SwissArtGallery · Documented identity

Rudolf Cronau

Rudolf Cronau (1855–1939) combined painting with journalism and travel writing. He began studying at the Düsseldorf Academy of Fine Arts in 1870 and also wrote for newspapers in Solingen before moving to Leipzig in 1877. His first American journey, from 1881 to 1883, opened a decisive chapter in his activity as an artist and reporter.

His travels took him along the Missouri, to Fort Randall and to the Standing Rock reservation among the Sioux. An oil painting entitled Salt Lake City, signed and dated 1882, records this period. In the United States he continued working as a journalist, including for the New Yorker Staatszeitung. Paintings by Cronau are recorded in the Amon Carter Museum in Fort Worth and the Gilcrease Museum in Tulsa.

This profile brings together identity references for Rudolf Cronau and paintings, drawings and works on paper documented in auction catalogues.

Documented auction references

1auction reference

1auction house

1documented result with a price

Lempertz

References include catalogue entries and available results; they do not all represent completed sales. Attributed works and special lots are excluded from the priced results.

Works recorded at auction

Photograph : Lempertz · Enlarge image ↗

Lempertz · Lot 100

Salt Lake City

Oil on canvas

Original catalogue wording

Salt Lake City
Öl auf Leinwand

Auction date : 2020-11-21

Published result : 20000 EUR

Including buyer’s premium

Estimate : 6000

View the lot at the auction house ↗

Sources and references

SwissArtGallery documentary note based on the cited sources. Titles, media and qualifications are provided in the profile language; the original catalogue wording remains available in each record.
Profile updated : 2026-10-21