Vintage Wisconsin Art: March 2015

Sunday, March 22, 2015

Santos Zingale (1908-1999)

Santos Zingale was a well-known and widely respected Wisconsin artist and teacher of art. He was born in Milwaukee and studied at Milwaukee State Teachers College (MSTC) under highly regarded artists Gustave Moeller, Robert Von Neumann, Elsa Ulbricht, and Howard Thomas. He was affiliated with federal art programs as early as 1937. He created several murals in Wisconsin---in Sturgeon Bay, Racine, and at Marquette University. According to “WPA Artwork in Non-Federal Repositories (Edition 2)” he created work for the WPA at various times during the years 1935-1942. I suspect there are probably other WPA works that are unrecorded. He received a master degree in education from the University of Wisconsin Madison, and began teaching art there in 1946. He worked with John Steuart Curry when Curry was artist in residence at UW-Madison. Zingale retired from UW-Madison in 1978.

Santos Zingale exhibited widely. In Wisconsin, with the Wisconsin Painters and Sculptors beginning in 1930; with the Wisconsin Salon of Art beginning in 1937, into the 1950’s, and in other venues such as the Wisconsin Centennial Exhibition of 1948. He also exhibited numerous times around the United States.

Santos Zingale "Scrub Ladies" lithograph, 7 1/4"h x 8 3/4"w, signed, no date.

Santos Zingale "The Thing" lithograph, 8"h x 9 3/4"w, signed, 1938.

There is a record of a painting and print titled "Junk Man"---maybe the same image?

Santos Zingale "On Relief" woodcut, 11 1/2"h x 9"w, signed, no date.

Santos Zingale "Lodi" lithograph, 11 1/4"h x 17"w, state 1, ed. 21, signed, no date.

Lodi is a town near Madison, Wisconsin.

Santos Zingale "Blackhawk No 1" lithograph, state 1, ed. 10, signed, 1950.

Santos Zingale "Air Raid" woodcut, 12"h x 9 1/2"w, signed, 1937.

I have seen this print with the tittle "Refugees."

Santos Zingale "Cigar Sniper" lithograph, 7 1/2"h x 9 1/2"w, signed, 1937.

Santos Zingale untitled etching (?), 7"h x 7 1/2"w, 1/1, no date.

The signature on this print seems to be authentic. However, the subject and technique is unusual for Zingale. So is the small edition. I found it in Wisconsin. Maybe someone can verify this print.

Santos Zingale untitled oil on canvas, 23 1/4"h x 36 1/2"w, signed, 1934 (or 1939)

This is nearly identical to a painting at the Oshkosh Public Museum, Oshkosh, Wisconsin, titled "Fall." It is on the cover of an exhibition catalog called "Wisconsin's New Deal Art."

Santos Zingale "Madison Gas and Electric" oil on canvas, 23 1/2"h x 29 1/2"w, signed, ca 1950

Tuesday, March 3, 2015

Alfred Sessler (1909-1963)

Alfred Sessler was a prominent Wisconsin artist and art teacher. Most of the information about Sessler in this blog is gleaned from two sources. “Progressive Printmakers: Wisconsin Artists and the Print Renaissance,” a book published in 1999, and “The Prints of Alfred Sessler,” an exhibition catalog from 1988, published by the Wisconsin Academy Gallery.

Sessler studied art at the Layton School of Art in Milwaukee, Wisconsin in the 1930’s. He was part of the Treasury Relief art project from 1935-37. He participated in the Federal Art Project from 1937-1942. He created two Post Office murals for the WPA (Lowell, Michigan and Morris, MN.) He received a degree from Milwaukee State Teachers College in 1944, and a Master’s Degree from UW-Madison in 1945. He joined the faculty at the University of Wisconsin-Madison in 1946.

At his position at the University, his enthusiasm influenced many students, and I’m guessing he probably influenced some of the other staff members. The Print Department flourished. Sessler pioneered some of new printmaking techniques, particularly in the realm of color prints.

Sessler began exhibiting in the 1930’s, both prints and paintings. He participated in many Wisconsin exhibitions, particularly with the Wisconsin Painters and Sculptors, and at the Wisconsin Salon of Art. His work appeared in at least one of the cart calendars produced by the Milwaukee Printmakers in the late 1930’s. He also had a one man show at the Smithsonian, and was in group shows at the Art Institute of Chicago, the Corcoran in Washington, D. D., and the 1939 World’s Fair. He also exhibited at the Walker in Minneapolis, the Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Art, the Library of Congress, and others. He received numerous awards.