Artwork
Diving Cormorant
Diving Cormorant is an unspecified painting by the American Impressionist artist Otto H. Bacher. It dates from 1900 and is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The painting depicts a diving cormorant in mid-plunge, a motif that Bacher used to convey the immediacy of natural movement and the tension between predator and prey. The bird’s outstretched wings and beak, rendered with precise brushwork, evoke the fleeting moment of capture, suggesting themes of survival and the raw instinct inherent in the natural world.
Technique & Style
Otto Henry Bacher created Diving Cormorant in 1900 using oil on canvas, measuring 23.0 cm by 33.2 cm. The painting is executed in a realist style depicting a diving bird with precise brushwork and naturalistic coloration. It has been part of the Cleveland Museum of Art collection since 1921 and is housed in Cleveland, Ohio.
History & Provenance
According to the Cleveland Museum of Art's cataloging of the work, it was produced in Cleveland, where the artist was based in the final years of his life.
Diving Cormorant is a painting by Otto Henry Bacher dated to 1900. According to the Cleveland Museum of Art's cataloging of the work, it was produced in Cleveland, where the artist was based in the final years of his life. The painting entered the Cleveland Museum of Art's collection, where it remains held, with the accession number 1921.571, indicating that it was accessioned by the museum in 1921.
No further details of an intermediate ownership chain, commission, or earlier provenance are recorded in the available documentation.
The work measures 23.0 cm in height by 33.2 cm in width, and its modest dimensions are consistent with a small-scale cabinet picture rather than a major commission.
Diving Cormorant is held by the Cleveland Museum of Art, where it was made in 1900. The painting is catalogued in the museum's collection under the accession number 1921.571.
No exhibition history beyond the work's presence in the Cleveland Museum of Art's holdings is documented in the available sources.
Overview
Created in 1900, Diving Cormorant is an oil painting by American artist Otto Henry Bacher. Executed during the height of American Impressionism, the work is part of the permanent collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. Bacher, born in Cleveland in 1856, is more widely recognized for his etchings and illustrations, yet he produced a modest number of paintings such as this one.
Own this work as a print
Artist & collection
Artist
Otto Henry Bacher (May 31, 1856, Cleveland - August 16, 1909, Bronxville, New York) was an American artist; primarily known for his etchings and illustrations. He also painted oils in a variety of genres.
