Conrad Caspar Rohrdorf, Artist for the Adelsverein

Conrad Caspar Rohrdorf, who was a respected European artist, came to Texas in 1847 with a group of naturalists. Later that year, he was hired by the Adelsverein, the German Emigration Company, to sketch landscapes and townscapes in and around its Texas colonial settlements of New Braunfels and Fredericksburg.

Rohrdorf was born in Zurich, Switzerland on November 26, 1800.

He studied art at several institutions of distinction and, in time, became a noted landscape artist, lithographer and conservator and was also a recognized engraver, taxidermist and naturalist. As a naturalist, Rohrdorf left Antwerp, Belgium for Texas and arrived in Galveston on January 11, 1847. He and several other naturalists were active at Dickinson Bayou and Galveston Bay, where specimens were collected and packaged with descriptions, observations and drawings for shipment to Prussia for display in museums and private collections. After completing their coastal review, these naturalists traveled inland to central Texas. However, their funds began to wane, and complacency and despair soon replaced their initial enthusiasm.

To view more please log in or subscribe to the digital edition. http://etypeservices.com/Fayette%20County%20RecordID96/