Born in Detroit to a family of immigrants, Sommer first studied drawing at the age of 11 with Julius Gari Melchers. Pursuing a career in commercial lithography, Sommer apprenticed at Calvert Lithography in Detroit, 1881-88, and subsequently worked at various lithography shops in Boston, New York, and England. In 1890 he went abroad for a year of study at the Kunstakademie in Munich. In 1891 he returned to New York and spent the next 16 years working as a commercial lithographer. In 1907 he moved to Cleveland to work for the Otis Lithograph Company, where he became friendly with William Zorach. Around 1910, and under the influence of Abel Warshawsky, Sommer began to experiment with impressionist colors; subsequently he experimented with a fauvist palette. He exhibited with the Cleveland “secessionists” at the Rorimer-Brooks Studios in early 1911 and cofounded the Kokoon Klub that summer. Around 1914 he moved to Brandywine, a rural valley about 20 miles south of Cleveland, where he converted an abandoned schoolhouse into a studio that became an important meeting place for modern artists, poets, and musicians. In May 1918 Sommer designed stage sets and programs for a production of Everyman by the Cleveland Play House. He exhibited in the annual May Shows at the Cleveland Museum of Art (1922-50). In the 1930s and 1940s he exhibited on a regular basis in Cleveland, Chicago, and New York. During the Depression he was employed by various New Deal art programs to paint murals for Cleveland Public Hall (1933), Cleveland Public Library (1934), the post office in Geneva, Ohio (1938), and the Akron Board of Education (1941). After the death of his wife in 1945, he was struck by chronic bouts of depression and alcoholism. Sommer died in Brandywine.
Transformations in Cleveland Art: 1796-1946
Selected References:
Ingalls, Hunter. “The Several Dimensions of William Sommer.” Ph.D. diss., Columbia University, 1970.
Kendall-Hess, Wendy. The Art of William Sommer. Akron: Akron Art Museum, 1994.
McClelland, Elizabeth. William Sommer: Cleveland’s Early Modern Master. University Heights, Ohio: John Carroll University, 1992.
Sommer, William. Papers. Archives of American Art. Smithsonian Institution, Washington, D.C.
Works by William Sommer
The Tower, Rocky River, c. 1912 William Sommer
Spring Beauty, c. 1920 William Sommer
Cows, c. 1920 William Sommer
Horse and Covered Cart William Sommer
Brandywine Falls, 1923 William Sommer
Tiger Boy, c. 1925 William Sommer
Portrait of June, 1928 William Sommer
Tyrannus, c. 1935 William Sommer
A Monument to Bondage William Sommer
Adam & Eve William Sommer
The Band William Sommer
Seated Nude, c. 1918 William Sommer
Seated Child (Portrait of Tess Dominski), c. 1926 William Sommer
Mazda Study, ca. 1930 William Sommer
Small Boy with Apples, c. 1930 William Sommer
Marvin Holding Pencil, c. 1932 William Sommer
Calculation in Blue and Brown (Portrait of Arthur Timm), 1933 William Sommer
Nude with Umbrella & Figures, 1934 William Sommer
Tired Feet (Portrait of Tess Dominski), c. 1935 William Sommer
Boy in Yellow Sweater, c. 1935 William Sommer
The Little Artist, c. 1936 William Sommer
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Still Life with Vase William Sommer
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Three Graces, 1911 William Sommer
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Incantation, c. 1915 William Sommer
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Landscape with Soft Hills, c. 1915 William Sommer
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Bathers in Moonlight, c. 1916 William Sommer
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Tess With Apples, c. 1930 William Sommer
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Boy Eating an Apple William Sommer
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Interior Scene with Man Reading, 1898 William Sommer
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Interior with Boy, c. 1910 William Sommer
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Cart with Horse and Rider William Sommer
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Horses at Moonlight William Sommer
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Adam and Eve at Sunset William Sommer
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Portrait, 1910 William Sommer
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Study for ‘Houses and Pink Clouds’, Lakewood, ca. 1912 William Sommer
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Houses and Pink Clouds, Lakewood, ca 1912 William Sommer
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Fauvist Landscape, ca. 1912 William Sommer
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The Japanese Bridge, c. 1913 William Sommer
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House on the Hobson (Schlather) Estate, 1913-14 William Sommer
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The Crane Fountain, c. 1914-15 William Sommer
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Seated Female William Sommer
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Adam and Eve, c. 1915 William Sommer
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Woman with Striped Stockings, ca. 1918 William Sommer
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Brandywine Landscape I, ca. 1918 William Sommer
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Two Heads I William Sommer
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Plowing, c. 1920 William Sommer
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Brandywine Country, ca. 1920 William Sommer
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Winter, Brandywine William Sommer
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Figures William Sommer
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Man in Top Hat William Sommer
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Brandywine Landscape, c. 1920 William Sommer
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Dry Docks, c. 1920 William Sommer
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Standing Nude, c. 1920 William Sommer
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House and Tree William Sommer
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Two Cows William Sommer
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Brandywine Horse & Buggy, c. 1920 William Sommer
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Horse and Covered Cart in Town, 1921 William Sommer
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Fire Worshippers, 1921 William Sommer
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Cubist Houses, ca. 1923-24 William Sommer
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Green Eyed Girl (Portrait of Tess Dominski), c. 1924 William Sommer
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Cow in Landscape, 1925 William Sommer
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Summer Day, ca. 1925 William Sommer
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Portrait of Mrs. Sommer, ca. 1925 William Sommer
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Portrait of a Woman I, ca. 1925 William Sommer
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The Plaid Jacket, c. 1929 William Sommer
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Seated Boy, c. 1930 William Sommer
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Uphill Climb, ca. 1930 William Sommer
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The Spinach Tree, ca. 1930 William Sommer
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Houses and Trees William Sommer
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Brandywine Landscape, 1935 William Sommer
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Ornamentique, 1936 William Sommer
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Brandywine Landscape , 1936 William Sommer
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Horse and Rider, c.1940 William Sommer
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Houses by the Roadside, Brandywine, ca. 1940 William Sommer
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Horse in a Field William Sommer
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Young Boy Seated at Table, 1940 William Sommer
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Musing Girl, c. 1940 William Sommer
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Self-Portrait William Sommer
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Girl in a Red Fez, c. 1941 William Sommer
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Girl in Green Coat, 1941 William Sommer
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Brandywine Landscape With Goats, 1943 William Sommer
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Brandywine Landscape with Goats and Chickens, 1943 William Sommer
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Green Apples, 1943 William Sommer
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Purple Barn, Brandywine, 1944 William Sommer
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Portrait of a Woman, c.1920 William Sommer
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Man Lounging William Sommer
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The Spinach Tree William Sommer
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Nude William Sommer
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Study for ‘Horse and Covered Cart in Town’, ca. 1918-19 William Sommer
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Lakewood Houses William Sommer
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Brandywine Study, c. 1925 William Sommer
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George in Yellow Jacket, 1926 William Sommer
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It's Me (Portrait of Robert Kulesa), c. 1930 William Sommer
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Boy in Blue Overalls, c. 1930 William Sommer
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Boy with Dog, c. 1930s William Sommer
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The Blue Shirt, c. 1934 William Sommer
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Famous Boy, c. 1935 William Sommer
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Teenage Girl, 1939 William Sommer
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Sketches of Cows William Sommer
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Sketches of Horses William Sommer