Rodger Bechtold (American), Winter Mood

Oil on canvas, signed at lower right, framed.

Stretcher size 43 x 60 in.; Frame dimensions 51 x 68 1/4 in.

Private Collection, Raleigh, North Carolina

Somerhill Gallery, Chapel Hill, North Carolina

Rodger Bechtold, born in 1945 in Flint, Michigan, grew up in central Illinois and moved to the Chicago area at age eighteen. He studied at the American Academy of Art and the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, later attending the Masters Art Program at the Santa Fe Institute of Fine Art, where he studied with Wolf Kahn. Bechtold began his career as a commercial illustrator before shifting his focus to plein-air and studio landscape painting. His work has been shown in solo and group exhibitions nationwide and is held in both public and private collections across the United States.

Bechtold’s paintings are known for their bold color, direct brushwork, and focus on everyday landscapes. He describes his approach as aiming to capture “the grandeur in the commonplace,” with an emphasis on the atmosphere and presence of the scene. He lives and works in Illinois and on Washington Island in Door County, Wisconsin, sharing studios with his wife, botanical illustrator Glory Bechtold.

Very good estate condition.