On the same line, I was greatly surprised by Fridtjof Nansen's artwork, explorer of the North Pole, scientist, diplomat, winner of the Peace Nobel Price, and artist.
It seems that painting and calligraphy were part of the average education for the upper classes or the educated in the past. I’ve seen painting by authors such as Edgar Allen Poe and Victoria Hugo and they could easily be accepted into most art schools from the last 100 years.
I just came upon these two paintings by Robert Winthrop Chanler (American, 1872-1930). He was an American artist whose works merged elements of the decorative with the bizarre. He was a member of the Astor and Stuyvesant families… both wealthy and politically connected families in the US. His personal life included a whirlwind romance with the beautiful and talented soprano, Lina Cavalieri…
The married in June, 1910 but were separated by the end of their Honeymoon. His murals often involved the use of plaster, sculpted gesso, and gilding. Among his murals is a decorative ceiling at the Gertrude Vanderbilt Whitney Studio.