Can anyone get me an obituary for this man? He died in Monterey at age 85 on 3/11/1949
Does anyone know anything about him? He was an artist.

The story from his last wife, Nora, was that William committed suicide when she went into town to shop for groceries.

He was a seascape artist who, with Nora, built what has often been referred to as "the castle" on an outcropping of rock on Highway 1 below the Highlands Inn in the Carmel Highlands. While the house is still there (viewable on the sea side of the turn out just below the Inn), I do not know the present ownership.

Nora was quite a bit younger than her husband and outlived him by quite a few years. The last time I saw her was in the 1960's.

If you search for William on the internet, you should find some samples of his paintings.

Marcia, thanks for such a prompt reply. I have seen pictures of his art; in fact my friend has a painting of his and wants to see what more she can learn about Mr Ritschel himself. Were you a friend of his wife? Do you know if he has any family? Would you email me?

Marianne wrote, "... [William Ritschel] ... died in Monterey at age 85 on 3/11/1949. Does anyone know anything about him? He was an artist."

Marianne, next time I visit the Monterey Library I'll look for this obit. (I assume you've already performed a "google" search.)

In the meantime, here's one of several items from historic *Oakland Tribune*:

Oakland Tribune (Oakland, California)
February 3, 1946, page 4C

Oakland Gallery
Makes Awards

Opening today at the Oakland Art Gallery, the second annual oil painting exhibition of the American Artists Professional League presents for view the recent canvases of living California artists.

The judges ... met Tuesday and made the following awards:

... First prize to William RITSCHEL, Carmel, for his marine "Denizens of Another Realm." ...

Marianne,

I met Nora Ritschel when I was a girl and she was an older woman living in the neighborhood. Though I saw her periodically over the years, I did not really know her well ... actually not even well enough to know if she overdramatized her husband's death by calling it suicide. She never remarried. To my knowledge, there were no Ritschel children, though there may have been relatives of William in Germany, where he was born.

I am sending you a pdf file of an article in the Oakland Tribune from January 14, 1923 that concerns William. Rootsweb does not allow pdf attachments, so I cannot include it here.

Marcia

Monterey Peninsula Herald,
Saturday, March 12, 1949, pages 1 & 2

Succumbs

[Portrait of William Ritschel, with caption that reads:
“Death last night claimed William RITSCHEL, world-famous painter, at his Carmel Highlands studio home. Details on the passing of the prize-winning artist will be found below.”]

Prominent
Painter
Succumbs

The long and internationally distinguished career of William RITSCHEL, dean of American marine painters, ended last night with his death in his Carmel Highlands studio home.

Though in failing health for some time, RITSCHEL had continued almost to the last his masterly recordings of the rocks and waves below the massive stone walls of the distinctive dwelling which he erected with his own hands nearly a quarter of a century ago.

Born on July 11, 1864, in Nuernberg, Bavaria, Germany, he received his early art instruction in the Royal Academy at Munich. He came to the United States in 1895, and by 1912 had established himself securely among the foremost artists of this country by winning the Carnegie prize and two honorable mentions in the same year.

MANY HONORS.

The only American artist to win the coveted Ranger Prize three times from the National Academy of Design, RITSCHEL was awarded innumerable prizes during his long life of painting, and exhibited in all the leading art centers both here and abroad.

For the past 40 years he made his home in Carmel Highlands.

He was a member of the National Academy, the New York Water Color Club, the American Water Color Society, the American Federation of Arts, the Union Internationale des Beaux Arts et des Lettres of Paris, and the Carmel Art Association. His club affiliations included membership in the famed Salmagundi Club of New York, a life membership in the National Arts Club of New York, and as an honorary member of the Bohemian Club of San Francisco.

LEAVES WINDOW

He leaves his wife, Mrs. Nora HAVEL Ritschel of Carmel Highlands.

Private funeral services will be conducted at 2 p.m. on Tuesday at the family home, with Dr. K. Fillmore GRAY officiating. Inurnment will take place in the Little Chapel-by-the-Sea Crematorium, Pacific Grove. The Paul Mortuary is in charge.


[I am not related to this individual and have no further information.]

I realize that this thread is quite old but I just came upon it in my surfing....

May I ask why the interest in William? And to answer one question earlier, I belived he may have had a son from a previous marriage.

I would welcome an exchange on this topic....

David. Thanks for your response! Until now I didn't even know anyone had responded to my query after my 2nd email because Ancestry apparently doesn't always let you know.
Anyway.. re: my interest in Mr Ritschel. I was researching for a friend who owns an unsigned painting that has been attributed to him. (You probably know that Ritschel was a well-known artist.)
My line of thought was that if we could locate living relatives, perhaps they could verify the authenticity of the painting. That was why I was seeking an obituary. It is a shot in the dark of course.
In fact it's been a long time since I have heard from my friend too so she may have either given up or solved the I.D. mystery. If there is someone who could help, I'd like to put them in touch with each other.
Any ideas on that?
Marianne

My suggestion would be the Smithsonian. They have information on his work.

I am a relative of William. His brother was my Great Grandfather. Unfortunately, very little is known about him and he really distanced himself from family once he located to Carmel. My GG died in 1918 and to my knowledge no-one ever heard from him. In the early days of his residency in the US, he visited his brother and family (my grandfather and aunt were young). They always referred to him as Uncle Willy

Today I submitted an inquiry to the Smithsonian to clear up some of my personal records. I am awaiting a response.

The more I learn about William Ritschel, the more he fits the cliche description of an eccentric artist! He was a pretty good painter too. After becoming acquainted with my art collector friend, I happened to have an opportunity to visit galleries in Carmel where I saw some of his work. I then agreed that her painting could be authentic. Too bad she couldn't present the question to History Detectives!

A couple more questions for you...

Are you researching Mr Ritschel too?

How does one put in a query the Smithsonian?