Harold von Schmidt
1893-1982
BORN IN
Alameda, California
KNOWN FOR
Western painting, illustration
For more than half a century, the illustrations and paintings of Harold Von Schmidt were familiar to the American public. His work appeared in the Saturday Evening Post, Sunset, Cosmopolitan, American and other magazines for 20 years, beginning in 1925.
He also illustrated Willa Cather’s novel, Death Comes to the Archbishop, and was commissioned in 1960 to design the Pony Express commemorative stamp for the United States postal service.
Born in 1893 in Alameda, California, Von Schmidt was orphaned at five. He was raised by his grandfather and an aunt who encouraged his interest in art. As a young man, he spent his summers working as a lumberjack, cowpuncher and construction worker.
