Edward Theodore Compton

* 1849 London
† 1921 Feldafing

As an autodidact, Edward Theodore Compton began his first nature studies in 1863, attended art schools in England and finally moved to Germany. First based in Darmstadt, he moved to Munich in 1869.

Since 1874 Compton has lived in Feldafing on Lake Starnberg. The travel impressions of the Bernese Oberland captivate him so strongly that the Alpine landscape becomes his preferred motif. Further trips to Switzerland, Tyrol, Spain, Corsica, North Africa and Norway follow. Compton made a name for himself with his works of the “Forum Romanum” (1877), “Matterhorn” (1880) and “Die Gipfelstürmer” (1888). Compton, with its light-flooded landscapes, can be assigned to the Impressionists.

In addition to his oil paintings, he created many watercolors and drawings, which can often be found in the literature of the German and Austrian Alpine Club. Numerous works have been published as xylographies in the magazines “Über Land und Meer”, in the “Leipziger Illustrierte Zeitschrift” and in the “Meisterwerken der Holzschneidekunst”.

With his works, Compton exerts a great influence on other Alpine painters such as Ernst Heinrich Platz and Karl Arnold. Even his children Dora and Edward Harrison Compton continue their father’s path as mountain painters.