Frederick Ruple

Frederick Ruple
Born	Frederick Ruple ( 1871 -09-19)September 19, 1871 Switzerland
Died	May 22, 1938 ( 1938 -05-22) (aged 66) Tulsa, Oklahoma
Nationality	Swiss-American
Education	Photographer Carl Emil Gassler (1887-1891) Basel Switzerland
Known for	Painting, portrait, murals, battle scenes, nature and Indians.
Notable work	"The Spirit of 89" "Battle of Paris" "Tribal Camp Fire"

Frederick Ruple (September 19, 1871^[1] - May 23, 1938^[2]) was a 20th-century Swiss-American painter. He was primarily a portrait painter,^[2] and was also commissioned to paint Confederate Civil War battle scenes and murals. Ruple lived for some periods in Arkansas and Oklahoma where he traveled around and studied the American Indians and early settlement in the Midwest.^[3][4] The Oklahoma Land Run of 1889 inspired Ruple to create his most famous painting "The Spirit of '89". The central figure in the painting is Major Gordon W. Lillie (Pawnee Bill, the famous scout), who can be seen in his full scout outfit leading the run. The painting measures 9 feet by 12 feet (with frame).^[3][4]

Lew Wentz, a prominent business man from Ponca City, bought "The Spirit of '89". "He presented it to the city of Ponca City, which in turn gave it to the Oklahoma Historical Society, in whose building it now hangs." ^[2]

Ruple’s paintings from the Civil War (1861 – 1865) include depictions of Confederates battle scenes. His "Battle of Paris 1862" depicts a skirmish near Forrest Heights on the west side of the city, on March 11, 1862.^[5] The painting "General Nathan Bedford Forrest" depicts the Confederate war hero at the battle at Bogler's.^[5]

Ruple depicts the Battle at Brice's Cross Roads, fought on June 10, 1864, in his painting "Edmund Winchester Rucker".^[5][6] Most of Ruple’s fame came from painting portraits of celebrities in Arkansas and Oklahoma like Confederate Generals and known politicians. His subjects included former United States Senator Robert L. Owen of Oklahoma; Supreme Court Judge U.M. Rose of Little Rock, Ark.; the father of Senator Joe Robinson; J.S. Parks and E. B. Kinsworthy, former Attorney-General of Arkansas; Mrs. Walter Ferguson, newspaper columnist; her husband, Senator Caraway of Ark.; Judge Thomas of Muskogee, and William Busy of McAlester.^[3][4]

As a painter, Ruple took commission jobs that came from builders and decorators who hired him to paint murals and designs in public buildings. The work he did along these lines was among the most prominent in America.^[3][4]

Life and works

Early life

Frederick Ruple was born on September 19, 1871 in Unterhallau, a part of Hallau, in the canton of Schaffhausen, Switzerland.^[1] His parents were butcher Hermann Rupli, and Barbara Neukomm.^[1]

Hermann Rupli wandered off to America without his family on May 24, 1872.^[7] The marriage of Hermann and Barbara Rupli Neukomm was divorced on November 12, 1874 according to the court records in Canton of Schaffhausen Switzerland.^[1] Frederick Rupli was 3 years old at that time.^[1]

After the divorce, Frederick’s mother relocated to Basel in 1885, when Frederick was 14 years old. Barbara Neukomm was registered in the address book of Basel in 1885 at the address Mattweg 53rd, from 1886 to 1891. She worked as a housekeeper at address 30 Greifengasse Basel.^[8] When Frederick Ruple was 14 he became an apprentice to an artificial limb manufacturer.^[9] In the summer of 1887/88 (sic), he attended the General school. When he was 16 years old he lived at that time in Spores Gasse 16, Basel.^[8][10] At the same time he was in training as a photographer with Emil Gassler, at Aeschenvorstadt 42.^[8][11] On Gassler's poster it says in German "Photographien in allen grossen portrait in oel" in English "Photographs in all sizes, portraits in oil".^[11]

In 1891, at the age of 19, Ruple immigrated with his mother to America.^[2][3][4] Around this time, his last name changed from Rupli to Ruple.

When he came to the United States he lived with his mother's sister in Cincinnati.^[9] During this time, an art dealer saw Frederick Ruple’s drawings and ordered a copy of a photograph in colors, which was the first such piece of work sold in this country.^[9]

Ruple, while still a young man, moved to Little Rock to become the protégé of Mrs. James P. Eagle, wife of the governor of the state at the time, and his work of painting portraits began in earnest. Governor Eagle, General Forest and other prominent men of the state sat for their portraits.^[9]

Personal life

Frederick Ruple had been in America for three years when he married Almira C. King on December 25, 1894 in Belmont, Ohio. Almira was born June 1873, West Virginia.

The 1900 U.S. Federal Census states that Frederick Ruple, who was 28, and Almira Ruple, who was 26, were living in Lonoke, Arkansas; had been married for six years; and had a three-year-old son, Frederick D. Ruple. Frederick D. Ruple was born on November 6, 1897 in New York in Cincinnati, Ohio <citation>.

The 1910 U.S. Federal Census states that Frederick Ruple (age 38) and Almira Ruple (age 36) had been married for 16 years and now had 2 sons and a daughter: Frederick D. Ruple Jr., 13 years old and born in Ohio; Geo W. Ruple, 6 years old and born in Arkansas; and Almira C. Ruple, 3 years old and born in Pennsylvania, was also living in their home in Ruddell township, Independence, Arkansas.

The 1920 U.S. Federal Census states that Frederick Ruple (age 47) and Almira Ruple (age 46) had been married for 26 years and were renting a home in Batesville, Independence, Arkansas. Sons Frederick D. Ruple Jr. was 23 years old, and George W. Ruple was 15. Daughter Myra Ruple was 13 years old.

The obituary in Southwest Times Record on March 7, 1925 (p. 7) indicates that Almira (Mollie) (King) Ruple died March 5, 1925 in her home at 600 South 2 Twenty-First Street. Mrs. Ruple left behind her husband Frederick Ruple, two sons: Frederick D. Ruple and George W. Ruple; and one daughter: Miss Almira Ruple.

The 1930 U.S. Federal Census states that Frederick Ruple (age 57) was married to Mildred Ruple (age 31), and that they lived together with their son Robert Ruple, two years old, and daughter Mary Louise Ruple, six months old. The census also states that they lived in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The children from the first marriage were also living with them (Fred and Myra Ruple).

In Fayetteville, Frederick Ruple had his studio on the public square, where he also had a private painting school. Many of his paintings hung in private homes. Mary Louise Ruple attended the Helen Dunlop Memorial School at Winslow. Later she went to the University of Arkansas.<citation> Son George Washington Ruple died from tuberculosis on September 13, 1934.

In 1936, Frederick Ruple resided at 2647 N Norfolk avenue in Tulsa, OK, and by 1938 he lived at 1505 S Columbia, Tulsa, OK, where he battled with poor health and passed away from a heart attack on May 23, 1938, in his house.

Personal gossip

On Wednesday, September 1, 1909, in Jonesboro, AR, the Jonesboro Daily News reported that Frederick Ruple was a personal guest of Mr. and Mrs. J.A. Webb's on Washington avenue.

Under the column "Personal Mention" in the Fayetteville Daily Democrat on Tuesday, Nov. 1, 1932, it is mentioned that "Mr. and Mrs. Frederick Ruple and family of Tulsa are week end guests of Captain and Mrs. L.Y. Hartman."

Major Works

After the civil war he painted some of his best paintings. In a conversation with Frederick Ruple's Great Great Grandson, Robert Mark Ruple, on June 27, 2013, it was learned that Frederic Ruple's son George Washington Ruple hand-carved, plastered and gilded many of the frames that Frederick Ruple used to frame his paintings.

Civil war paintings

“Fifty-three years after the Bogler's Creek fight a Swiss artist Frederick Ruple, then living in Batesville, painted the scene under the direction of COL. V. Y. Cook. The artist shows the general mounted on King Phillip, surrounded by six or seven federals, about to take a left-handed slash at Captain Taylor. Humorously and erroneously, Ruple pictured COL. V. Y. Cook the old captain, Charles Jetton, with long, flowing white beard. Captain Jetton, besides being somewhere else that afternoon,was tw3enty-six years of age at the time. The artist does show in the right background, the wagon over which Forrest put King Phillip.”^[12]

The "Battle of Paris" of March 11, 1862, painted XXX under the instruction of COL. V. Y. Cook. <citation>

where this painting is today. <citation>

"General Nathan Bedford Forrest at Boglers Creek, Alabama".

Other Major works

"THE SPIRIT OF '89", which shows the running for the properties in Oklahoma in 1889, is Ruple’s most famous painting. It measures 9x12 feet. The painting was given to the Oklahoma Historical society, where it hangs today. <citation> Frederick Ruple, an artist of much note, is in the city at Mr. and Mrs. J.A. Webb's on Washington avenue. Mr. Rupple is a native of Basle, Switzerland, but has been in U.S. for fifteen 15 years when one of his most noted paintings, "Gen. Forrest and his Generals," was displayed at a Confederate Reunion at the Gayoso Hotel in Memphis. Mr. Ruple possesses a charming personality during pleasing comment.^[13]

The painting "Tribal Camp Fire" hangs in the John Burroughs school building in Tulsa, OK. <citation>

While in Fayetteville he painted some outstanding portraits of well known people like Dr. H.D. Wood and Major D.R. Davidson. <citation>

Later on, he moved to Oklahoma where he painted portraits of celebrities.

The Hattiesburg American newspaper, of Mississippi, on Saturday, March 25, 1961: provides an interesting insight into Ruple’s work.

A historically valuable Civil War painting which was lost for half a century is now being expertly restored in the Art Department at Mississippi Southern College and will soon be framed and hung at Beauvoir, the Jefferson Davis shrine on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. The large painting (8½ x 14½ ft.) depicting Confederate Civil War hero General Nathan Bedford Forrest, seven members of his staff, and some of his forces at Brice's Cross Roads, Miss., in June, 1864. This was the scene of one of the great cavalry leader's finest victories, where he defeated a superior Union force under General Sturgis.

Executed by Frederick Ruple at Batesville, Ark., for V. Y. Cook, who served in the battle under Forrest, the painting hung for many years in the Courthouse at Memphis.

Disappeared

It became the property of the Sons of Confederate Veterans and was hung in that organization's general headquarters in Memphis until the headquarters was moved away some half century ago. The painting and other property were left behind and disappeared from sight. About two years ago, the painting was discovered in a dark closet in an auditorium in Memphis, folded and rolled up with no protective covering, where it had apparently been tossed by some unthinking person long ago. Alvis Downs Jr., reported the discovery to Tom White Crigler, Jr., of Macon, Miss., Commander of the S. C. V. Through the efforts of Crigler, the painting was obtained and donated to Beauvoir, and the Board of Trustees of the Civil War Shrine is having the restoration work done. Charles E. Ambrose, assistant professor of Art at Mississippi Southern, is restoring the painting.

It will be framed and taken to Beauvoir. The painting is of historical significance not only because of the portrait of General Forrest mounted in the center, but because his seven staff officers pictured flanking him were also done in recognizable portrait style. They are Capt. Morton, Col. Lyon, Gen. Buford, Capt. Anderson, Capt. Will Forrest, Col. Rucker and Capt. Tyler. It seems appropriate somehow that this long-lost painting should be restored at Mississippi Southern, which is located in Forrest County, named after the famous General. Also, Dr. William D. Mc-Cain, Mississippi Southern president, is a Civil War historian of note and is presently serving as Adjutant-in-Chief of the Sons of Confederate Veterans.

Portraits

Most of Ruple’s fame came through painting portraits of celebrities in Arkansas and Oklahoma like Confederate Generals and known politicians such as: < stack up citation for the following list>

• Governor Eagle

• General Nathan Bedford Forrest

• United States Senator Robert L. Owen of Oklahoma

• Supreme Court Judge U.M. George Rose of Little Rock, Arkansas

• The father of Senator Joe Robinson

• J.S. Parks

• Former Attorney General of Arkansas E. B. Kinsworthy

• Mrs. Walter Ferguson, newspaper columnist; Caraway Ferguson, her husband, who was a Tulsa banker and Senator of Arkansas

• Judge Thomas of Muskogee

• Dr. H. D. Wood

• Major D.R. Davidson

• William Busy of McAlester

In Batesville, Fayetteville and Fort Smith there are a number of portraits of widely known residents painted by Frederick Ruple.<citation>

Murals and Controversy

Paul Heerwagen (1866-1955) was Bavarian by birth, he received his formal education in Berlin, Germany, and traveled to the U.S. in 1881. He became an interior decorator who used Frederick Ruple to paint the four murals in the Capital Building in Little Rock, murals in the Strand Theater in Shreveport, LA, and murals of the Sahara Shrine Temple at Pine Bluff.<citation>

In June 1914, in Fayetteville, AR, artist Paul Heerwagen (1866-1955), a native of Bavaria, Germany, was awarded a state contract to paint four murals in the Arkansas State Capitol Building in Little Rock, to be placed in the lunettes (crescent shaped spaces in the vaulted roof over a door or window) at the suggestion of respected art collector and Supreme Court Judge George Rose. The murals were done at Heerwagen’s studios on a farm on the outskirts of Fayetteville, and then shipped to Little Rock for completion and installation. The themes for the four murals were Justice, War, Education, and Religion, and Frederick Ruple is rumored to have painted these pieces, and completed them in October 1914.<citation>

Judge George Rose, a highly respected art collector and scholar, conferred with Heerwagen on the color scheme for the capitol and suggested the themes for the four murals that were placed into the lunettes. (Lunettes are crescent-shaped spaces in a vaulted roof or over a door or window.) The four murals were prepared at Heerwagen’s studios in Fayetteville, then shipped to Little Rock for completion and installation. Some evidence suggests that Frederick Ruple, an artist based in the Fayetteville area, painted these murals. The themes of the murals are justice, war, education, and religion. (Aikman n.d.)<citation>

Gallery

• 

  Spirit of '89 was painted by Fredrick Ruple. The painting hangs in Oklahoma Historical Society building in Oklahoma City. The painting depicts Major Gordon W. Lillie (Pawnee Bill) of Pawnee is the central figure leading the colonists in the run for homes, a feat Major Lillie actually performed in '89. under President Benjamin Harrison.

• 

  Battle of Paris, This skirmish was fought March 11, 1862 in the vicinity of Forrest Heights on the west margin of the city. Losses in killed and wounded was light on both sides. This painting , executed by Frederick Ruple, a veteran of skirmish, is owned by John P. Morrow Jr.

• 

  The last personal encounter of the Confederate General Nathan Bedford Forrest, April 1, 1865 at Ebecezer Church on Bogler's Creek, twenty miles North of Selma, Ala., his opposeat Capt. Jas. Taylor, 17th Indiana. Post-War railroad building took Gen. Forrest to Arkansas, where one of his comba became Forrest City. The painting was executed by Frederick Ruple at Batesville, Ark. for V.Y. Cook who served in Forrest's Cavalry.

• 

  Reverse of the card reads: "This painting, executed by Frederick Ruple at Batesville, Ark., for V.Y. Cook who served in the battle under Forrest, hung for many years in the Courthouse in Memphis. Present whereabouts is unknown." Col. Rucker is, of course, Edmund Winchester Rucker, who lost an arm in the war. Fort Rucker, AL is named for him.

References

Public Libraries and Public Museums Records

www.Ancestry.com Library edition

www.NewsBank.com

The American Antiquarian Society 2004

www.cals.lib.ar.us

Federal Census 1900, Fred Ruple Lonoke, Lonoke, Arkansas. Printed page 42. Dwelling 188, Fam No. 181, Roll: 67; Page: 9A; Enumeration District: 0087; FHL microfilm 1240067. Accessed on Ancestry.com.

Federal Census 1910, Fredric Rouple [Ruple]. Ruddell township, Independence, Arkansas. Source Ancestry. com 1910 United States Federal Census Place Ruddell, Independence, Arkansas; Roll: T624_52; Page: 15B; Enumeration District: 0040; FHL microfilm: 1374065.

Federal Census 1920, Frederick Ruple Batesville, independence, Arkansas. Married. Source Ancestry. com 1920 United States Federal Census Place Batesville, Independence, Arkansas; Roll: T625_66; Page: 4B; Enumeration District: 40; Image: 400.

Federal Census 1930, Frederick Ruple Fayetteville, Washington, Arkansas. Married. Source Ancestry. com 1930 United States Federal Census Place Fayetteville, Washington, Arkansas; Roll: 97; Page: 18B; Enumeration District: 22; Image 620.0; FHL microfilm: 2339832.Source:

Fort Smith Public Library www.fortsmithlibrary.org

www.GenealogyBank.com

Grace Keith Genealogical Collection, Fayetteville Public Library, www.faylib.org

Hattiesburg American, Mississippi, Saturday, March 25, 1961

www.encyclopediaofarkansas.net/encyclopedia/entry-detail.aspx?entryID=502

www.fotorevers.eu/de/fotograf/Gassler/2269/

Ohio, Marriages 1803-1900, Jordan Dodd, Liahona Research, (database on-line), Provo, UT, USA: Ancestry.com Operations Inc., 2001.

Oklahoma Historical Society www.okhistory.org

Northwest Arkansas Times, Fayetteville, Ark., Wed. May 25, 1938 RCAskUs@tulsalibrary.org Funeral Home Records of Tulsa, Oklahoma by Tulsa City- County Library Research Center, 400 Civic Center, Tulsa, Ok 74103

www.Ruppl_F school.pdf

South West American, May 25, 1938, Frederick Ruple will be Buried here Wednesday.

State Archives of Basel-City, Präsidialdepartement www.staatsarchiv.bs.ch

State Archives Schaffhausen, Switzerland www.staatsarchiv.sh.ch/

The Daily Oklahoman

THE INDEPENDENCE COUNTY CHRONICLE Vol. X1X, Number 4, July 1978 of Independence County Historical Society

The murals in the capital building Little Rock Ar. Source accessed Research Center, Tulsa City-County Library, RCAskUs@tulsalibrary.org, and material taken from The Encyclopedia of Arkansas History & Culture, “Paul Martin Heerwagen” by W. Russ Aikman, University of Texas at Austin.

The Oklahoman (1889- ), Date: March 20, 1932, p: 18 and December 3, 1932 front page

Tulsa Daily News, May 25, 1938

Tulsa Daily World, Sunday, March 20, 1932 and May 24, 1938 page 3

www.Newspaperarchives.com

http://chroniclingamerica.loc.gov

Fayetteville daily Democrat. (Fayetteville, Ark.) 1920-1937, Tuesday, Nov. 1932 Page six (personal Mentiou) Guets at Capt. And Mrs L.Y. Hartman