.D. 167 
 
 for coming out before the people and compelling 
 recognition." 
 
 Then followed quite a number of works: ''The 
 King of Truth," ''The Morning Sacrifice," "The 
 Supper at Emmaus," life size, for Dr. Brand; 
 "The Good Shepherd," for Church of Incarnation, 
 Washington; "Going on Picket," winter scene 
 before Fredericksburg; "Pursued," army train 
 with guard; and "Charlemagne." This latter is 
 2 feet 8 inches by 3 feet 4 inches in size, from the 
 well-known legend of Charlemagne asleep under 
 the Odenberg, ready to arise and do battle when 
 the day of Armageddon arrives. 
 
 The grand figure of the old king lies asleep in 
 a great carved chair, his crown upon his head and 
 the trusty two-handed sword between his knees, 
 supported by his left hand. His robe is cast loosely 
 about his shoulders and the flowing white beard 
 sweeps nearly to his waist, a grand and imposing 
 figure, in perfect repose yet with latent power. At 
 his feet lies his cross-blazoned shield, on either 
 side a crouching lion (emblematic of power). The 
 figure on the side of the carved chair has trumpet 
 in hand ready to sound the alarm, and from 
 above comes a hand to turn the hourglass stand- 
 ing on top of the chair, showing that the time is 
 approaching. 
 
 Early in 1893 his friend Eev. Dr. Brand was 
 taken sick and requested him to come over to 
 Emmorton, 2^ miles from Bel Air, Md., on Sun- 
 days and hold services for him. This he did for 
 some weeks, but in the meantime he had accepted a 
 commission to paint some large pictures for St. 
 
168 A VISION REALIZED 
 
 Mary's E. C. Church, Washington, to be completed 
 by a certain date, and it consumed too much of his 
 time to make the trip each week, so he determined 
 to do the work there. 
 
CHAPTER XIV. 
 
 Consequently the last of July found him located 
 at Bel Air, Md., where he was given the use of a 
 room in the courthouse for a studio, and on August 
 5 he began the big pictures; September 15 the 
 three large ones, each 5 feet 9 inches by 11 feet 
 3 inches, were completed. While painting these 
 he wrote: 
 
 ''I must, for want of time, pull up alongside of 
 the 'old masters' in point of rapidity of execution, 
 and probably the paintings do not suffer in the 
 process. Keeping at white heat is often an advan- 
 tage, while deliberate slow performance degen- 
 erates often into mechanical finish. 
 
 And on September 15 : ''I have finished the pic- 
 tures. I labored imder formidable obstacles ; not 
 the least of these was the poisonous green of the 
 jury room in the Court House, done in oil, that be- 
 ing the only place in town affording light enough, 
 although only about ten ( !) feet distance from over 
 lif esize figures. However, 1 struggled through and 
 came out victor, not the first experience of the char- 
 acter I have had to make." 
 
 The subjects are all different aspects and stages 
 of the Incarnation ; the center, that of the Madonna, 
 the ancient ''Theotokos", simple in treatment, 
 above 7 feet high; to the left, the Judgment of the 
 
1 70 A VISION REALIZED 
 
 Serpent in Eden (Gen. Ill, 14, 15) ; to the right 
 the Vision of Isaiah when sent to King Ahas, Isaiah 
 VII, 13, 14. Besides these there are four paintings 
 5 by 6 feet in monochrome decorative panels ; sub- 
 jects, ^^The Annunciation,'' ^^ Nativity," ^* Presen- 
 tation of Jesus in the Temple," and ^'Finding of 
 Our Lord by His parents." 
 
 To E. L. H. he writes: ^^You are right in being 
 indignant that my own communion does not keep 
 my brush sufficiently employed, but, my friend, it 
 is the old experience, '^a prophet is not without 
 honor," etc. Moreover, you know that I have not 
 the gift of advertising myself and wares, and who 
 can succeed nowadays in a temporal sense without 
 that? Let the bubble ^'reputation" float along. 
 There are plenty chasing the glittering nothing and 
 I will not swell the silly crowd. The good Lord has 
 kept me and fed me these 70 years and will so keep 
 me the years that remain. I do the work that comes 
 to me, in serious honesty, and leave the result in 
 His gracious hands." 
 
 After finishing the four monochromes, Novem- 
 ber 18, no more important work was done that year 
 except the completion of an altar, begun during the 
 summer, for St. Peter's Church, Fernandina, Fla. 
 
 Still being needed in the Church work at Em- 
 morton, he remained in Bel Air and little by little 
 seemed to take root. 
 
 His wife and son pressed him to return to the 
 Vienna home, but he was obdurate and refused, 
 insisting that his work was there while in Vienna 
 there was nothing for him either in the church or 
 art. Mrs. Oertel held out against his remaining 
 
■■H||^^^ 
 
LIFE STORY OF REV. J. A. OERTEL. D.D. 1 71 
 
 and would not consent to leave her son and Ms two 
 children and join him as he wished. 
 
 In spite of all this he remained, and not only 
 that, but built a small studio and settled down to 
 work. This is the only instance in his life where he 
 absolutely refused to listen to counsel either from 
 his wife or son. In one of her letters to him Mrs. 
 Oertel said: ''I consider your call to Bel Air a 
 family calamity." 
 
 His first work in 1894 was four paintings for the 
 Emmorton church, each 3 by 7 feet— ''The Sacrifice 
 of Abel," ''Melchizedek Blessing Abraham," 
 ''David Playing before Saul," and "Moses Strik- 
 ing the Rock." 
 
 Then followed many smaller works, the princi- 
 pal ones "Successors to Royalty," lions, and 
 ' ' Sunny Pathways. ' ' 
 
 He was as eager for work as a boy when the new 
 studio was completed, and determined to paint 
 again for exhibition in New York. Of this he says : 
 
 "But he who enters that city for competition 
 has a murderous fight before him. The Vestals in 
 Gerome's 'Gladiator' represent the heartless spirit 
 of the 'judges' in those exhibitions. Their thumbs 
 are all downward and they cry for blood. 
 
 "Grave doubts assail me. The question rises 
 like a warning ghost before me, whether after all 
 and in spite of my very youthful resolution to con- 
 quer again a standing professionally, I am not 
 hopelessly superannuated and such a result beyond 
 my power and the possibilities of the case"? Even 
 a Bismarck is laid on the shelf and a Gladstone 
 compelled to resign, and perhaps the task I had set 
 
1 72 A VISION REALIZED 
 
 myself is more difficult to achieve than theirs who 
 have continued in the mid-channel of prosperity 
 and public acknowledgment while I emerge as an 
 old man from obscurity into a race that is rushing 
 into opposite pursuits. 
 
 ^^This race will not even permit me to bear any 
 testimony. I can get no hearing in the market place 
 and am pushed back within the church doors. 
 Therefore it may be that the experience has the 
 meaning, dimly hinted, that inside the church doors 
 I shall remain. 
 
 ^* All the work I have had of late has been for the 
 Church. God can send more. I have no knack at 
 advertising myself, can't do it, but must quietly 
 wait and hope. 
 
 ^^ Perhaps other men also have to go from the 
 stage of life here leaving what they considered their 
 main work unfinished— hardly begun. With me it 
 is plainly the case. What had not entered into the 
 original plan had to be done, and what was the chief 
 aim remains a fragment only. Evidently the pres- 
 ent generation has grown away from me and I from 
 it, and we no longer fit together. This is painfully 
 apparent and perhaps the part of wisdom would be 
 to submit and retire within the narrow circle where 
 still there is affinity and some chance for use- 
 fulness. 
 
 ^^ These conflicling suggestions run through my 
 head and they do not tend to steady my energies. 
 Very possibly no avenue of escape to freer action 
 can be discovered, and whether I give up the battle 
 against odds or with set teeth go on with the strug- 
 gle, I shall have to yield so much to circumstances 
 
LIFE STORY OF REV. J. A. OERTEL, D.D. 1 73 
 
 as to secure a living by whatever can be picked up 
 along the way." 
 
 When the pictures for the Emmorton church 
 were completed he wrote his wife (Mar. 5) : 
 
 *^ Another load carried to its destination and 
 laid down, and I can turn in some other direction to 
 take up whatever the day brings along. With 
 modifications the thing repeats itself to the end. 
 Stage after stage is left behind and at last the goal 
 is reached. Wayworn, bruised, and tired we get 
 there, but what matters it— for when the gate opens 
 the character of the travel will be totally changed." 
 
 At various periods his friends tried to bring his 
 name before the public and so assist him, but not 
 the slightest effect was ever observed to result from 
 such efforts. After an article about him had ap- 
 peared in the Philadelphia Times (Mar. 17) he 
 comments on it thus : 
 
 '^Whether this ^writing me up' does more than 
 reminding a few people I am alive is questionable. 
 From all there never has been a really practical 
 business result, which may be owing to my deplor- 
 able lack of capacity for improving an opportunity 
 for temporal advantage. There is no ^push' in me. 
 The good Lord has given me other faculties, but 
 utterly denied this ; and I shall have to the end to 
 bear the consequences of fitting so awkwardly into 
 an age possessed with the advertising devil." 
 
 His effort to ^^ found a home" in Bel Air was an 
 honest though from a practical standpoint a mis- 
 guided one. Instead of founding one he left the 
 only real home he had— that of his son— and placed 
 himself again adrift. When for a time fortune 
 
1 74 A VISION REALIZED 
 
 smiled and money began to come in he was prone to 
 be optimistic as to the future and feel sure it was 
 to be immediately followed by more and made his 
 plans accordingly; then, when suddenly the tide 
 turned, as it always did, he often went to the other 
 extreme and was very despondent. 
 
 ^^Aye, aye," he says, ^4t is a curious life I lead! 
 Drift, drift, drift— these 40 and more years, truly 
 a wandering in the wilderness without proper home, 
 a living in tents, a nomadic existence. But shall the 
 wandering not cease ? Has the time not come with 
 my three-score years and ten^ If not, when will 
 it come?" 
 
 ^^More than once I have determined to plant 
 myself for perpetuity, but could take no hold upon 
 the soil. One might think I had slain my brother 
 and the curse of Cain was upon me. But instead 
 was I not rather like the Patriarchs who could own 
 not a foot of their promised land save where they 
 bought to bury their dead? or like a missionary 
 apostle, going about sowing seed in many a field 
 that afterward grew and bore fruit? 
 
 ^^Now once more I have started the endeavor to 
 found a home, so late in life, and it seems so difficult 
 of accomplishment. Yet it must not be given up ; it 
 may be still possible. " 
 
 The above is quoted to show how deeply he felt 
 the position in which he now found himself. He 
 did not seem able to see that this move had been 
 purely a matter of will on his part and had not been 
 forced upon him as some former ones had ; nor had 
 there been any basis for considering that the change 
 of location would be of any benefit. However, so 
 
EVENING MEDITATION 
 
LIFE STORY OF REV. J. A. OERTEL. D.D. 1 75 
 
 he saw it and had deemed it his duty, and when his 
 son for business reasons had to leave Vienna for a 
 time, finally going to New York, Mrs. Oertel gave 
 in and went to make her home with him in Bel Air 
 (Aug. 10, 1894). Ill advised as this move seemed 
 to be, yet in the Bel Air studio was begun the work 
 designed 40 years before, the work for which so 
 many moves had been made and so much sacrificed, 
 the central point in the circle of his life around 
 which all his doings clustered and were in some way 
 connected— ^^ The Great Series." 
 
 His sons were now able to relieve him of the 
 necessity of making a living and leave him free to 
 accomplish that for which he had waited so long. 
 
 During the early part of 1895 he was occupied 
 mostly with portraits, animal pieces, etc., painting 
 only two important canvases, a ^^Eock of Ages," 
 24 inches by 4 feet, the one before mentioned as 
 made for his son. Dr. T. E. Oertel, in New York and 
 ^^ Evening Meditation," a monk leaning in cloister 
 door, with breviary, looking out at the fading even- 
 ing light. 
 
 In the fall of 1895 he began preliminary work 
 for the painting of ^^The Dispensations," and in 
 the spring went to New York to study and refresh 
 his mind before entering upon the task of painting 
 so large a canvas. From New York he wrote 
 (Apr. 22) : 
 
 ^^No doubt I shall go home with added strength 
 and courage braced up. The sluggish current of 
 my life has been stirred, and, like water tumbling 
 over rocks in a rough channel, received fresh air 
 and new motion and runs thereafter in a clearer 
 
1 76 A VISION REALIZED 
 
 stream. The past weeks are something to ponder 
 on, and the contact with other folk has been of help ; 
 old friends have brought up old experiences and 
 induced many reflections, and perhaps words have 
 been spoken that echo on into the future— even 
 beyond the troublesome mortal hour. 
 
 ^^I have attended a reunion of artists and visited 
 Grey, Brown, Perry, Eider, Thomas Moran, and 
 Huntington." 
 
 He often was perfectly oblivious to his personal 
 appearance. When he arrived in New York on this 
 trip he had on his head a most disreputable old hat 
 which his son immediately confiscated, giving him 
 a new one. A day or so later he went on a visit to 
 friends in Glen Cove and when he returned he had 
 on a still worse one, all slouched down in the brim 
 and full of holes, and he did not know it was not the 
 new one until his attention was called to it. 
 
 He had taken the first one he found on the rack 
 when leaving, which turned out to be the one used 
 by his friend when he worked in the garden. He 
 always put on his hat by placing it on the back of 
 his head and then giving the brim in front a pull, 
 leaving it, as he said ^^with a backward inclina- 
 tion," and it was not long before the hat itself as- 
 sumed that shape— setting back with front of brim 
 pulled down. 
 
 On his return the canvas was stretched for the 
 big picture and he began the work which he had 
 longed to do for so many years. Even while occu- 
 pied on the large works, as he was for several years, 
 he contrived to do many other things, both carving 
 and painting, producing what alone would seem to 
 
LIFE STORY OF REV. J. A. OERTEL, D.D. 1 77 
 
 have been enough to occupy all this time. Most of 
 what he did was given away. In writing of certain 
 work which had been made for a church, for which 
 
 he was to have been paid, he said : *'It is like I 
 
 might as well make a bona fide donation of what I 
 have done and cut short the idle speculation of ever 
 securing even small returns in money. By doing 
 this the business would be thrown behind into the 
 past, and my mind practically relieved from any 
 further thought and worry about it. " 
 
 **The Dispensations'' was exhibited in Wash- 
 ington, at St. Johns Hall, early in March and at- 
 tracted considerable attention. 
 
 An offer of purchase for $10,000 was received 
 from Rev. Samuel Beiler, Vice Chancellor of the 
 American University, Washington, this figure hav- 
 ing been agreed upon as a fair compensation by 
 several artists to whom the matter was referred. 
 
 Mr. Beiler at the time requested the Washing- 
 ton artist, Mr. Richard N. Brooke, to give him his 
 opinion of the painting, which he did in the follow- 
 ing letter : 
 
 'T)ear Sir : After very careful study *of Mr. Oertel's picture 
 of *The Dispensations of Promise and the Law' I am fully con- 
 firmed in the conviction that it is a great work of art and a 
 very distinct and notable triumph over the difficulties that must 
 necessarily be met where large masses of figures must be grouped 
 with exact regard to the literary requirements of the subject. 
 
 "Looking back I can recall no painter (out of quite an 
 extended acquaintance) who, in my belief, would liave met all 
 these requirements as fully and at the same time preserved a 
 harmony of color, and excellence of composition, as I consider 
 Mr. Oertel has done in this instance. 
 
 "I have passed, in the aggregate, hours before this picture, 
 and believe I have expressed the opinion of every serious artist 
 
178 A VISION REALIZED 
 
 who has seen it, and I could give technical reasons for my judg- 
 ment, if necessary. 
 
 ^*It appears to me one of those rare cases in which the some- 
 thing needed to be said has found the one man possessed of the 
 necessary equipment to say it clearly and conclusively. 
 
 "Hence I trust this notable picture will find its appropriate 
 place in some institution where it may become a public heritage, 
 and do the good of which I believe it to be capable. It seems 
 part of the nature of things that this should be so. 
 
 "Richard N. Brooke." 
 
 The following article was also written by Mr. 
 Brooke for the Washington Evening Star: 
 
 ''The Dispensations of Promise and the Law." 
 ''a great historical painting. 
 
 "Editor Evening Star: During part of last week there 
 was placed on private view in St. John's Parish Hall, and is 
 now on its way to the Nashville Exposition, a canvas well worthy 
 of this caption, and than which no more notable work of art 
 has been produced in America within the experience of the writer. 
 Si ace no adequate notice of this artistic event has reached the 
 press through the usual channels — due doubtless to the attitude 
 of the artist himself toward this particular work — would the 
 Star pennit me, speaking from the professional point of view, 
 to give to this noble effort the public importance it deserves? 
 
 "Modern painters have been accused, not unjustly, of having 
 abandoned the field of great composition, of having caught the 
 prevalent spirit of haste, or, when they undertake large can- 
 vases — which under such circumstances they do too frequently — 
 of attaching more importance to the technique of parts than to 
 the painter's own subjective vocation to his conception, which 
 is the essential basis for great pictures. None of these things 
 can justly be said of the artist and picture in question. To a 
 correct understanding of both it may be necessary to give some 
 account of the motives and circumstances leading up to its 
 production. 
 
 "The painter. Rev. Johannes A. Oertel, is not, as might be 
 inferred, an amateur, but one who, before entering the ministry. 
 
LIFE STORY OF REV. J. A. OERTEL. D.D. 1 79 
 
 had already risen high in his profession, and whose brush, as 
 this picture will attest, has lost nothing of its powers through 
 having been dedicated to the cause to which he has given all 
 his talents. 
 
 "Born in Bavaria in 1823, he began life, like many eminent 
 artists, as a steel engraver, receiving his first impulse toward 
 composition from Kaulbach, at Munich. 
 
 "He came to New York at the age of 25 and afterward 
 entered the ministry while at the height of his success as a 
 painter. His subsequent life for nearly 40 years has been passed 
 in various charges, chiefly in the South, often officiating in 
 edifices designed by him and partially built by his own hands, 
 for he is not only a gifted architect but also a skilful carver 
 and worker in wood. Throughout his labors as pastor he has 
 still continued to be a prolific painter, keeping well in touch 
 with all that is best in current art and perhaps the gainer 
 through being far removed from the contact and influence of 
 its passing fads. Every one will recall his picture of the 'Eock 
 of Ages,^ of which the steel engraving is well known the world 
 over and has carried more of benediction to thousands of Chris- 
 tian homes than perhaps any single picture thus published. 
 
 "The present work, while no less serious in intention, is 
 immeasurably more important as an artistic achievement. The 
 first composition was made for it more than 40 years ago; to 
 paint it has been the dream of a lifetime. But it has been only 
 within the last three years, and when the artist had quite de- 
 spaired of ever attaining his desire, that circumstances have 
 been so arranged as to permit him to carry it into execution. 
 
 "The picture illustrates the Mosaic Dispensation and com- 
 prises the entire period of Old Testament History, the central 
 figure being Moses, around whom are grouped the lives of the 
 Patriarchs, the Prophets, and the Kings, with minor groups 
 representing the offiering of first fruits, the sin offering, thank- 
 offering, the Babylonian captivity, the overthrow of the gods 
 Moloch, Baal, Ashtoreth, Dagon, and their votaries, the punish- 
 ment of the scoffer, the altar of sacrifice, the High Priest, the 
 Ministering Angels, and, over all, radiating its light upon the 
 scene of which it is the source of illumination, the Shekinah. 
 
 "To group 140 figures successfully is an achievement; to do 
 this with a strict observance of the historic (literary) relation 
 and importance of each part multiplies the difficulty; but to 
 accomplish both without the result of an unpleasant line or a 
 
1 80 A VISION REALIZED 
 
 single disturbance of the color harmony is a decided triumph 
 for an artist. This Mr. Oertel has suceeded in doing to a very- 
 marvelous degree. This is not to say that Mr. OerteFs picture 
 is without any discoverable flaw, or that its method of execution 
 would suit every follower of every special line of technique. 
 Of what picture ever painted could that be said? But Art 
 criticism stands upon a broader basis than this, and one soon 
 learns that the standard of merit of a picture is not its con- 
 formity to every variety of mind, but the sum total of its excel- 
 lencies. Regarded in this light, I can recall no picture produced 
 in recent years (and I think I have seen most important can- 
 vases) which met all the difficulties of composition more uni- 
 formly as to arrangement of line, light, color, balance, relative 
 importance of groups, centralization of the interest — and all this 
 with a strict adherence to the fundamental conception of the 
 subject — than this has done. 
 
 "And, after all, the value of a picture is the power and spirit 
 of its original conception; all else is the mere scaffolding; if 
 this be wanting, no quality of execution can elevate a common- 
 place idea. 
 
 "Space would not permit a detailed description of the literary 
 meanings of this composition, even were it possible to describe 
 in words the complicated relation of its various groups. I can 
 only point in passing to the following features, which will address 
 themselves to all observers (for the picture will probably return 
 to Washington), viz.: The splendid sense of light throughout 
 the canvas; the feeling of atmosphere which places each group 
 at its proper distances; the fitness and character of the types, 
 such as the prophet Daniel, David, and others; the charming 
 color and technique of the heads in the middle plane, such as 
 Samson, or Joshua; the perfect perspective of the figures upon 
 different levels; the dramatic power of the action in the fore- 
 ground groups ; and the agreeable, almost sensuous sense of color, 
 quite rare in works of this character. 
 
 "The problem of dealing with larger masses of figures in 
 costume has always been so to arrange the patchwork of color 
 spots as to avoid unpleasant juxtapositions. In this the artist 
 is usually satisfied if he has succeeded in producing ^harmony 
 of analogy.^ Mr. Oertel has met this difficulty in a bold and 
 somewhat original way. Keeping one predominate tone, such as 
 sage green, in one group of figures, passing by a skilful transi- 
 tion into the prevalence of rose or violet in the adjoining group. 
 
LIFE STORY OF REV. J. A. OERTEL, D.D. 181 
 
 and so throughout the canvas. And thus the eye is led by an 
 agreeable rhythm and harmony of color from group to group, each 
 having its distinct characteristic. 
 
 "Nothing could be more beautiful in color than a certain 
 minor group in the middle distance made up of halftones, which 
 serve as a rest to the eye after passing over another group of 
 which reds are the keynote. This method of treatment is relieved 
 of any suggestion of monotony by the introduction of small 
 notes of contrasting color, such as the touch of red given by the 
 helmet plume in the foreground. 
 
 "All these points of merit will in time speak for them- 
 selves, but after several hours passed in the study of its merits, 
 it appears to me both timely and proper to state publicly what 
 I believe to be in substance the opinion of all serious artists 
 who have seen it. 
 
 "Mr. Oertel has accomplished something of note in art, and 
 his work should find some fitting place in one of our great 
 educational institutions or galleries of pictures, where it would 
 serve as an example of persistent and successful endeavor apart 
 from its great historical value. 
 
 "Richard N. Brooke. 
 
 "Washington, D. C, March 27, 1897 r 
 
 Mr. Seller's offer was refused by the artist for 
 a number of reasons, the chief one of which was 
 that the picture was one of a series and should not 
 be separated from the others which he Intended to 
 go on and paint. Of course Mr. Seller could not 
 guarantee to take the others, even If he desired 
 them, as they did not exist and there was no cer- 
 tainty that Mr. Oertel would live to produce them. 
 So the picture remained the property of the artist 
 and was sent to Nashville, Tenn., to be exhibited at 
 the State exposition then In progress. Later It was 
 sent to Baltimore and placed on exhibition there. 
 
 He went Immediately to work on the second of 
 the ''Series," ''The Redeemer." This was prac- 
 
182 A VISION REALIZED 
 
 tically completed by the end of the year, but in addi- 
 tion he did much other work. 
 
 *^The Evening Sacrifice," ''Our First Parents, 
 over against Eden, at Evening Sacrifice,'' ''The 
 Martyrdom of St. Stephen," 7 feet 7 inches by 9 
 feet 3 inches for St. Stephen's Mission Chapel, St. 
 Louis, Mo., "The Expulsion from Eden," were the 
 paintings produced, and a carved pulpit and lec- 
 tern in oak were made for Emmanuel Church, 
 Bel Air. 
 
 The year ended with disaster of a nature that 
 for some time clogged the wheels of the household 
 and hindered art work as well. Mrs. Oertel, on 
 Christmas eve, when the family were all gathered 
 together in anticipation of enjoying the holidays, 
 fell downstairs and sustained serious injuries. For 
 weeks little else was done but care for this, the most 
 important member of the family. Her recupera- 
 tive powers astonished the doctors; though with 
 broken arm and ankle and numerous strains and 
 bruises she rallied from the shock rapidly, sat up 
 the third day and had her picture taken, and never 
 ceased to direct and advise those who so depended 
 on her for counsel. 
 
 The third of the series was not at once at- 
 tempted. He put the finishing touches on "The 
 Eedeemer" during the first months of 1898 and 
 painted, life size (54 by 100 inches) "Jesus or 
 Barrabbas," and the last of April finished a grand 
 lion picture called "The Desert King." The 
 "Jesus or Barabbas" was sent to the 'Academy' in 
 New York ' ' for possible exhibition. ' ' When ' ' The 
 Dispensations" was on exhibition in Baltimore 
 
LIFE STORY OF REV. J. A. OERTEL. D.D. 183 
 
 (May) he visited that city and while there deliv- 
 ered several lectures on art and Christian 
 symbolism. 
 
 While there he met an old Bavarian friend, Dr. 
 Volk ^Svhom," he says, '^I found busy— by gas- 
 light—on some silver chasing, in the manner— and 
 what is yet far superior— in the spirit of those men 
 with whom art was a God-given inspiration, a 
 Lumple love pursuit, their life a joy in unselfish 
 labor; the world, its applause and rewards, an 
 almost unknown quantity. His works excited my 
 surprise and honest admiration, the more so be- 
 cause he is self-taught and does this work after 
 dark until 12 or 1 at night with immense industry 
 and perseverance. It is a great encouragement to 
 meet such a case in this our degenerate, shallow 
 days, and the memory of it will help me in hours of 
 difficulty and struggle such as are my lot not infre- 
 quently. The genuine art spirit is yet a possibility 
 after all, and I thank the Lord for even one in- 
 stance, as an example that links the great past still 
 with the present, despite the blatant, gaudy, irrev- 
 erent, and flighty doings of the madly experiment- 
 ing youthful rabble of the day. 
 
 ''Opportunity to see some new things, though 
 not in the shape of paintings, and to have some 
 talks on art matters will furnish me stimulus for 
 some time to come. Ah! and so often I have felt 
 the need of it. Isolation and solitude may be favor- 
 able to productiveness, but continued perforce too 
 long stagnation sets in and a paralysis of virile 
 action not over good for works for art. Situated as 
 I am it is a hard battle in which often I go to the 
 
184 A VISION REALIZED 
 
 ground, though others may not see the defeat, and 
 almost despair." 
 
 Of the attempt to have the ^^ Jesus or Barabbas" 
 exhibited at the Academy he wrote Mr. Hyde 
 (Mar. 15) : 
 
 ^^The modern New York art world has once 
 more given me unmistakable evidence that I would 
 be a deal wiser for hauling in my sensitive antennae 
 for aye and retiring into my little shell as the only 
 fit place for a presumptuous professor of the Cruci- 
 fied and forever stay there. That despised, thorn- 
 crowned Nazarene is no more welcome to-day than 
 he was 18 centuries ago. 
 
 "By the inclosed photograph ('^ Jesus or Barab- 
 bas") you can see with what subject I have dared 
 to test the discriminating judges of the National 
 Academy, ^The Committee of Selection,' and this 
 very day notice came from my agent that the pic- 
 ture had been returned to him. To be sure it is 
 exactly what I anticipated. Such things have no 
 longer a place in modern exhibitions. The Acad- 
 emy is revolutionized— dear old fogy affair— and 
 got into the control of Parisian-taught youngsters ; 
 the former respectable, sober, conservative institu- 
 tion is gone. Well, I shall in future act on the 
 lesson. My wife suggested I should write to you 
 making inquiry whether a chance can not be found 
 in Boston for exhibition. Your judgment may tell 
 you whether there are any chances whatever in 
 intellectual Boston. I myself do not know. 
 
 *'I confess to have gotten at fault with the 
 world. Somehow we do not agree. What is more, 
 I do not want to agree. You have no idea what an 
 
LIFE STORY OF REV. J. A. OERTEL. D.D. 185 
 
 apathetic fellow to the world's blandishments your 
 old friend has got to be. Diogenes in his tub, with 
 the great Alexander before him, is no circumstance 
 in comparison. Well, I have with admiration read 
 the maxims of the heathen stoic philosophers, and 
 would it not be a shame for an instructed Christian 
 to be outdone in indi:fference to the world by them? 
 
 ^* Haven't we better ground to stand on and an 
 infinitely superior example? Why, there is abso- 
 lute luxury in this delightful independence, and 
 those New York fellows have no conception what a 
 wealth they have contributed to it. If they knew, 
 chagrin would make them recall my picture." 
 
 A glorious independence for him it truly was no 
 longer to be by reason of financial conditions at the 
 mercy of the ^^Committe of Selection" for daily 
 bread. 
 
 As the time drew near for the exhibition in Bal- 
 timore to close he began to feel the responsibility of 
 having these large works in his possession. It was 
 not his intention to keep them for any length of 
 time, and after due consideration he wrote the fol- 
 lowing letter to the Bishop of Tennessee. 
 
 It may be explained here that on going to 
 Sewanee in 1886 he had been transferred from the 
 Diocese of Washington to that of Tennessee under 
 which he still remained. 
 
 "Bel Air, Md., April 16, 1898. 
 "Eight Eev. Thomas F. Gailor, D.D. 
 
 "My Dear Bishop : The substance of this letter has by in- 
 tention been written long ago. But what I desire to say now 
 needs introduction by a brief history concerning three large 
 paintings which together form a series. 
 
 "It is no exaggeration to say that the first embodied design — 
 
186 A VISION REALIZED 
 
 the second of the series — came to me as a veritable vision, 
 without conscious preparation or forethought, 45 years ago. 
 
 "The second also was given me in a similar manner a few 
 years afterward, and subsequently carried out as a large crayon 
 drawing from which some photographs were made in 1864 or 
 1865. But until three years ago, by want of means and other 
 causes, their execution on a becoming scale was delayed and 
 quite mysteriously hindered. 
 
 "It never seemed to me probable that in this country, and 
 with the popular taste inclined as I knew it to be, there would 
 ever be an opportunity of sale. The pictures would have to be 
 made a donation to some public institution, a free gift for general 
 benefit. 
 
 "An opportunity for sale was indeed presented for the first 
 in the series while for a few days on exhibition in Washington, 
 D. C, and before it went to Nashville, but the offer came from 
 the vice chancellor of the ^American University' (Methodist), 
 and the terms of payment proposed of $10,000, the sum named 
 by a competent artist as ^merely a respectable compensation,' 
 gave no suflBcient guaranty and had to be rejected. Otherwise, 
 without any participation of mine except by passive yielding 
 on account of their urgency, two efforts were made to secure 
 these paintings, first to the Cathedral established at Washington, 
 and then at New York by interested clerical friends. Both failed 
 as I anticipated. 
 
 "I vieAved these failures as a divine indication that the course 
 for many years existing in my o\vti mind was what my Master 
 intended, and that, as the subjects were freely given to me, so 
 they should when adequately embodied be freely consecrated 
 to the Lord's service. 
 
 "I therefore now offer them, through you, to the Theological 
 Department of the University of the South. 
 
 "The Series should go together. 
 
 "Although each composition is a unit by itself, yet they tell 
 a connected story — the Story of Eedemption; the first, the Old 
 Testament preparation; the second, redemption as practically 
 applied to the individual man during a time of probation; the 
 third, the Era of the Holy Spirit, the Church Idea. 
 
 "A fourth one has originally been in my thoughts and par- 
 tially noted doAvn, namely, the consummation of the divine 
 scheme in the future of God's Church until the end. But 
 inasmuch as this is still prophetic and not already historic, the 
 
LIFE STORY OF REV. J. A. OERTEL, D.D. 187 
 
 three may be suffered to stand by themselves for the historic 
 fulfilment of the Divine Plan of Eedemption in its compre- 
 hensive features. 
 
 "As such the series, I devoutly trust, will be no invaluable 
 aid to students by a graphic delineation of important facts of 
 theology, and if at Sewanee they accomplish this mission I shall 
 have very sufficient compensation. 
 
 "The first of the series is at present in Baltimore, and only 
 for a few days more. On that account I deem it a great favor 
 if you let me have a decision, either of acceptance or the contrary, 
 at your earliest moment. A few words will sufiSce. I do not 
 know whether you can act alone, or have to confer with the 
 vice chancellor, but in either case an early answer would direct 
 my necessary movements here. 
 
 "One condition only I would beg to make, namely, that in 
 case you accept the gift for the University the institution should 
 assume the cost of transportation from Baltimore to Sewanee. 
 It can be only a few dollars. Painting and frame are in separate 
 long boxes, the painting rolled, with stretcher in one, the frame, 
 home made, and in sections, in the other. By paying freight 
 at the other end I imagine better care can be insured of the goods. 
 
 "This preliminary step settled, the next ones, like the fur- 
 nishing of a description and sending of the second painting, 
 nearly done, can be arranged in due order. 
 
 "By writing this letter a load of shifting quantity has been 
 dropped from my shoulders. 
 
 "When the destination of these works, for so long carried 
 as a solemn obligation, has been fixed I shall be as a man who 
 has performed his vow and relieved his conscience. 
 
 "My friend Bishop Quintard has gone Home. I now with 
 heartiest devotion greet you as my Bishop, and myself subscribe 
 as your servant in the Lord, 
 
 "Johannes A. Oeetel." 
 
 On receiving this letter Bishop Gailor for- 
 warded it to the vice chancellor of the University 
 and received the following reply : 
 
 "Apeil 35, 1898. 
 "My Dear Bishop Gailor : Your letter of 22d inst., inclosing 
 one from Mr. Oertel, is duly received. We certainly appreciate 
 
188 A VISION REALIZED 
 
 Doctor's Oertel's most gracious consideration for us, and will 
 gladly defray all expense in connection with the shipping of 
 the pictures. We should value them very highly, and will give 
 them the very best space at our disposal. 
 
 "Please to convey to Doctor Oertel our high appreciation of 
 his gift. 
 
 "With warmest regards, yours, very faithfully, 
 
 "B. L. Wiggins, 
 ^'Vice Chancellor.'* 
 
 At the same time the vice chancellor wrote to 
 Mr. Oertel : 
 
 "April 25, 1898. 
 "The Rev. Johannes A. Oertel, 
 Bel Air, Maryland. 
 
 "Eeverend and Dear Sir : Bishop Gailor has communicated 
 to me the contents of your letter to him, and I wish to assure 
 you of the high appreciation of the University for your most 
 generous offer. 
 
 "The University will gladly defray the expense in connection 
 with the shipping of the pictures, and we shall place them to 
 the best advantage on our walls. 
 
 "Your other picture, 'The Shadow of the Rock,' is hung 
 in our newest building and people come from a distance to see 
 and admire it. 
 
 "With high regard, yours, very faithfully, 
 
 "B. L. Wiggins, 
 ''Vice Chancellor." 
 
 Bishop Gailor 's letter to Mr. Oertel follows: 
 
 "Memphis, Tenn., Apnl 29, 1898. 
 
 "My Dear Mr. Oertel : I thank you with all my heart in 
 the name of the University, and as one who learned to regard 
 your life and work with reverence in the old days for your 
 thought of our dear Sewanee. I had to write to the vice chan- 
 cellor before I could formally accept the gift, and now I inclose 
 
LIFE STORY OF REV. J. A. OERTEL, D.D. 189 
 
 his letter. The board of trustees will of course make a formal 
 acknowledgment at its meeting in August. 
 
 "Assuring you of my cordial regard, and with affectionate 
 greeting I am, 
 
 "Most sincerely, yours, 
 
 "Thomas F. Gailor. 
 "The Eev. J. A. Oertel, 
 ''Bel Air, Mdr 
 
CHAPTER XV. 
 
 On receiving Mr. Oertel's letter in regard to the 
 possibilities of exhibiting in Boston, Mr. Hyde im- 
 mediately began to investigate and f oimd the man 
 H. Jay Smith mentioned before in connection with 
 the ^^Eock of Ages." When Mr. Smith heard of 
 the large works Mr. Oertel had recently painted he 
 became very much interested and at once made ar- 
 rangements to go to Bel Air to see them. 
 
 Before he could do so Mr. Oertel had another 
 accident, which again for a time put a stop to art 
 work. He had been repeatedly warned not to ride 
 a ' ' wheel, ' ' yet he persisted in doing so and had both 
 bicycle and tricycle. 
 
 A letter written by Mrs. Oertel to her son in 
 New York (May 4) tells the story. 
 
 ^^We certainly have become the record ^break- 
 ers' of Hartford County. Don't you remember, 
 long ago, when Papa first got Svheels in his head,' 
 you said to me, ^If Papa ever attempts to ride a 
 wheel he will break that right wrist over again"? 
 You were a prophet. He has done it. Here he sits 
 with his arm in splints, suif ering like a dog, and— 
 the wheel is for sale. He was about ready for it. 
 Had just finished the big picture (^The Redeemer'), 
 taken down the ladder, and cleaned out the room, 
 so if Mr. Smith comes he is ready for him." 
 
LIFE STORY OF REV. J. A. OERTEL. D.D. 191 
 
 Mr. Smith arrived some days later. He was 
 very much pleased with the pictures and at 
 once made a proposition to take them for ex- 
 hibit. He believed that in New England, Bos- 
 ton especially, they would be appreciated and 
 attract attention. 
 
 Mr. Oertel was very skeptical as to the results 
 of such an exhibition. ^^He is like a stag at bay," 
 writes Mrs. Oertel. ^^He has had so many failures 
 and disappointments that he is out of all sorts with 
 the business world. ' ' However, he consented in the 
 end to let Mr. Smith take the pictures provided the 
 vice chancellor of the University to which he had 
 given them was willing to have them go before they 
 finally were sent to Sewanee. 
 
 This permission was given and the three large 
 canvases, ^^The Dispensations," **The Redeemer," 
 and *^ Jesus or Barabbas" were forwarded to Mr. 
 Smith at Boston. 
 
 After Smith had placed the pictures on exhibi- 
 tion he wrote that as he was advertising them as by 
 the painter of ^^The Eock of Ages" he wished he 
 could have a copy of that famous picture to exhibit 
 with them. 
 
 Mr. Oertel at once offered to paint one for the 
 purpose, and did so, at the suggestion of Mr. Smith, 
 making the life-size painting before mentioned. 
 This was completed August 20 and sent on. 
 
 Mr. Smith was so sanguine of results, looking 
 at it purely from the standpoint of a financial ven- 
 ture, that it seemed possible some degree of success 
 might attend the undertaking. Mr. Oertel's style 
 had greatly changed in the last years, and what he 
 
192 A VISION REALIZED 
 
 now offered was vastly superior to the works of 
 former times. 
 
 ^^You do not know how he paints now," writes 
 his wife to ^'Edward". '^The old brown style of 
 the past is all gone; he has become a first class 
 colorist. Don't think it partiality in me— for he 
 calls me his severest critic— but if you could see his 
 present works you would be astonished. ^^The 
 Gethsemane" and ^'Expulsion" are gems. He is 
 just finishing a grand lion picture, and if he saw an 
 opening for his paintings he would work like a 
 steam engine. He executes most rapidly and has 
 ideas by the score waiting the time when they can 
 be painted, and new ones keep crowding on." 
 
 Smith had also for exhibition at the same time 
 *Hhe most extraordinary nude ever exhibited in 
 America" (^'Rona") and crowds flocked to see it, 
 but the exhibition of the Oertel pictures did not 
 prove the success that Smith expected and at first 
 he said he thought it was because he did not know 
 how to handle that class of work. After further 
 efforts had been made he wrote : 
 
 ''When I wrote you I had failed because I did 
 not know how to handle the paintings I should have 
 written, instead, because I did not know the New 
 England people. I find the vast majority of people 
 in this section care very little for orthodox ideas, 
 and want subjects either of the nude, mirthful, or 
 startling and sensational. People will not pay to 
 see a painting unless sensational in some way. ' ' On 
 receipt of this letter Mr. Oertel immediately or- 
 dered the ''Dispensations," "The Redeemer," and 
 "Jesus or Barabbas" forwarded to Sewanee. It 
 
LIFE STORY OF REV. J. A. OERTEL, D.D. 193 
 
 appears that the latter painting was also presented 
 to the University at this time, though there is no 
 record of the action. 
 
 During the early part of this year he was busy 
 making studies for the third of the ''Series," ''The 
 Dispensation of the Holy Spirit," and began to 
 paint on it in August. He writes: "I am working 
 down from the top and for over a week have been 
 among the angelic host; now among the Apostles— 
 exalted company to be sure— and I have to use very 
 pure color to express it. This picture will be my 
 witness for Truth and a protest against modern un- 
 belief. ' ' On August 8, 1899, he was notified that the 
 degree of Doctor of Divinity had been conferred on 
 him by the University of the South. This honor 
 was accepted in the following characteristic letter : 
 
 "Bel Air, Md., August 12, 1899. 
 "B. S. Wiggins, D.D., 
 
 ''Vice Chancellor, University of the South, Sewanee, Tenn. 
 
 "My Dear Sir : But from Sewanee, I would not accept the 
 honor the board of trustees has been pleased to confer on me 
 by the degree of Doctor of Divinity, being conscious of neither 
 scholarship nor learning sufficient for such distinction. 
 
 "It must have been offered, I must believe, as an indorsement 
 by the board of the scriptural doctrine in my pictures being 
 trustworthy interpreters, and as such I accept the great honor 
 thankfully from the University that has my love and service, 
 and let it be to me a stimulus more truly to deserve it. 
 "Yours, very faithfully, 
 
 "Johannes A. Oertel." 
 
 During the fall he repainted the ^'EzekiePs 
 Vision," destroying the original copy made some 
 years before. His experience since the first one 
 was made had taught him that a large canvas, where 
 
194 A VISION REALIZED 
 
 so many figures were grouped, should not be 
 painted as it had been. He did not know how to 
 properly handle it then; now he did— and it must 
 be done over entirely. 
 
 In the spring of this year his son Fred, who was 
 in the service of the Government, had succeeded in 
 being transferred from New York to Washington 
 and it was deemed best to again bring the family 
 together in the Virginia home. 
 
 Accordingly, on October 4, ^^Owls Roost," as the 
 Vienna house was called because of the propensity 
 of the family to keep late hours, was again occu- 
 pied, Mrs. Oertel and the grandchildren removing 
 from Bel Air, though Mr. Oertel preferred to re- 
 main until he could complete the big picture on 
 which he was then working. 
 
 His life while there, alone again, perhaps had 
 best be told as he wrote it in letters to his wife. 
 
 October 23. **Day by day," he says, ^'I toil on, 
 conscious that what at present occupies my heart, 
 mind, and brush is not an unimportant contribution 
 as a witness in behalf of the truth now so wantonly 
 assailed by the modern spirit of anti-Christ. Daily 
 I am bringing out with greater emphasis the super- 
 natural element of the Church of Christ, its God- 
 commissioned founders. 
 
 ^^I am now in hopes that by the end of this year 
 I can close the substantial work on the painting so 
 that little besides harmonizing will have to lap over 
 into 1900 ; already I leap forward in mind, now and 
 then, to the fourth, and arrange for the upper 
 portion." 
 
 On his birthday, November 3, he wrote: '^By 
 
LIFE STORY OF REV. J. A. OERTEL. D.D. 195 
 
 right of custom I ought to have sent a birthday 
 remembrance to Fred, if I were not cowed into 
 bashfuhiess by the ever-recurring confession of 
 poverty by offering a picture. Why, the miserable 
 drug— it's too plentiful and dirt cheap to give here- 
 after to any of my family. I am sick of them 
 myself. * * * 
 
 ^*As I have the happy faculty of almost as well 
 looking behind as before, I undertook the barber 
 business with my hair in propria persona, and suc- 
 ceeded, of course, astonishingly well. Conquering 
 persistent obstacles is one of the chief lessons the 
 many years of life have hammered into me and 
 * self-help' is a prominent article in my creed of ex- 
 istence ; or am I too old for unremitting practice. 
 What would become of my art without if? 
 
 '^I am called on often by visitors to explain the 
 picture, now nearly done. Don't I wish I had the 
 story of the explanation on tinfoil and a phono- 
 graph on hand, so that somebody else could grind it 
 out for visitors without the necessity of my pres> 
 ence ! What a blessed relief it would be. I think 
 such an apparatus might be employed with benefit 
 even by the Sewanee folk, and perhaps I will make 
 the suggestion. And have I not cause for congratu- 
 lation that in any event the lugubrious business will 
 by and by pass to others' hands, who, perchance, 
 see things I never dreamed of and embellish the 
 story of redemption in a manner as intelligible and 
 logical as the typical boy composition on *the sub- 
 lime.' 
 
 **And now the birthday talk is done with and 
 the light of the day departed and gone. How many 
 
196 A VISION REALIZED 
 
 more— or how few— of these days, and what are 
 they to bring of joy or sorrow, and what work to be 
 yet accomplished? There is ever the dark riddle 
 of the Future into which no anxious peering can 
 avail to give knowledge besides the sweet hope a 
 true faith does kindle and keep bright to steer our 
 lives' bark by— and thank God for this. Let us 
 through the darkness be cheered by the Beacon on 
 yonder shore. 
 
 '^With my picture I am coming on bravely. I 
 am now putting to rights the front of scoffers, and 
 gold and pleasure seekers, the Briggses and Vol- 
 taires and Tom Paines in the Church with the gold 
 hunters and stock jobbers and usurers everywhere. 
 When this corner is done and a revision of the 
 Apostles, there remains only a general retouching 
 and harmonizing. ' ' 
 
 On January 20 he began to get ready to move 
 and did some packing. ' ' But ah me, ' ' said he, ' ' the 
 accumulation of years. Going over the mass makes 
 me feel a thousand years old, and it is such a sad 
 and dreary reminder of a multitude of people, 
 plans, and associations, all now in the dim and gray 
 past and rising again like ghosts from trodden- 
 down and forgotten graves. To have to rummage 
 in the dust of ages and stir up the remains of long 
 departed days, and think over again faded experi- 
 ences, and communicate with the spirits that are 
 gone— what a diary it is to read perforce over and 
 feel so many hopes and pangs and disappointments 
 again, and the hot determined struggle with ad- 
 verse fate and changeful conditions that, after all, 
 got the mastery and shaped one's course so differ- 
 
LIFE STORY OF REV. J. A. OERTEL. D.D. 197 
 
 ent from what was dreamed of and the fond heart 
 had wished. 
 
 ^* A journal kept in words is cruel enough in con- 
 juring up the buried past; but one in the visible 
 forms of art, giving actual shape to each thouglit 
 and object and clustered full of associations more 
 vivid than speech of any sort is— to the man whose 
 record they are, and who in the course of the years 
 without design to say much has yet said far more 
 than he intended— a most pregnant book of recol- 
 lections, though no one besides can read as he can 
 the strange cipher of his life." 
 
 So he lived and worked. His letters speak of 
 the many little things done for him by his friends 
 who took pity on his lone condition. 
 
 Whatever acquaintance with the people may 
 have developed during seven years' residence 
 among them, sure it is that in no place of sojourn- 
 ing of the Oertel family in their wanderings over 
 the broad land was more personal kindness shown 
 them than by the good people of Bel Air, Md. 
 
 He sent a couple of animal pictures *'In a New 
 England Quarry" and '^A King of the Desert" to 
 the exhibition in Philadelphia, once more tempting 
 the fates. They were accepted and hung but did 
 not sell, and when returned he comments thus : 
 
 *'It is something for me to be admitted even to 
 the exhibition, considering the gantlet to run of 
 some 20 ^'judges of selection," and the hope of a 
 sale is perhaps, all things considered, a crazy one 
 and I am a deluded prehistoric fossil to indulge in 
 it for a moment. By this time I ought fully to un- 
 derstand, taught by experience, that the Lord wants 
 
198 A VISION REALIZED 
 
 me to count myself outside the world-crowd of 
 artists, both by aim and practice, and commissioned 
 to do a work apart and which can not be mixed 
 up with the prevailing popular styles of thought, 
 subjects, or execution. 
 
 **The naked vixen in the Corcoran Gallery that 
 gave such offense is a common type of the art that 
 now has an applauding public, and I can not be 
 wrong in believing that with the evident decline and 
 degeneration in religion and morals the art also 
 must go down, and become more trivial, showy, and 
 given wholly to externals. What the current peri- 
 odicals show is on the whole a just exponent of what 
 the galleries contain." 
 
 On February 10 he writes that the picture is 
 finished, and goes on to say: ^* Probably I have 
 made a good picture. I think so myself, now. 'It 
 is the Lord's doing and it is marvelous in our eyes.' 
 That is the inside of it. Without He supplying my 
 well, I could never have pumped out of it such a 
 stream of clear water, considering the desert of my 
 surroundings. Where else did it all come from?" 
 
 The painting of this picture seemed to tax him 
 greatly. For the first two he had much more prep- 
 aration and had already made cartoons of the sub- 
 jects carefully worked out; for this he had only a 
 few sketches. When at last it was done he shows 
 his state of mind and the strain of the work, espe- 
 cially under such conditions as he imposed on 
 himself. 
 
 **I am tired," he writes, ''of the howling out- 
 side and shaking of windows. I am tired of the cold 
 and snow. I am tired of darning stockings and 
 
LIFE STORY OF REV. J. A. OERTEL. D.D. 199 
 
 mending trousers. I am tired of cooking meals, 
 concocting unheard of dishes, washing pots, think- 
 ing about victuals, running to market, and specu- 
 lating on the next programme. I am tired of bolt- 
 ing eatables in * solitary confinement.' I am tired of 
 stove shaking and ash dumping and fussing with 
 separating cinders. I am tired of being day and 
 night and all the time between in a lonely hole 
 amidst the same things gaping at me. I am tired of 
 that big canvas and wish it were over the hills and 
 far away. I am tired of being compelled to stare 
 at it and pick out flaws. I am tired of the very idea 
 of having by myself to pack interminable trash and 
 useless rubbish and dearly pay for its removal. I 
 am tired of this bachelor imprisonment and all its 
 cheerless accompaniments, tired of this banish- 
 ment, and many things more. There ! That's a list 
 of some of my grievances ! If it is not enough, I 
 can pile on indefinitely ; but by this time, I am sure, 
 your pity is sufficiently excited. Any human soul 
 would have compassion on me. 
 
 ^^Now the big canvas finished, I have nothing to 
 absorb my surplus energy and so must growl, at 
 least for the present. 
 
 ' ' Some days will have to go by before I can settle 
 down to some other regular work. The carthorse 
 habit, I have to confess, is in my bones, too, perhaps 
 the more so as years increase ; for old things and old 
 people get knotty and gnarled and more difficult to 
 move, and the arrival at every successive station 
 exhibits more the desire to stop just there. Plod- 
 ding like a plow ox is now more to my liking than 
 romping like a pup. " 
 
200 A VISION REALIZED 
 
 But the ^'carthorse habit" was too strong to 
 allow him to flag. In a few days he went to work 
 making a frame for the picture so it could be ex- 
 hibited in Washington, where it was placed (Mar. 
 8) for a short time in St. John's Hall, going from 
 there direct to Sewanee. 
 
 March 18, 1900, the last move of his life was 
 made, and at '*Owls Eoost" he settled down to 
 spend his remaining years and finish his work in the 
 new studio then being built near the house. 
 
 The principal paintings of this year, after the 
 large one was completed, were, ^'Man" in his record 
 described as ^^a nude male figure, sitting on a bit of 
 cloud within a large circle of nightly sky, with 
 stars, comet, and a new moon, wonder stricken. 
 Painted for myself as an expression of the mystery 
 of being." It is a remarkable picture. Man, alone 
 in the great universe, naught to show from whence 
 he came or whither he is going, supported only by 
 the bit of cloud and naked. Is not this the position 
 we all occupy'? ^^ Easter Morning," the Lord step- 
 ping forth from the tomb. This was a life-size 
 figure on canvas 4 feet 9 inches by 9 feet. It was 
 painted for St. Stephen's Memorial Church, St. 
 Louis, Mo. 
 
 Under these conditions opened the year 1901. 
 After a life of wandering at last, in his 78th year, 
 he had a home. He could now look with compla- 
 cency upon the years of toil and trial; he had 
 climlDed the height, and from the summit looked 
 down on the devious and rugged path by which he 
 had ascended with a calm and satisfied mind. Over 
 all this he had been led as in climbing a great moun- 
 
LIFE STORY OF REV. J. A. OERTEL. D.D. 201 
 
 tain, from crag to crag, up dizzy heights, over 
 foaming torrents, often well-nigh spent, but with 
 eyes ever on the shining summit and trusting in his 
 Master to help and support from day to day and 
 year to year. 
 
 Three of the great works were completed; he 
 was free to go on with the last. Why should he not 
 say *^ All is well, the spirit of divine wisdom through 
 whom came the thought of these works and who has 
 graciously helped me in the expression knew how 
 to frame what would appeal to the greatest number 
 at least of sincere persons in perfect conformity to 
 scriptural truth. Myself had very little to do with 
 the process except as an instrument. " 
 
 Early in this year he painted a large canvas, 
 4 feet 6 inches by 8 feet 3 inches of '^Christ Knock- 
 ing at the Door of the Twentieth Century." Eev. 
 Ill, 20. This was also presented to the University 
 of the South. 
 
 His belief that the end of the dispensation was 
 approaching, that the ^4ast times were at hand" 
 when the great battle of Armageddon would be 
 fought, shows itself again, as in ^^Charlemagne," 
 by the painting of ^^Barbarossa" from the well- 
 known legend that in the center of the Plain of 
 Sennheim (or Cernay) beneath a great rock called 
 the ^'Biblestein" sleeps Frederick Barbarossa who 
 bore the title of the Duke of Alsace. He is shown 
 sleeping with his knights around him, his flaming 
 beard grown through the table on which he leans, 
 ^^ awaiting the hour of destiny, when he will arise 
 and lead the armies of the empire to victory." 
 
 On April 16 he sketched the canvas for the last 
 
202 A VISION REALIZED 
 
 of the '^Series" and for the remainder of the year 
 most of his time was given to that. Mr. Hyde was 
 very enthusiastic over the ^^ Series," and suggested 
 that they should all be exhibited together. Mr. 
 Oertel did not look with favor on the scheme, but 
 consented that Mr. Hyde should request the loan 
 of those already at Sewanee, provided he did so on 
 his own responsibility. 
 
 Mrs. Oertel writes: ^^You do not apprehend the 
 condition of his mind in regard to them. They have 
 been made a gift to the Lord, not to Sewanee ; and 
 to try to use them to make money would be to him 
 a sacrilege." How^ever, the trustees of the Uni- 
 versity were not willing to loan the pictures, so that 
 ended the matter greatly to his satisfaction. 
 
 The last of the ^^ Series" was finished early in 
 the year. Much to his delight ^^ Edward" came 
 down from Boston to see it and him and remained 
 about a week. This visit was the greatest pleasure 
 that could have been given him ; days they spent in 
 the studio together, these two— Master and pupil— 
 who had clung to each other through the long years. 
 
 On June 2, 1902, after his return, Mrs. Oertel 
 wrote him : 
 
 ^*I want you to know that the great work is ac- 
 complished! The last canvas was shipped on 
 Saturday last. May 31, and the 50 years agony is 
 over. Laus Deo ! Such a long time, and how dis- 
 couraging it would have been to look forward to 
 if it could have been foreseen. 
 
 *^What a blessing it is that the impenetrable 
 veil hangs over our future, and how evident the 
 reason of the delay. Even 20 years ago he could not 
 
LIFE STORY OF REV. J. A. OERTEL. D.D. 203 
 
 have made the works what they are now. Will it 
 not be that way when we look back from the battle- 
 ments of the New Jerusalem, will we not see in so 
 many instances why our ways were overruled as 
 they were, and we were not permitted to walk in 
 the paths we fain would have chosen for our feet"?" 
 
 After the big picture was sent to Sewanee he 
 took no rest but continued with other designs, pro- 
 ducing in succession several important works, a 
 ^^Rock of Ages" which was presented to Mrs. Kate 
 B. Cannon, of Kansas City, Mo., ^^The Wandering 
 Jew," and ^^The Vision of Canaan." 
 
 ^^The Wandering Jew" is an independent in- 
 terpretation of the legend. The despised Jew has 
 wandered restless for nearly 2,000 years. The sun 
 of the Dispensation is nearly setting. The ruins of 
 the centuries are about him and the sinking sun 
 casts his shadow ahead of him in Cross form. The 
 painting expressed the artist's belief that the day 
 of the present Dispensation is very near its close, 
 and the Jew divinely recognizes the time has come 
 to wend his steps back to the land of his fathers, 
 seeking rest and perchance to revive his national- 
 ity. Of the truths bringing on the movement he is 
 as yet prof oimdly ignorant, but a mysterious spirit 
 impels him as the time draws rapidly near when 
 ancient prophecies must be fulfilled. 
 
 **The Vision of Canaan" represented Moses 
 where he is shown the promised land that he may 
 not enter. It is a typical scene of wide meaning, of 
 the old and the new covenant, the covenants of law 
 and of grace, of the land this side of the mystical 
 Jordan and the wider land that stretches beyond. 
 
204 A VISION REALIZED 
 
 We all occupy a situation like that. We look, by 
 sublime faith, beyond the dividing Jordan flood to 
 our promised land. It is the gracious Lord Himself 
 shows us the way. 
 
 This was also presented to the University of the 
 South. 
 
CHAPTER XVI. 
 
 On May 30 the vice chancellor of the University 
 wrote asking him to come to Sewanee and lecture on 
 the *^ Series" and art. Accordingly, about the 
 middle of June, he went. Those who have followed 
 in this narrative his struggles to attain the end now 
 reached can perhaps to some degree appreciate his 
 feelings as he came before the assembly in Sewanee 
 to tell them of his works, at last completed. 
 
 Of this he writes his wife : 
 
 ^^My Dear Wife : It seems months since I left 
 home— the more so because I have heard nothing 
 from you— and yet the time is only one week. 
 
 ''My usually quiet, uneventful life makes such 
 a change appear like a revolution. Many faces turn 
 up that seemed forgotten and wiped out with our 
 memory of them, and it seems truly strange to have 
 been remembered by them, so many years having 
 passed since our living on the mountain. 
 
 ''Of course that which touches me is of first in- 
 terest, and the great event, speaking on my pictures 
 is happily over. A marked success it proved. 
 There was a crowd in the hall, and the board of 
 trustees adjourned their meeting in order to be 
 present. Certainly I never before had so distin- 
 guished an interested audience, nor was so warmly 
 and cordially received. It was evident that my 
 
206 A VISION REALIZED 
 
 labors were not without fruit, and I thank the Lord 
 for the fruit of my toil. Bishop Gailor, in his 
 happy manner, introduced me, and after conclud- 
 ing my address, which was without reference to my 
 notes except the concluding sentences, the Bishop 
 of Georgia made a call for a vote of thanks which 
 brought all to their feet, and the Bishop of Florida 
 concluded. Since then Dr. Du Bose and many 
 others have spoken to me. But even this is not to 
 be the end. Many desire more information, among 
 them the divinity students, so there is promise that 
 I have not labored in vain. It is certainly true that 
 on the great world-public by my labors I have made 
 very ephemeral impression, and they have prac- 
 tically ignored my doings and left me in poverty 
 and alone. I care not for it. But here is a prospect 
 of usefulness, for it, not fame, I have coveted, nor 
 the gold that perisheth. 
 
 ^^ Bishop Gailor also in his address said I had 
 brought art to the mountain and educated a race of 
 carvers in wood. You see the seed is not sown in 
 vain." 
 
 June 29, 1902, the degree of Doctor of Divinity 
 was formally conferred on him by the Bishop of 
 Alabama, and he writes : 
 
 ^^So the august ceremony has confirmed the 
 honorary proclamation of three years ago, and so I 
 am a full-fledged D.D. Wonderful ! What would 
 now my little mother say who always regarded me 
 as such an extraordinary specimen under any cir- 
 cumstances 1^ What if she and father and brother 
 Fritz looked on unseen ! Who knows ? 
 
 ^^Well, perhaps there is more and sounder 
 
LIFE STORY OF REV. J. A. OERTEL. D.D. 207 
 
 theology in my pictures and some of my old lectures 
 than even is known or recognized by the authority 
 that conferred the degree." 
 
 And to this Mrs. Oertel replied July 2 : 
 
 *'So you have come about to the climax of your 
 career, the ^ Great Series' done and given away, and 
 yourself invested with the hood of a Doctor of 
 Divinity. Yes ; what would Grossmutter say ? But 
 more, what would Fritz say'? (His brother Fritz 
 was also a clergyman of the Church.) Well, it is 
 not every man that struggles who is permitted to 
 see the fruit of it all to such an extent, so we will 
 be thankful. The way has been long and stony 
 enough, and the top of the hill seemed unattainable 
 —but you got there. ' ' 
 
 It is quite certain these last words were not 
 intended as slang, as probably she had never heard 
 them so used. 
 
 July 7 he lectured on the ^^ Revelation of the 
 Beautiful" in the hall where the big pictures had 
 been hung. *^ So that now the series are together," 
 he says, ^^and I also can see the accomplished 
 struggle of many years in one room. It really 
 appears as if your old man, in the evening of his 
 days, were being looked upon as an individual of 
 some importance and might be useful in the world, 
 and that when the great world of art has forgotten 
 my name and existence. It is better so." 
 
 With the works already mentioned the rest of 
 this year was consumed. 
 
 An immense amount of work was done during 
 the next year, although considerably broken into 
 by the serious illness of his wife. First came ^^A 
 
208 A VISION REALIZED 
 
 Glimpse of Glory," an old man on top of a ladder, 
 leaning against clouds, eagerly looking over to see 
 what is beyond. He says: ^'I call it ^Looking in.' 
 Various are the ladders set for us by God's kind 
 providence during our time of training, by means 
 of which we may get a glimpse of glory." 
 
 Next he began to repair ^^The Final Harvest," 
 which showed the effects of time and frequent 
 moves, but after working on it for some days con- 
 cluded it was not worth it and discarded it entirely, 
 stretched a fresh canvas and repainted it. It was 
 made the same size as the original, in a 6-foot circle, 
 but the canvas was square so the frame could be 
 made so, as the original had been in a circular 
 frame, which was found to be a great disadvantage 
 and very expensive. 
 
 There followed ^^Mary Magdalene Embracing 
 the Foot of the Cross," ^^The Expulsion from 
 Eden," ^^ Noah's Sacrifice after the Flood," two 
 figures of St. Paul, one of which was sent the Rev. 
 E. L. Hyde with the note, ^^Keep the painting in 
 memory of your old friend and the delightful visit 
 he had from you. " '' The Victor, ' ' a design treated 
 as statuary, the dead warrior carried from the bat- 
 tlefield upon his shield, according to the Spartan 
 mother's charge to her son when giving him that 
 defensive arm, ^^Come with it or upon it," since 
 the greatest disgrace to a Spartan was to cast away, 
 in fleeing from the enemy, his shield, and which the 
 apostle, admonishing the Christian warrior, calls 
 'Hhe shield of faith." 
 
 In August of this year (1903) he again visited 
 Sewanee remaining about five weeks. He retouched 
 
LIFE STORY OF REV. J. A. OERTEL. D.D. 209 
 
 the big paintings and assisted in taking them down 
 to be photographed. 
 
 He delivered six lectures, three to the students 
 and three to the general public. ^*To the theolo- 
 gians were given what is instructive in the symbol- 
 ism of the Mosaic Dispensation"; to the public, 
 talks were on "the use of art, the paintings in the 
 Roman Catacombs, and Ary Scheffer.'' 
 
 As the time for his return drew near he wrote 
 his wife : ' ' Now my visit is ending and I go back to 
 hard work, to -me the occupation that wears best 
 and pays most. What solace there is in the persua- 
 tion that our work of whatever kind is, by devout 
 intention, a God service— be it acknowledged and 
 valued by men or neglected and forgotten. We can 
 do no more in the world of toil and tears than faith- 
 fully sow our seed and let the Lord of Heaven, of 
 the rain and the sunshine, take care of it against 
 the day of harvest." 
 
CHAPTER XVII. 
 
 And so he returned to his studio and plunged 
 into work. The main object of his life was accom- 
 plished, but he could not rest. His portfolios were 
 filled with designs miade in former years but never 
 painted, and his brain continually evolved addi- 
 tional subjects. It was just as if he were driven. 
 Work, work, work unceasingly, grinding out pic- 
 tures. It was a general family joke how he was 
 filling the studio with them— and they could not be 
 disposed of except as gifts. 
 
 From his portfolios came timeworn sketches and 
 designs, and they were rapidly painted ; from the 
 walls of house and studio were taken pictures to be 
 revised and worked over according to what he 
 considered the needs of each. 
 
 ^^The time has come with me,^' he said, "that 
 instead of constantly rolling out new things, many 
 of them have to be left as sketches or incomplete 
 productions to give accumulations of many years 
 more adequate expression, so that in case they can 
 be brought together they form as it were by a cer- 
 tain continuity of thought a harmonious gallery. 
 I have come where many of the hesitancies and 
 timidities or ignorance of former years can be 
 corrected and a good subject redeemed from inade- 
 quate expression." 
 
LIFE STORY OF REV. J. A. OERTEL, D.D. 21 1 
 
 Immediately after his return he painted another 
 ^^Eoek of Ages" and a Crucifixion ^^It is Fin- 
 ished/' and presented them to St. Mary's House, 
 Sewanee. Then ^^The King of Truth," the thorn- 
 crowned Christ in purple robe, seated. 
 
 Besides these there were many sketches and 
 studies. 
 
 As the end of the year approached it seemed to 
 admonish him of the rapid flight of time and his 
 own shortening days and limit for action, and the 
 pressure and speed were increased. 
 
 In a letter to Mr. Hyde (Dec. 8), after enumer- 
 ating the various works produced during the year, 
 he says : ' ' There seems continually in my mind the 
 resolution: 'I must work while it is day,^ How 
 do I know that my strength or life will last very 
 much longer ? And, having only a limited measure, 
 solemn duty requires that I crowd it with work to 
 the utmost. My big room is comfortable. You will 
 not have to be informed, by an obituary in the 
 papers, that an old artist with sluggish circulation 
 and more persistency than prudence was found one 
 cold day frozen to an icicle in his too large studio. 
 
 ^*0n the contrary, that same persistent individ- 
 ual proposes and expects to do a huge amount of 
 work during the winter months and in spite of the 
 shortened daylight." 
 
 It may seem strange to the reader that little is 
 given in this narrative except the ^^work" done, 
 but what else could be told of one whose life was 
 spent in toil? Friends he had and visited, and a 
 few came to his studio, but in these days, except to 
 a very few, he seemed to grudge the time consumed. 
 
212 A VISION REALIZED 
 
 Some little recreation and exercise lie allowed him- 
 self, and persisted in riding Ms ** wheel" in spite of 
 former mishaps and repeated warnings. 
 
 He came to his meals after the bell had been 
 rmig several times and he had also been sent for 
 and told the bell had been rung, and after the meal 
 was over it was always the same ^'Well, I must get 
 back to my work." He read much, but his mind 
 ran in a rut. He saw in the doings of the world 
 only signs of the approaching ^'end of the Dispen- 
 sation," and became almost morbid on the subject. 
 It seemed to him that prophecy was rapidly being 
 fulfilled, and in his reading of current literature he 
 searched out only such things as pertained to that 
 subject. 
 
 The last work made in 1903 was a duplicate of 
 ^^The Holy Grail." 
 
 What was done with this painting is not known. 
 During these last years he became very secretive 
 and often when he disposed of a painting, i, e,, gave 
 it away, he would say nothing about it even to his 
 wife. 
 
 The first thing attempted in 1904 was the paint- 
 ing of ^^The Death of Saul," or *^The Judgment of 
 King Saul," from 1 Samuel 31: 36. This was an 
 old composition, made years ago in pencil, which 
 work he describes as "a, veritable specimen of 
 laborious exactness and rigid classification of for- 
 mer years." This is 31 by 53 J inches in size and 
 painted in four tints only, from reddish brown to 
 ivory black, and giving the impression of a mono- 
 chrome. 
 
 Then from his easel came in rapid succession 
 
LIFE STORY OF REV. J. A. OERTEL. D.D. 213 
 
 '^Faithful unto Death,'' ^^His First Going to Jer- 
 usalem," ^^Abel, the Proto Martyr," *^ Supper at 
 Enunaus," and numerous landscape and animal 
 pictures. 
 
 To Mr. Hyde he writes. May 1 : 
 
 ^'You know how secluded we live, and myself 
 more than my family, the 'Den' in which my 
 work is done being my field of toil and conflict; 
 a kind of fate impelling me to work on while 
 the opportunity is given and do my very best, 
 never at rest until means as well as knowledge 
 compel a halt. 
 
 ''With that spirit driving me on, you need not 
 wonder that yesterday I have again been at the 
 'Final Harvest,' taking out dimness of color and 
 shadows and introducing more light and clearness 
 and brilliancy of tint as it becomes a subject which 
 reaches forward to where the glory of eternity 
 illumines. In consequence the picture has, since 
 you saw it, risen miles above the thick atmosphere 
 we mortals must breathe, and, as to a comparison 
 with the old canvas, it is simply a smoke-begrimed 
 affair not to be mentioned." 
 
 One of the landscapes, "A Storm-tossed Vet- 
 eran," is worthy of mention. A most picturesque 
 old chestnut tree, lighted by the evening sun, behind 
 it a storm cloud sinking away, and a piece of rain- 
 bow ; on one side a yellow grain field with the grain 
 shocked upon it, in the foreground a large limb 
 freshly torn from the tree. 
 
 On July 5 the following formal acknowledg- 
 ment of his gifts to the University of the South 
 were received : 
 
214 A VISION REALIZED 
 
 "University of the South, 
 
 "Sewanee, Tenn., July 5, 190 J^. 
 "Eev. J. A. Oertel, D.D., 
 ''Vienna, Va. 
 "Rev. and Dear Sir : I have the honor to transmit to you 
 a copy of a resolution passed by the board of trustees at its 
 recent session: 
 
 " 'Resolved, That the thanks of the board are hereby tendered 
 to the Rev. J. A. Oertel, D.D., for the valuable paintings during 
 the past year presented to the University, placing us under 
 renewed obligations to our venerable friend for his many valuable 
 gifts to the University.^ 
 
 "I am, dear Doctor, with great respect, very faithfully yours, 
 
 "Jas. G. Glass, 
 ''Secretary of the Board of Trustees/' 
 
 It is to be regretted that for lack of space more 
 extracts from his letters can not be given, especially 
 those written to Mr. Hyde, to whom he was wont to 
 express his ideas on art and religious subjects more 
 fully than to anyone else, as, for instance, when he 
 says: 
 
 ''Our art has been for such a length of time wild 
 and wayward experiment, the chasing after the 
 novel and strange, that solid advance on lines of 
 truthfulness has been impossible. The fever con- 
 dition can only be followed by exhaustion. The 
 high-pressure tension cannot be kept up for ever. 
 It will wear itself out. Art, to grow and improve, 
 must have contemplative repose. 
 
 ''In this matter also I believe the point of crisis 
 has been nearly reached and experiment has ex- 
 hausted itself. To my judgment magazine illustra- 
 tions are a fair and quite infallible proof of decline. 
 Straws show which way the wind blows.'' 
 
 The last work finished this year was a subject 
 
LIFE STORY OF REV. J. A. OERTEL. D.D. 215 
 
 that had waited over 30 years for him to have the 
 time to give it expression, ''The Church Militant, '^ 
 a canvas 41 by 64 inches. The Israelites on the 
 holy war, the Conquest of Canaan, Joshua leading, 
 priests with the sacred trumpets, Judah with the 
 banner, insignia the lion and a star, Benjamin, 
 Dan, and others. The Shekinah, overhead, the light 
 of the picture. 
 
 Early in 1905 he presented a painting to ''Dr. 
 Bernardo's Homes, National Incorporated Asso- 
 ciation for Eeclamation of Destitute Waif Chil- 
 dren," London, England, but neither his record 
 nor letters from the secretary of the association, 
 acknowledging its receipt, state what it was. 
 
 Then came "The Seven Sleepers of Ephesus." 
 "This," he says, "is painted with a palette of great 
 simplicity, having only a touch of yellow in it in one 
 spot. It has a sleepy light, a different sentiment 
 from others of my pictures, for why should not the 
 color key correspond as much with the inherent 
 character of a painting as form, action, and expres- 
 sion?" 
 
 In the evening he spent much time in carving 
 and made two lions carved in oak for the episcopal 
 chair of Bishop Leonard, of Ohio. 
 
 Next came "Moses, with Aaron," invoking the 
 plagues over Egypt; not the plague of darkness 
 only, as in the monochrome formerly painted. The 
 background was changed from the dark sky to Pha- 
 raoh 's palace and relieved the figures dark against 
 the light, giving increased power and more mystery 
 and suggestion. Of this he writes Mr. Hyde : 
 
 "Another added to the many unsalable can- 
 
216 A VISION REALIZED 
 
 vases? Yes, indeed; well I know it. But what 
 can a mortal do against Fate? I am doomed— 
 or honored— to paint unsalable pictures, as my 
 namesake (Simon) was to preach an unpopular 
 doctrine of repentance to ^Scribes and Pharasees' 
 many centuries ago. Not only so, but verily there 
 must be attached a secret sign, or a smell, or other 
 warning, to my pictures ; that a believer, a ' Chris- 
 tian dog' has painted them, lacking the prophesied 
 ^Mark of the Beast' (Rev. 13: 16-17), and so they 
 are persistently unsalable. 
 
 ''Yes, you know your old friend is a quite head- 
 strong heretic with the world, in sharp antagonism 
 with her ways, and, what is more altogether uncon- 
 trovertible, to her modes of though and action. 
 
 ''I think we might as well give up the effort to 
 bring his pictures into market, be they religious, 
 landscape, or animal, for all are stamped with a 
 seal the world flatly refuses to acknowledge as cur- 
 rent in her dominion. 
 
 ''It is evident that my work, whatsoever its 
 merit, is prevented from a display in the great 
 exhibits of the world, and my name from taking 
 a place among the lauded ones and honored by 
 success. 
 
 "Let us drop all further effort in that direction. 
 With a thousand thanks for your willing kindness 
 and inquiry, relinquish further attempts." 
 
 The above was written after an offer to loan the 
 "Ezekiel" to the National Metropolitan Museum 
 in New York had been refused. 
 
 In August he made another visit to Sewanee to 
 varnish the big pictures, and then returned to his 
 
LIFE STORY OF REV. J. A. OERTEL. D.D. 21 7 
 
 studio, revising previous works and going on wifh 
 new ones. Among those revised were *^The Twelve 
 Apostles," each on separate canvas, destined for an 
 altar piece for the chapel of the theological depart- 
 ment at Sewanee, the center being a crucifixion 
 with the words underneath— ''We preach Christ 
 crucified, to the Jews a stumbling block and to the 
 Greeks foolishness, but to them that are called, both 
 Jews and Greeks, Christ the power of God, and the 
 wisdom of God." ''This," he says, "is a constant 
 admonition to the students who worship there what 
 is the purpose of their future calling." 
 
 Pictures were now piled all about him and 
 stacked in rows against his walls, and yet he worked 
 on. At times the humorous side of this struck him 
 and he would joke about it. One of his letters to 
 Mrs. Oertel at this time is written on a sheet of 
 paper headed "Treasury Department," and he 
 adds "of pictures, Vienna, Va.," and then he 
 says: "The above is a description of a rightful 
 title, or a fiattery, according to one's personal 
 view of the place from whence this is written 
 (his studio). 
 
 "If money alone is treasure, or jewels, or other 
 goods valued for their money's worth, then this 
 poor room of mine has a low money standard 
 indeed. However, if my canvases were valued like 
 that of Chase's dead codfish, then I added only 
 yesterday about $400 worth to my collection by the 
 painting of a bunch of grapes. In the twilight last 
 evening the painting could not be distinguished 
 from the model alongside." 
 
 November 3 he reached his eighty-third year, 
 
218 A VISION REALIZED 
 
 but with health and vigor he kept steadily on. On 
 this day he said : 
 
 ^'Another birthday! and a most memorable one. 
 Is it on a down-grade, as the world thinks ; or an 
 up-grade, toward the golden portal of life ever- 
 lasting ? 
 
 ^'Why not rather take the quick-fleeting years 
 in the latter sense?" 
 
 In December he was called to Bel Air, Md., to see 
 about an altar, reredos, and credence table desired 
 by the people of Emmanuel Church to harmonize 
 with the pulpit and lectern he made for that church 
 while living there. 
 
 For the sake of serving the Church his resolu- 
 tion to do no more mechanical work and elaborate 
 carving was broken. He never cared to do that 
 kind of work, as it consumed so much time, and 
 less thought could be expressed than on canvas. 
 He was asked to give advice and make designs for 
 the work. ^'AU very well and easy for me, to be 
 sure," he writes, ^^but who that is competent would 
 carry out my designs for less than a mint of money, 
 and such a ^mint' the donors do not have, nor would 
 be willing to spend. What, therefore, remained? 
 Why, plainly that I make the articles myself." 
 
 And so it was that at this age he once more 
 plunged into the laborious task of constructing and 
 carving in wood. 
 
 The credence table was first undertaken. On 
 this he worked from early morning until late at 
 night, as he wrote, ** cutting or knocking chips from 
 solid oak in the fashioning of an elaborate credence 
 table ; grapes and wheat grow from hard wood two 
 
CREDENCE TABLE 
 
 Emmanuel Church, Bel Air. Md. 
 
LIFE STORY OF REV. J. A. OERTEL. D.D. 219 
 
 inches thick, in many places cut clean through. 
 Lamb and Geissler furnish no such carving, except 
 perhaps for a mint of money. But then 'this 'ere 
 child' is under the dominion of a different prin- 
 ciple." This table is an elaborate structure some 
 7 feet high and 2 wide, of oak and cherry, deeply 
 carved and all put together by his own hand. 
 
 This was work which should not have been un- 
 dertaken at his time of life and with failing 
 strength and sight, but no work was ever too 
 arduous for him to undertake if he deemed it right 
 to do so, and once undertaken it was pushed with all 
 the energy and strength of his nature. 
 
 So with this, he was ''up and at it" at 6 a. m. 
 and far into the night could be heard the strokes of 
 his mallet as he "cut away what should not be 
 there." 
 
 "Were you ever a slave to your work^" he 
 asks. "It is now my experience. This mechanic 
 labor can not be done but by steady application, 
 especially in the hands of an amateur, for I am no 
 better. It is strange that I should have been led to 
 undertake so much of it. But it was almost exclu- 
 sively for churches. All I have now to do has come 
 to me unsought, therefore, how could I reject it? 
 Doing God's work is not only painting religious 
 pictures. He is truly served by anything that can 
 in good conscience be done in His name, as Luther 
 has it when he speaks of a pious servant girl labo- 
 riously scrubbing the floor. Were it not so, small 
 comfort would there be for the Christian drudges 
 the world over!" 
 
 As he proceeded, this task become more and 
 
220 A VISION REALIZED 
 
 more irksome. He longed to get back to his easel, 
 and during the first months of 1906 he aged per- 
 ceptibly. It was impossible to make him talk of 
 anything cheerful. He could only see the signs of 
 the *^last times" and the terrible consequences 
 which were to f oUow. 
 
 It was the same story which has been repeated 
 with every piece of woodwork he had ever done, 
 very easy to make the elaborate design, but the work 
 it was going to take to execute it not considered. In 
 June there came to him the great trouble of his life ; 
 the one who had stood by his side through aU the 
 struggle of life and had been his help, his comfort, 
 his adviser and critic, who had encouraged and 
 cheered where the way was darkest, and rejoiced 
 with him when success crowned his efforts, his wife, 
 was stricken with what from the first was known to 
 be a fatal illness, though she lingered for many 
 months. 
 
 This blow came when he was in no condition to 
 bear it. Physically he had gone down under the 
 strain of carpentering and carving 10 and 12 hours 
 daily for nearly 7 months, yet he did not spare 
 himself but kept up the pace set until the work was 
 completed— the last of July. No sooner was his 
 room clear of this work than he began painting on 
 a canvas some 7 feet in length by 3 feet high, '^The 
 School of the Prophets," the design and color 
 sketch of which were made in Florida. This, '^The 
 Sun of Righteousness Arising," *^ John the Baptist 
 as a Young Man Watching," and several land- 
 scapes were completed before the end of the year. 
 
 In the meanwhile, November 8, he received a 
 
LIFE STORY OF REV. J. A. OERTEL. D.D. 221 
 
 letter from the Eev. Wyllys Rede, D.D., dean of the 
 Cathedral at Quincy, 111., saying that it was in- 
 tended to place therein a memorial reredos and if 
 possible he would like to have him undertake the 
 work. 
 
 He replied telling of the 7 months of laborious 
 work on the Bel Air reredos, and of his renewed 
 resolve not to do any more of the kind, being now in 
 his eighty-fourth year. ''But," he says ''here 
 comes your letter. Should I positively declined' 
 At first he seriously considered accepting the work, 
 but was forced to the conclusion that he was no 
 longer able to accomplish so great a task. 
 
 However, in his reply to Dr. Rede he suggested 
 that while he could not do the work he could make 
 the design. He told him of the "Final Harvest," 
 which would make a suitable center piece, and sent 
 a rough sketch of what in his judgment would be 
 suitable as framing. This design included plans 
 for the other paintings, the Christ above "The 
 Final Harvest," "the representative apostles of 
 Jew and Gentile on either hand," all to be life size. 
 "This," he says, "I could do, insuring to the whole 
 absolute unity of design and character." 
 
 His offer as to compensation for all this was 
 characteristic. Of the sum they had set apart they 
 would pay for the woodwork and he would take 
 what was left, "not for my own but for my chil- 
 dren's sakes." Thank God at this time he did not 
 need it— but he must still give. 
 
 Soon after his eighty-fourth birthday he began 
 painting "The Burial of Moses." This repre- 
 sented the train of angels coming flying through a 
 
222 A VISION REALIZED 
 
 defile in the mountains, Michael leading the proces- 
 sion—the body of Moses supported by four angels, 
 our Lord holding the head— The Law buried by the 
 Gospel. This, he believed, would be his last work. 
 Ever since coming to this country certain numbers 
 had ruled and reoccurred with unvarying regular- 
 ity, the numbers 4 and 7 especially so. The belief 
 that important changes would occur on these 
 periods w^as as strong in his mind as that the sim 
 would rise and set at the proper time. '^ Three 
 times already," he writes, "a period of 7 years 
 in one place have happened, the fourth comes to the 
 full next spring. Seven years since I moved from 
 Bel Air and began work in this room. The seven 
 years in it will not, it is my belief, be exceeded; 
 something will happen to fit these seven years to 
 my former singular experience. What? I know 
 not, but a change I look for. 
 
 *^My own labors in carrying out God-given ideas 
 are coming to a close. I am now painting ^^The 
 Burial of Moses." I have no plans beyond that. 
 Moreover, my health, so wonderfully good for the 
 last 20 years is giving way, and no medical treat- 
 ment has effected any betterment. Am I not to 
 conclude that my days on earth are near the even- 
 ing hour, that it were best to put my house in order, 
 and indeed I have begun doing that." 
 
 He was confident that the mystic seven would 
 not be broken, nor was it, though the ^^ change" 
 was not what he expected. He was buried in his 
 work and his mind filled only with it, and perhaps 
 it was for this reason he could not see the change 
 which was soon to come and which others could 
 
i^^iiiii 
 
 infwfm 
 
 REREDOS IN THE CATHEDRAL, QUINCY, ILL. 
 
LIFE STORY OF REV. J. A. OERTEL, D.D. 223 
 
 see was impending. Mrs. Oertel was slowly 
 sinking; bright and cheerful on her bed of pain, 
 she was still the light and life of the house as 
 she had ever been. Her mind was still bright 
 and active, a marvel to all who saw her; but it 
 was only too evident to every one but him— 
 that the end must come soon. 
 
 The design for the reredos at Quincy and the 
 *^ Final Harvest" were sent on late in December 
 (1906) and on January 3, 1907, Dr. Rede wrote him 
 to proceed with the other three paintings. 
 
 This seemed to rouse him from the morbid con- 
 dition of mind into which he had drifted ; even his 
 physical condition improved, and he began to work 
 with all his old time dash and vigor. 
 
 The central (top) picture was about completed 
 by the last of January. ''It was not an easy sub- 
 ject to treat becomingly," he says; ''the Saviour on 
 clouds receiving the fruits of His Redemption from 
 the harvest field, the Holy Spirit above Him in the 
 blaze of light coming from the Father, invisible 
 above, but suggested strongly as a Presence ; while 
 on either side the suppressed light is filled with a 
 multitude of adoring angels." 
 
 In the midst of this work came the looked for 
 ' ' change ' ' of the seventh year. It were best to take 
 his own words to describe this, and its effect on him. 
 To his friend "Edward" he wrote, February 
 13,1907: 
 
 "First of all may I not have your forgiveness 
 for the seeming neglect of letting you know at once 
 of the departure to heavenly mansions of my dear 
 wife on Wednesday, February 6, at 10:30 a. m. 
 
224 A VISION REALIZED 
 
 She was laid to rest in the cemetery the day fol- 
 lowing. 
 
 ^^You know she had been ill since June of last 
 year ; * * * it was a case of final wearing out and 
 we buried a veritable skeleton. Under such condi- 
 tions how could we be anything but thankful when 
 at last came the release ? On the day of sepulture I 
 myself was so ill that to venture out of the house to 
 the church and burial I dare not, so they carried the 
 body to its resting place without me. * * * Of course 
 the face of nature has changed for me. We have 
 been companions so long. Her departure seems 
 imreal— difficult to take home— and I have had to 
 go over the fact so often in answering letters of con- 
 dolence; the story was stamped deeper with each 
 note. 
 
 ^^Tet I am looking at the bereavement from the 
 upper, the skyward side. It is not depressing to 
 me, but the opposite. The will of my Lord and 
 master is the best. I understand the conditions of 
 human life, know the Christian's promises, believe 
 in the eternal God's faithfulness. What more is 
 needed for perfect consolation? Not the dream of 
 a doubt is there ever in my heart— and therefore I 
 travel on. Only a short piece of road will bring us 
 to the same entrance into Paradise. * * * In a 
 strange manner I feel the ground from under me, 
 as it were, moving away. The present physical 
 world seems shifting and changing the relation of 
 things, and the spiritual makes up the real sub- 
 stance—a present reality." 
 
 Indeed it seemed that the ^ Apiece of road" would 
 be short He was very ill on the day of the f imeral, 
 
LIFE STORY OF REV. J. A. OERTEL, D.D. 225 
 
 and the doctors gave no hope of his recovery, be- 
 lieving that a week at most would see the end. 
 Instead of this he improved, and when some days 
 later his son, Dr. T. B., left for his home in Augusta, 
 Georgia, he went with him. It was hoped he would 
 remain there some time and rest ; but he could not, 
 would not rest. The fire was still burning, the sun 
 still shone, and, while it was yet day, he must work. 
 
 The life in Augusta was new to him ; he cared 
 not to meet strangers or to make friends. He had 
 lived so long in the seclusion of his studio in the 
 coimtry with his works around him that it had be- 
 come his life, a part of himself. He must return to 
 it to spend his remaining days— work in it so long 
 as strength permitted and die in harness. 
 
 He would not even wait to announce his coming 
 by letter; no, he must go at once, and go he did, 
 sending a telegram saying only *'I have left Au- 
 gusta; home to-morrow." 
 
 When he returned his condition was such that 
 it did not seem possible for him to do any work, but 
 he went at once to his studio and was soon hard at 
 it again, and began at the same time to improve in 
 health and spirits. He could even joke— as in writ- 
 ing of the sale of an animal picture he said: ^^He 
 carried away a pair of Devon steers, giving me only 
 a piece of paper with his name signed. I was will- 
 ing to make the exchange, for that kind of oxen may 
 some day come back to me on another canvas when 
 the price of beef goes up/' 
 
 The pictures for the Quincy Cathedral were 
 finished, ^^ Christ in Glory," 4 by 6 feet, the central 
 piece for the top of the reredos, and ^^St. John the 
 
^26 A VISION REALIZED 
 
 Evangelist'' and ^^Mary the Virgin," each 2 by 7 
 feet for the side panels. 
 
 After this he contented himself with painting 
 small figure pieces, landscapes, and animals of 
 which some 25 or 30 were made by midsummer. 
 The only important works produced during the rest 
 of the year were two figures on separate canvases 
 18 inches by 3i feet 6 inches of ^^The Saints John." 
 These w^ere painted for his son, to be presented to 
 the Grand Lodge A. F. & A. M. of Virginia, and 
 they now hang in the Temple at Eichmond. 
 
 The family now was scattered, only himself and 
 son Fred remaining at ^^The Roost," and as his son 
 was absent all day at business his time was spent 
 alone in his room painting, reading, and writing. 
 The idea that the ^4ast times" were rapidly ap- 
 proaching was uppermost in his mind and in every 
 letter— in fact every conversation— it was the 
 theme. 
 
 To what it may point is of course a matter of 
 opinion, but certainly he saw clearly the general 
 demoralization of the world and society. '* When I 
 glance over the newspapers from day to day," he 
 writes, '4t does appear to me that the condition of 
 mankind is rushing up with positive madness to the 
 climax point of moral corruption and absolute god- 
 lessness, page upon page being filled with accounts 
 the very names of which leave a smirch upon the 
 unwilling soul. 
 
 *^How can a race handling such literature re- 
 main pure and in unsullied godly frame? Moral 
 corruption receives such constant food. To me no 
 stronger argument is needed to prove we are com- 
 
LIFE STORY OF REV. J. A. OERTEL. D.D. 227 
 
 ing to the final ^dumping point'." What would he 
 say to-day, and what have been the effects of this 
 literature upon the mind and heart of the American 
 public ? Was he not right ^ 
 
 Repeatedly he said he would never again under- 
 take any large work, but as spring came on (1908) 
 he repainted ''It is Finished" and later, when a call 
 came from a church for several large canvases he 
 undertook the work and went at it as he might have 
 done 20 years before. These were for a church in 
 Cedar Rapids, Iowa, ''Christ and Moses," the law- 
 giver of the new and old dispensations. 
 
 They were over life size and much of them had 
 to be painted while standing on a ladder. They 
 were painted in 24 days and when his son expressed 
 surprise at the progress from day to day he said : 
 "I ought to be able to work fast after over 70 years 
 of experience." No place seemed to be touched 
 twice. Every brush full of paint went on where it 
 should be the first time, and the work grew while 
 one gazed. It was the hand and brain of the Mas- 
 ter. In a letter written for the Providence, R. I., 
 library early in 1909, his son said : 
 
 "Since the completion of these works he has not 
 attempted anything of special note, and, by reason 
 of failing strength, perhaps never will, but the un- 
 failing courage and tenacity of purpose have won 
 and though the years of youth and manhood were 
 passed without the accomplishment of his 'life 
 work,' it was at last done, and the message he 
 wished to leave the world is before it. Now he lives 
 among his many paintings and studies which crowd 
 his large studio— satisfied— and only waiting for 
 
228 , A VISION REALIZED 
 
 the call, and to hear the 'Well done, thou good and 
 faithful servant; enter thou into the joy of thy 
 LordM" 
 
 ''Few indeed there are who could say as he did, 
 'I have accomplished all I had planned to do.' The 
 amount he did do was prodigious, and it is almost 
 unbelievable that one man could have accomplished 
 so much. Only the more important works have 
 here been mentioned, not including the hundreds 
 of animal, landscape, still life, portraits, and 
 marines or steel engravings and drawings on 
 wood which at various periods consumed much of 
 his time." 
 
 His record of works produced during the years 
 1854 to 1909 (nine years no record kept) shows a 
 total for the 46 years of 1,183 major works. 
 
 He worked in all branches of his profession, 
 steel engraving, drawing, modeling, carving in 
 wood, and painting in oil and water color, and in 
 each executing with equal facility landscapes, ani- 
 mals, figures, marine, and still life. "But,'' as he 
 said, "why not?" If the knowledge, and ability to 
 execute one form, why not others ? 
 
 As to his landscapes, Halsey C. Ives, standing 
 before one of them in the Nashville studio, said: 
 "If George Innes had painted that it would be one 
 of his best." In animal painting his work was 
 often classed with that of Eosa Bonheur and 
 Landseer; his figure pieces, both as to composi- 
 tion and form have few equals; in his marine 
 paintings, of which he made less than of any 
 other class, note the power and beauty of "After 
 the Struggle, Peace," and in still life is to be 
 
LIFE STORY OF REV. J. A. OERTEL. D.D. 229 
 
 seen a close attention to detail and most deli- 
 cate handling of color. 
 
 In a letter to the Sunday Post in 1884 Charles 
 Lanman wrote: 
 
 "It is now about 20 years since I expressed the opinion that, 
 in the higher characteristics of art, Mr. Oertel was without a 
 peer in the United States, and that opinion remains unchanged. 
 It was founded on his rare abilities as a draftsman; his con- 
 summate knowledge of the human form ; his powers of grouping 
 figures in large numbers and thereby depicting ideal scenes 
 teeming with thought and instruction, and his thorough knowl- 
 edge of color. 
 
 "His skill in portraiture is also unusual; and his gifts as a 
 painter of animals are simply marvelous. It has seemed to 
 me, indeed, while looking through his portfolios, that there was 
 no end to the variety of his studies, all of them teeming with 
 beautiful thoughts and always betokening a most lofty purpose. 
 
 "Charles Lanman." 
 
 Sunday Post, 1884, Washington, D. C. 
 
 This *' knowledge of the human form/' it may 
 be said all form, was truly remarkable. In the 
 execution of all his complicated figure pieces he 
 never used a ^' model.'' Once in a while he would 
 call his wife or one of the children into the studio 
 and pose them for a short time and, as he said, the 
 glass often served him ; but save for this, models he 
 had none, nor needed them. In carving as well as 
 painting he needed no copy ; grapes, wheat, flowers, 
 foliage and even figures cut in the round, came into 
 being with no guide whatever save perhaps a few 
 charcoal scrawls when first cutting into the wood. 
 
 He was a terse and thoughtful writer and an 
 impressive and forceful speaker. His lectures and 
 sermons bear evidence of careful study and 
 
230 A VISION REALIZED 
 
 thorough knowledge of his subject. His language, 
 spoken or written, was always carefully selected 
 and expressive. 
 
 Although playing an important part in his life 
 his work as a clerg^^man was subordinate to his art, 
 or, it may be said, a part of it. His services in that 
 capacity were so far as possible a free gift, and 
 would have been entirely so but for the stern neces- 
 sity of making a living for self and family. Even 
 where compensation was accepted there is no in- 
 stance where it was not returned tenfold in artistic 
 work. 
 
 In his book ^'record of works produced" no 
 special one is mentioned for the year 1909 although 
 he was busy for the first eight months ; instead is 
 written : 
 
 '^Some of my previously painted pictures, set 
 aside as completed, I have taken up again to work 
 over more carefully, correcting and strengthening 
 many parts, so that the pictures become practically 
 new ones and so the time given was usefully spent. 
 
 ^'But the confession has to be made, now in my 
 eighty-seventh year of life, I do, after all, not work 
 any more with the same dispatch as in the earlier 
 times. There is more deliberation, less hurry, more 
 critical severity than in former times, and so the 
 works show no decline and in certain respects they 
 are more deliberate. Thanks to God for all His 
 help to the old man. May He in His grace receive 
 my humble offering. " 
 
 This is the last entry made in the book. His 
 work was done. 
 
 He saw but few people this last year, and did not 
 
LIFE STORY OF REV. J. A. OERTEL, D.D. 231 
 
 go out at all except on Sunday evenings, which he 
 often spent with Prof. Edwin Wiley and his wife 
 at their bungalow near by. They were his best 
 friends, knew of his aims and the work of his life, 
 and to them he could talk on art, literature, and 
 religious subjects, feeling himself understood and 
 appreciated. Toward the last his mind failed ; he 
 could not remember faces or names, at one time 
 even mistaking his son for Professor Wiley. Only 
 a few weeks before the end Bishop Alfred Harding, 
 of the Diocese of Washington, to whom he had ex- 
 pressed his desire to present certain of his works 
 through him to the cathedral being built in Wash- 
 ington, came out to see them. When informed of 
 the Bishop's coming he did not realize for what 
 purpose and asked, ''Does he hold service here to- 
 day T' However, he dressed and went to the studio 
 to meet him. 
 
 Once there among his cherished works all trace 
 of bodily or mental weakness seemed to leave him 
 and he appeared transfigured. His face shone as 
 with a celestial light as he showed each picture and 
 explained its meaning. Those present who knew 
 his physical condition looked on in wonder and awe. 
 His body and mind were incapable of the action dis- 
 played ; it was his spirit, his soul that now spoke 
 and moved among them; and when he stood with 
 bowed head to receive the blessing of the bishop 
 they almost expected him to be caught up to meet 
 his Master as he had believed he might be— so ut- 
 terly unlike a thing of earth and so ethereal and 
 angelic did he appear. 
 
 After the bishop had gone he did not remember 
 
232 A VISION REALIZED 
 
 his visit, and soon relapsed into Ms former semi- 
 conscious condition. 
 
 By Ms expressed request three large paintings 
 were later presented to the cathedral at Wash- 
 ington— ''It is Finished," ''The Burial of Moses," 
 and ' ' The Church Militant. ' ' 
 
 He lived now only in the past, speaMng daily 
 of his old friends, his father, brother, wife, and 
 always ending with "They are all gone; it is time 
 for me to go ; I am ready. " So he patiently awaited 
 the call of the Master he had served so long and 
 faithfully. It came December 9, 1909. 
 
 On the night of the 8th he slipped and fell, 
 breaking his hip. The shock was more than his 
 weakened condition could bear, and after a few 
 hours he lapsed into unconsciousness and passed 
 away quietly, just 24 hours after the accident. 
 
 And now the story is told. The aim has been to 
 give history and description rather than criticism, 
 and the object to set before the reader a Christian 
 artist, a painter of ideas; always a good draughts- 
 man and rich and fertile in composition, he later 
 became a good painter, though he scorned the affec- 
 tations of the fasMon of the day and adhered to 
 solid and substantial work. His aim was too honest 
 to permit Mm to descend to artistic tricks by wMch 
 to draw attention to his doings. If his works are 
 received at all it must be for their intrinsic merit 
 first, because of what they say to the heart and soul 
 of the beholder; and second, because technically 
 they are full of conscientious study. And it must 
 be that when vague impressionism and trifling 
 decorative art has had its day these works of noble 
 
LIFE STORY OF REV. J. A. OERTEL, D.D. 233 
 
 purpose will find an appreciative public and have a 
 strong hold upon the affections of the true lover of 
 American art.