This biography from the Archives of AskART:
| Born in Philadelphia, Edward Kern was the youngest of three brothers
who were survey artists, and he participated in several key expeditions
to the American West. By 1841, he was exhibiting in Philadelphia as a
painter and continued to be listed in the city directory although he
traveled widely from there.
He served as topographer on John
Fremont's third expedition that crossed the Plains and Rockies to
California in 1846. He was under Fremont's command during the Mexican
War and later was artist and photographer on other expeditions to the
Northwest and from California to China. Kern River was named for him
by Fremont, and subsequently Kern County, California.
In 1848
and 1849, he traveled with Fremont on his Fourth Expedition, this time
with his brother, Benjamin, whom he persuaded to join. The expedition
goal was finding a railway route from the Atlantic to the Pacific, but
the plan went awry.
Fremont attempted to cross the Rocky
Mountains along the 37th and 38th parallels in the winter to
demonstrate that it was an all-season road, but ten of his men died
from cold and starvation. Heading south to warmer climes, he took most
of the other members down the banks of the Rio Grande River, and theb
went west to southern California through Arizona along the Gila River.
However, Edward's brother, Benjamin, stayed behind, taking
refuge in Taos, and then was murdered, allegedly by Indians, when he
and a companion tried to return to the winter camp site to retrieve
supplies.
In 1856, Edward Kern was official artist on the USS
Vincennes that visited Hawaii. The watercolors from this
Ringgold-Rogers expedition are in the Boston Museum.
Sources:
Dan L. Thrapp, Encyclopedia of Frontier Biography, Volume III
Peggy and Harold Samuels, "Encyclopedia of Artists of the American West"
David Forbes, "Encounters With Paradise" |
| ** If you discover credit omissions or have additional information to add, please let us know at registrar@AskART.com. |
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Edward Kern is also mentioned in these AskART essays:
Taos Pre 1940
Artists who painted Hawaii
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