Leon A. Makielski, “Rock River Scene,” Oil on Canvas, 1907

Photograph of a painting.

The Rock River runs through the valley below the vantage point of this scene. Trees and brush painted in yellow, green, and orange grow on the bank above the river. Just to the right of center stands a sapling with yellow leaves. A larger tree, leaves not yet turning, grows further back; its top too large to fit on the canvas. A lighter green sapling and orange scrub bushes hide this tree’s trunk. The sky is pale and heavily clouded, and paint thickly applied–adding dimension to the clouds. The far riverbank is painted a hazy purple. The Eagle’s Nest Art Gallery has two Makielski paintings with this title. One of them, alternatively titled “Up the River,” was in the gallery dedication show in July of 1918. It is not clear which painting is which.

14 x 18″

(1885-1974)

Leon A. Makielski was a student at the Art Institute of Chicago in the early 1900s. After winning a John Quincy Adams Traveling Scholarship in 1908 from the AIC, he went to Paris to study at the Julian and Grande Chamiere Academies. He later lived in Detroit where he won several prizes at the Detroit Institute of Arts. By 1933, he was teaching architecture at the University of Michigan, and classes in portrait painting at the Detroit School of Applied Arts. In the early 1960s, Makielski visited the Oregon Library Gallery to reminisce about the Eagle’s Nest Camp and his days as a student there.

When the Library opened in 1908, the first exhibit in the upstairs art room was Leon Makielski’s show of 100 paintings. The Oregon Woman’s Council purchased one, for $35.00 and gave it to the newly opened library. This would have been the first piece of our permanent collection.

Six Makielski paintings were featured in the 4th Annual Exhibit of the Eagle’s Nest Art Colony in the Oregon Public Library Gallery, held October 13-18, 1913.