Ferdinand Burgdorff (1881-1975)

Ferdiand Burgdorff (1881-1975) Etcher, painter, printmaker. Born in Cleveland, OH on Nov. 7, 1881. Burgdorff studied at the Cleveland School of Art and in Paris with Rene Menard and Florence Este. In 1907 he moved to California and settled in the Monterey Peninsula. During the years 1907-1924 he made many trips tot he Grand Canyon and the Hopi reservation where he derived much of his subject matter. In 1911 Burgdorff returned to Cleveland where successful exhibitions and sales of his work enabled him to travel about the world for two years. In 1919 he was a resident of Mill Valley, CA and the following year returned to the Monterey Peninsula. He built a home (designed by Bernard Maybeck) in Pebble Beach on Ronda Road and lived there the rest of his life. At the time of his death on May 12, 1975, Burgdorff was the oldest working artist on the Monterey Peninsula. His subject matter was inspired by the lighthouses on the California coast and the old mining towns; however, he is best known for his many oils, pastels, and watercolors of the Monterey Peninsula. He was a member of the Bohemian Club, Carmel Art Association, California Society of Etchers. Exhibited Del Monte Art Galley 1907; California Society of Etchers, Stanford Univ., 1928; Art Institute of Chicago; Print Club of Philadelphia; Golden Gate International Expo, 1939. Works held: California Historical Society; de Young Museum; Santa Fe Railway; Harrison Library (Carmel); Monterey Peninsula Community Hospital; Yosemite Park Museum (dioramas); U.S. Naval Postgraduate School (Monterey); Cleveland Museum; Oakland Museum; Ross General Hospital (San Rafael).