Jerry Malzahn: Landscape Artist

Favorite Influences: Barbizon and Hudson, River Schools

Favorite Vacation Spots: Colorado, Yosemite and New York

Jerry Malzahn, a talented landscape artist, was born in Stuttgart, Arkansas on september 30, 1946, moving to Texas as a young adult. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of North Texas and founded Malzahn Landscape Company where he currently serves as president.

In 1994, at the age of 48, Jerry began to devote himself to landscape painting. He garnered enthusiastic and immediate response by collecting first place prize for landscape paintings for landscape painting with figures at the l996 Texas State Fair. Jerry displayed his art in two successful shows at the Wild Gallery (1996) and David Dike Fine Art (2003) in Dallas. In 2003, he was selected for membership into the prestigious Salmagundi Club in New York, New York. In 2005 the city of Richardson, Texas held an exhibit of Jerry’s paintings along side the personal collection of Jerry and Lyla. The paintings included works by Asher Durand, Diaz de la Pena, Julian Onderdonk, and William Keith along with selected landscapes by Jerry. The Exhibit was covered by American Art Review and was viewed by over a thousand visitors. Jerry’s landscapes are displayed in important private, corporate and public collections in Dallas and Ft Worth, Texas, New York, New York, and Annapolis, Maryland at the U.S. Naval Academy Museum. In 2008 Jerry was selected to paint a Christmas ornament for the White House Christmas Tree. It was a humbling honor, and Jerry and Lyla were excited to attend the reception hosted by the First Lady, Mrs. Laura Bush in the White House.

Malzahn’s brilliant landscapes pay homage to a wide range of nineteenth century landscape masters. His heroic, western landscapes echo the grand panoramas of Thomas Moran and Albert Bierstadt in their scope and strongly articulated perspectives. His meadow scenes carry the delicate and poetic subtlety of the French Barbizon School, particularly the dream like atmosphere of Corot, Daubigny and Harpignies. While noticing the influence of these artist, one ultimately sees the marks of a highly talented individual hand, sensitive to the nuances of how light and dark effect the mood of nature yet impassioned to capture the great breadth of America’s most exalted scenery.

Jerry lives with his wife, Lyla Thompson Malzahn, in Coppell, Texas. They have a daughter, Franchesca, who serves in the defense of our country. His wife, Lyla is one of the best breeders of Cavalier King Charles Spaniels in the country. You can visit her website at: www.cavaliercountry.com.