Ruth Grotenrath (1912-1988) was a well-known Wisconsin artist. She was a Milwaukee native; she went to college there, earning her degree and teaching certificate at Milwaukee State Teachers College in 1933. She is listed on the 1934 WPA (Works Progress Administration) Wisconsin artist list. She created three WPA murals at post offices in the Midwest, including one in Hudson, Wisconsin. She created prints in the pre-WWII era, but I have not been able to determine if she made any for the WPA. She did submit prints for possible acceptance in the “Artists for Victory” program, but it is not clear if any were accepted. I have seen one list of program participants, and Grotenrath was not on the list, but the program lasted for several years so there were probably multiple exhibitions. The “Artists for Victory” program was a national program meant to boost America’s wartime morale through art, via posters, prints, and paintings, in exhibitions and shows.

Grotenrath’s style started to change sometime in the late 1940’s. It became much more colorful and the subject matter became more whimsical. There is a sizable write-up on Grotenrath in “German-American Artists in Early Milwaukee” by Peter C. Merrill. Merrill says “Grotenrath’s work from the early 1930’s tended to be somber in tone and serious in subject matter, but by the mid-1940’s she had begun to turn to brighter colors.” Her introduction to serigraphy at this time proved to be an effective media for her artistic endeavors. Serigraphs are often fairly large and usually have at least several colors.

Ruth Grotenrath was a member of Wisconsin Painters and Sculptors and often participated in their exhibitions, starting in the 1930’s. She also exhibited at the Wisconsin Salon of Art at the University of Wisconsin-Madison from the late 1930’s into the 1950’s. She was also accepted for the prestigious Wisconsin Centennial exhibition of 1948.

 

Ruth Grotenrath  oil on board, untitled, signed, undated
This was a study for Grotenrath's mural at the Hudson, Wisconsin Post Office.

Ruth Grotenrath   "Steve"   lithograph, 12"h  x  8"w, undated
There is an unidentified exhibition label with the print.

Ruth Grotenrath   "Market"   lithograph, 13"h  x  10"w, undated
This print has an unidentified exhibition label.

Ruth Grotenrath   "Going Home"   lithograph, 14"h  x  9"w, signed, undated

Ruth Grotenrath   "Slavic Worker"   lithograph, 9"h  x  7"w, signed, undated

  
Ruth Grotenrath   "Studio Corner"   linocut, 8"h  x  8"w, signed, undated

Ruth Grotenrath   "Posterity in Color"    color linocut, 9"h  x  6"w, signed, undated
I showed this print to Schomer Lichtner, Grotenrath's husband, when I visited him in the 1990's. He had never seen it before and felt that it was made before 1934.

Ruth Grotenrath   "Chicken Motif"   serigraph, 9"h  x  10"w, signed, undated

Ruth Grotenrath   "The Pond"   serigraph, 11"h  x  20"w, signed, undated
The book "150 Years of Wisconsin Printmaking" dates this print to 1948