William Krondorf, Vails’ Point, watercolor postcard, 5.125 by 7.06 inches.
William Krondorf, a fixture in the St. Augustine art community for years, was born in Bavaria, Germany, immigrating to the United States and New York City in 1904. In Bavaria Krondorf loved to walk in the wood with his clergyman father who would point out different trees and flowers. This translated into visual images when, at the age of three, his parents discovered him seated at a window happily sketching a panorama of trees and mountains. Mostly self-taught as an artist, Krondorf did study at the Art Students’ League. In New York he operated a photoengraving business making reproductions of famous paintings.
Krondorf retired and moved to St. Augustine in 1928. Primarily a watercolorist, over the next forty he received many 1st prizes exhibiting with the St. Augustine Art Association.
William Krondorf, Florida Lagoon, watercolor, 11.75 by 16 inches. Signed lower right.
In the summer of 1958 James Fix in the Tampa Times (July 19, 1958) interviewed Krondorf, who was now living in Sarasota, “In the 40 years since he retired from the photoengraving business, he has sold hundreds of paintings to art collectors, has had a one-man show in Buffalo, N. Y., and has displayed his works in galleries in New York, London and in Europe. Recently, while a member of the St. Augustin Art Association, he received 12 first awards and scores of honorable mentions.” Fix quoted Krondorf’s view of art, “Nature is my great teacher…There is always something new to see in nature. To get in a painting the vitality of real life, that is what I am always trying to do.”
William Krondorf, Sand Dunes, watercolor, 9.5 by 13 inches. Signed lower right.
Born: 1878, Bavaria, Germany. Died: 1968, Hessen, Germany. Education: Art Students League, NYC. Membership: St. Augustine Arts Club; St. Augustine Art Association; Freeport (Maine) Art Club. Exhibits: Albright Art Gallery, Buffalo, New York, February 1934; St. Augustine Art Association, January 1953, Florida Power and Light Award, best watercolor, Green Pool; March of Dimes, Outdoor Exhibit, St. Augustine Plaza, February 1953; Daytona Beach Art League, February 1954; Freeport Art Club, at Harraseeket Yacht Club, Freeport, Maine, August 1954; St. Augustine Art Association, Marion Hotel Award, best watercolor, January 1955, The Old Beech Tree; Daytona Beach Art League, Annual, February 1955, judge; SAAA, February 1955, Blue Bay Restaurant 1st prize, watercolor, The Hills of Home; Aviles Gallery, March 1956; SAAA, January 1956, 1st prize, watercolor; Brush and Palette Gallery, March 1957; SAAA, January 1958, honorable mention, watercolor; SAAA, January 1959, honorable mention, watercolor; SAAA, March 1960, honorable mention.
William Krondorf, Coquina Pit near St. Augustine, April 1965, watercolor 8.75 by 11.75 inches. Signed lower right, inscribed verso.
