H.H. Bagg, “The Old Bridge at Oregon,” Oil on Canvas, 1892

H.H. Bagg, "The Old Bridge at Oregon," Oil on Canvas, 1892

A landscape depicts the Rock River at Oregon, in early fall. Puffy clouds sit just above the tree line. On the left side of the scene, off in the distance, a few cows have waded into the river. Behind them, the bridge spans the river. Beyond the bridge, a few early local buildings are visible. In 1892 “The Old Bridge at Oregon,” was part of an exhibit for the Women’s Columbian Club of Ogle County. The show was held in the Ogle County Courthouse. This painting was not part of the Eagle’s Nest Art Gallery’s original permanent collection, and it is not known when it became the property of the Oregon Public Library.

22 x 36″

Henry Howard Bagg

(1853-1928)

Henry Howard Bagg was born in Wauconda, Illinois. Bagg studied art in Aurora, under Martin Woodruff, during 1869. He painted and taught art privately in Aurora and northern Illinois from 1873 to 1889. In 1889, he moved to Lincoln, Nebraska where he taught college-level painting. Specifically, he taught art at the Nebraska State Normal School between 1894 and 1905. In 1905, he became Director of the Art Department at Nebraska Wesleyan University. He served in this capacity until 1919. During summers he visited Oregon, Illinois, where he boarded with locals and gave private painting lessons.