Julius Rolshoven
(1858-1930)

Think that you may own a painting by Julius Rolshoven? We authenticate, appraise, research and issue Certificates of Authenticity (COA) and provide consultations for all paintings by Julius Rolshoven.

Julius Rolshoven is an American artist who gained a reputation both internationally and regionally with his involvement in the Taos Society of Artists. While Rolshoven lived and worked in numerous cities around the world, he spent most of his childhood in Detroit, Michigan. Rolshoven left his Midwestern home at the age of eighteen, to study at the Cooper Union Art School in New York City. Rolshoven decided to continue his studies in Europe, studying in Germany at the Düsseldorf Academy and later in Munich. While abroad, Rolshoven studied under the American painter, Frank Duveneck, who trained several American artists in his European-based schools. By 1882, Rolshoven enrolled at the Academie Julian in Paris and was soon employed as an art teacher. Rolshoven spent several years in Paris, and additional years in London and Florence.

Due to the start of World War I, Rolshoven returned to the United States in 1914. By 1916, after seeing an exhibition of New Mexico-based art, Rolshoven and his newly wed wife, decided to honeymoon in Santa Fe and Taos. The couple was so taken with New Mexico that they decided to settle there for two years. Rolshoven worked in both his Santa Fe studio at the Governor’s Palace and as an associate member of the Taos Society of Artists.

Rolshoven loved to paint the light of New Mexico, by working in an outdoor tent. In addition to painting landscapes, Rolshoven painted many portraits of local Native Americans and embellished war chiefs.

Rolshoven continued to make frequent trips to Florence, Italy, where he had a second residence. For the last decade of Rolhsoven’s life, he travelled between Italy and New Mexico. Consequently, the avid traveler died mid-journey, while crossing the Atlantic.

Rolshoven’s paintings are now in reputable collections across the country, including the Detroit Institute of Arts, the University of New Mexico, the Smithsonian Institution, the El Paso Museum of Art. Do you think you own a painting by Julius Rolshoven? Contact us. We are the experts on Julius Rolshoven.