(American born Germany, 1849 - 1921)
Devil’s Pool, Cresheim Creek
Oil on canvas, 42 x 60 inches
Signed at lower right: “C.Ph.Weber”
Exhibited: Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts, 1889; Library Company of Philadelphia, “A Walk on the Wild Side: The Wissahickon Creek, 1800-1940”, 1994.
This painting depicts Devil’s Pool, where Cresheim Creek flows into the Wissahickon near Valley Green in Chestnut Hill. Weber sent one of his famous scenes of the Wissahickon Creek to the Centennial Exhibition in Philadelphia in 1876.
Carl Philipp Weber was born in Darmstadt, Germany, to the musician Carl Weber and his wife, Eleanore (Bonnet) Weber. His father was probably the older brother of the landscape painter Paul Weber who had worked in Philadelphia from 1849 to 1860. Carl Philipp’s family immigrated to the United States in 1853 and settled in Germantown, where his father had established his reputation as a violinist and a successful music teacher. Carl Philipp returned to Germany for his artistic training, studying under the sculptor and muralist August von Kreling in Nuremberg as well as under Paul Weber in Darmstadt and Munich.
In 1874 Carl Philipp returned to Philadelphia and lived with his father. He was a member of the Philadelphia Artists Fund Society and worked in the city until his death. Primarily a landscape painter, Weber exhibited at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia from 1876 to 1891 and at the National Academy of Design in New York in 1880 and 1881.
About the Artist
(American born Germany, 1849 - 1921)
Carl Philipp Weber was born in Darmstadt, Germany, to the musician Carl Weber (1818‑1890) and his wife, Eleanore (Bonnet) Weber. His father was probably the older brother of the landscape painter Paul Weber (1823‑1916), who had worked in Philadelphia from 1849 to 1860. Carl Philipp's family immigrated to the United States in 1853 and settled in Germantown, where his father had established his reputation as a violinist and a successful music teacher. Carl Philipp returned to Germany for his artistic training, studying under the sculptor and muralist August von Kreling (1819‑1876) in Nuremberg as well as under Paul Weber in Darmstadt and Munich. It is very likely that he stayed at Paul's house in Darmstadt and was in close contact with Paul's son, Carl, who took lessons from his father at the same time.
In 1874 Carl Philipp returned to Philadelphia and lived with his father. In 1888 his studio address was 1134 Arch Street. He was a member of the Philadelphia Artists Fund Society and worked in the city until his death. Primarily a landscape painter, Carl Philipp Weber exhibited at the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Arts in Philadelphia from 1876 to 1891 and at the National Academy of Design in New York in 1880 and 1881. His reputation exceeded national boundaries, however, and he won awards in London and in Sydney and Melbourne, Australia.
