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Show Untermann display shows artist with passion for learning Vernal Express Wednesday, May 8, 1996 9 For 10 years after Gerhard Ernest Untermann Sr. returned to the Uintah Basin in 1946, he donated his time and artistic talent to the Utah Fieldhouse of Natural History. During his lifetime, Untermann created over 200 paintings mostly to illustrate historic and prehistoric fossil exhibits. Besides dinosaurs and prehistory mammal, Untermann also captures the scenery in the Uintah Basin in his own unique style. His paintings were donated to the Vernal Fieldhouse. Twenty-seven of his landscape oil paintings are on display this month at the Western Park Museum. Many of the pieces have not been displayed dis-played publicly for over 10 years. Untermann's love of the Uintah Basin, geology and prehistoric history his-tory are portrayed in his artistic creations. cre-ations. He related that while he painted, "lovers of art controversy" would look over his shoulder and comment "A camera could do as well." His snappy reply was, "All right, go ahead and photograph a dinosaur or a cave-man in action." He was proud of the time and effort he put into making his prehistoric illustration palenotogically accurate. accu-rate. He also strived to place as much detail in his work as was necessary nec-essary to explain the geology and biology of an era and region. He painted many canvasses of the Green River's passage through Echo Park, Split Mountain and other oth-er canyons. Untermann's concern for how layers of rock are positioned, reflect re-flect his years of training and work as a mining geologists. This attention atten-tion to form, and his only passing concern for perspective, give his Uintah Basin landscape mountains a dramatic effect. The way he rounds his rock edges and his use of day-glow color give his paintings paint-ings a fantasy aura. During his 10 years in the Vernal area, he averaged aver-aged more than one work every three weeks. His formal art training was limited limit-ed to evening classes at the Layton Art School in Milwaukee and a course in figure painting at the Chicago Art Institute. Untermann was born in Germany Nov. 6, 1864. His early years were spent at sea. Shipwrecked twice, he survived the second only after drifting drift-ing alone in an open boat for 21 days. After a year of living with natives na-tives of the South Seas, he located a ship and returned to the United States. He became a naturalized American citizen in 1893. He is the author of two books "The World's Revolutions" and "The Science of Revolution." He was also editor and writer for ,1 . m 1 Gerhard Ernest Undermann an independent newspaper. As mining superintendent for General Reduction Company of Nevada. He traveled to the Uintah Basin with his son, Earnest Jr. They came to examine and report on the Dyer Mine, an inactive copper mine located north of Vernal. They determined that the mine had been worked out. They stayed in Vernal until the fall of 1921 during which they met Earl Douglass, discoverer of the dinosaur quarry north of Jensen. With Douglass' help he became be-came familiar with the fossil remains re-mains being taken from the quarry. During this period, his son met a local girl, Billie Ruple. Four years later, G.E. Untermann Jr. married Billie Ruple. Both attended the University of California at Berkley and studied geology. After his son and daughter-in-law finished their studies in California and a brief sojourn in Oregon, they returned to the Uintah Basin. They were the first directors of the Dinosaur Natural History Museum. Untermann's life is perhaps best summed up by is own words: "no human faculty compares in value with the ability to search for the truth, to recognize it, love it and make every sacrifice for it." Present-day director of the Dinosaur Museum, Aldon Hamblin, said that Undermann paintings are still displayed at the museum. "We try to rotate them around, but there is not the room, as in years past, to display them all," Hamblin said. Sometimes Untermann would try to emphasize a certain period in his painting. "One shows the prehistoric prehis-toric mammal period, which was actually studied locally 30 years before be-fore dinosaur fossils were discovered." discov-ered." "Sometimes he will put subtle figures in his creations," said Q HIGH Q VALLEY NURSERY WHERE GOOD GARDENS BEGIN MSNotftFVitWMt BooeeveH, Uuh GERANIUMS BY THE DOZEN t A Fine TreOttton INSTANT COLOR COLOR SQUARES tu4 HleePoWee BLOOMINQ PETUNIAS IJ3J On Of Our loehr HANGING BASKETS Mekee Nlc OW e Our Colorful CARPET OF ALYSSUM! Chooet your eetora. Plant torn Hardy HOSTAS (Plantain lltle) Oood around Cover of tun or ftnae Ed Rowley'B High Valley Notes The following n reprint of my 1984 Mother's Day article, tilled 'Two Moms." I hope you enjoy it. i Moms teem to have ways of communicating with - ,1 each other. Anyway, that's the way it wss with " I Dorothy's mom. Hilda, and my mom. But then. Mom L'iL Hilda didn't wait to receive communication when someone Had a need. She just noticed the needs and went to worK tendi to them. , . like the Christmas of 1956. She knew we wouidn I have much for burin bur-in iifls Dad and I spent most of what we had. trying to get Mom home tt6m the hospital a've With no husband to help, Hilda must have started early wanning that Christmas for us. Probably didn't eel much from arwne etse. eN But I doubt she thought much about that. Didn't have time dong en that shopping and mailing for Dorothy, me. Mom and Dad, and ihrpe unmampd children. And there was more than one gift for each. &ne d'dn t forCM anyone, but I remember only one of her gifts that was opened thai fteH fry (he tiny tree fn Mom s hospital room. The Knitted shawl Pvjre white And very pretty. Mom said she had always wanted aH lha lhn.iifhf nf H wrt hot Oil low With tPST. And far away, on that same night, after ewhantfing a few gifts with her only son an an named Hilda slept contentedly. My mom s last few w?es of life would be happier. Because there had been a wonderful communication between two moms, brought together across the miles through the children. e wee it woeur ; . .... - ' y V I si ,1 : M i ii U V - . i . 'I, ft 1 I -J ! ' 1 . a. v, , J . " J ;W ii Till nil ml -irTi mm Woman dies in accident A Roosevelt woman died in a one-vehicle rollover Sunday 8 miles north of Roosevelt on SR 121. The driver of the pickup lost control con-trol and ran off the roadway. The driver over-corrected causing the vehicle to overturn. Janet Hunter, 36, was ejected from the vehicle and died at the scene. Another person per-son in the vehicle, Brian Lewis Hunter, 37, was treated and released re-leased from the Uintah Basin Medical Center. He was booked into in-to the Duchesne County Jail for intoxication. in-toxication. No seatbelts were in use. The accident is still being investigated. A group of Undermann's paintings on display at the Western Heritage Musuem. Western Park Museum director nosaur or a rock wil1 have the aP" Park Museum through May and co-Janice co-Janice Bigelow. - Sometimes he pearance of a human face, she said. incide with Prehistory Week which would make a cloud look like a di- The display will be at the Western began Saturday. frfSD I ground-up 54 North Vernal Ave. 789-3511 Vernal 25 S. 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