R h palenske artist biography

Reinhold Palenske, also known as R.H.

Palenske, was born on October 4, 1884, in Chicago, Illinois, the son and grandson of cavalry officers. It was assumed that he would follow in the footsteps of his forbearers and he was brought on hunting trips from an early age to introduce him to horseback riding; this led to his fascination with the animals and a desire to learn to draw them.

At age seventeen, after years of teaching himself the basics of drawing, he was granted permission to pursue an art education and he enrolled at the Art Institute of Chicago, studying under Wellington Reynolds. 

The primary subjects of Palenske's oeuvre related to the American and Canadian west, including people, animals, and landscapes inspired by his travels both solo and with friends J.M Biggon and Carl Rungus, with whom he formed the "Trail Riders of the Canadian Rockies".

Not long after graduation Palenske secured exclusi