This biography is based on "Moccasins and Wooden Shoes: American Indians and Dutch Artists", a manuscript-in-progress by Pieter Hovens, curator at the National Museum of Ethnology, P.O. Box 212, 2300 AE Leiden, the Netherlands. The author appreciates any additional information on Loemans.

ALEXANDER FRANCOIS LOEMANS (18??-1894)

Alexander Francois Loemans (pron: loo-mahns) is a painter about whom very little is known. He was born in the Netherlands or of Dutch descent, but most of his known works were painted in Canada (Ontario, Manitoba) and the northern United States (New York State, Minnesota). Some works show tropical landscapes and a native woman from the Andes, and it is assumed that he visited Peru or another South American country in the Andes region.

The main body of his work consists of landscape paintings, and Loemans worked on the Hudson River, at St. Anthony Falls, on the Minnesota River, in Ontario and Manitoba. His landscapes are both small scale and sweeping, both idyllic and dramatic. The latter effect is expressed in thundering river waters, threatening skies and stormy winds. In his western landscapes small figures of Indians are often placed.

Works by Loemans are curated at the Minnesota Historical Society, Minneapolis Public Library, the Museum of Fine Arts of St. Petersburg, Florida, the Art Gallery of Hamilton, Ontario, and the New Brunswick Museum.