The work of an influential southern Delaware artist is on display at the Historic Odessa visitors center.
Howard Schoeder was born in New York City, but a stint at Lewes's Fort Miles during World War II moved him to spend his life and career in the First State. From then until his death in 1995, Schroeder was a major part of the regional art scene, teaching, playing a pivotal role in the Rehoboth Art League, and producing hundreds of oil paintings, watercolors, drawings, and sketches.
Schroeder’s work is known for its use of vibrant colors, nods to impressionism and abstraction, and vivid portrayals of coastal Delaware. While those hallmarks remained constant, his style evolved over the decades.
“He had a long career, so his style changes,” says Historic Odessa’s Associate Curator Brian Miller. “So, mid-century modern all the way up to plein-air painting, just wonderful paintings.”
Miller says that Schroeder was also deeply involved with the Rehoboth Art League.
“He was an art educator there,” Miller says. “He led their sketch group indoors, outdoors, on the dunes of the beaches.”
While Schoeder is identified with southern Delaware, Miller says showing his work in Odessa was a natural fit.
“That's what we like to focus on in Odessa, Delaware artists and Delaware paintings, Delaware scenes,” he says. “So it was a perfect fit when we got this one worked out.”
He adds that Schroeder’s family, many of whom still live in Delaware, embraced the idea of an exhibition in New Castle County.
“I met his son and family, and they were very much interested in having an exhibit in Odessa because it would introduce him to a whole different audience,” Miller says.
“Legacy of Delaware: The Paintings of Howard Schroeder” is on display in Odessa through August 30.
Delaware Public Media's arts coverage is made possible, in part, by support from the Delaware Division of the Arts, a state agency dedicated to nurturing and supporting the arts in Delaware, in partnership with the National Endowment for the Arts.
