SCHUBERT, ORLANDO V. (1844-11 Dec. 1927) was an early Cleveland artist especially noted for his marine paintings. Born on Erie (E. 9th) St., he was the son of early settlers Mary and Balthasar Schubert (see GERMANS), a nephew of German composer Franz Schubert and founder of the CLEVELAND GRAYS band. Orlando Schubert acquired a proficiency on many musical instruments before leaving home to work on a Great Lakes boat.
By 1873 he had returned with enough knowledge of art to render a well-regarded watercolor of Cleveland's lakefront. He joined the group of local artists in the old City Hall known as the "Old Bohemians" and was a charter member of the BRUSH AND PALETTE CLUB. Schubert then left Cleveland to study and paint in Munich for 4 years.
Upon his return he ran a print shop on Detroit Ave. to support his painting, which he pursued at his lakefront home in BAY VILLAGE. In 1913 he painted his magnum opus, The Battle of Lake Erie, on the centenary of that event. Some of his paintings were destroyed 2 years later by a fire that consumed the next-door home of his brother and threatened his own.
The lifelong bachelor died in St. Petersburg, Fla., where he bequeathed many of his paintings to form the nucleus of an art museum. His remains were returned for interment in Lakewood Park Cemetery. The Battle of Lake Erie, which he had once unsuccessfully tried to sell to Cuyahoga County, was presented to the county in 1961 by a former Clevelander in St. Petersburg.