Ferdinand A. Brader

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Ferdinand A. Brader was an itinerant artist, known for his large pencil drawings of farms and other dwellings in Pennsylvania and Ohio. He was born somewhere in Switzerland in 1833, although his exact birthplace is unknown. He migrated to Pennsylvania, United States sometime around 1870.

[edit] Art

His first pencil drawings of farms and homes was while he was in Pennsylvania. He did some 300 pictures in all. Most of his drawings are quite large, some measuring as much as 50 by 36 inches. Most were done using only graphite pencil, however, in 1890 he started incorporating the use of colored pencils into his drawings as well.

His Ohio drawings first appear around 1879, and he continued to draw for some 16 years. The Ohio drawings were done in the counties of Portage, Medina, Wayne, Stark, Carroll, and Columbiana.

Brader numbered most of his drawings, and from these numbers we know that he did at least 972. The aforementioned picture was dated 1895.

Brader was a frequent patient at the Portage Co. Infirmary (Poor House) in Ravenna, Ohio. However, very little else is known, and little else is known about Brader's later life, although some believe that he may have returned to Europe.