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

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

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.

 

Alfred Sessler "City Dump" oil on board  8"h  x 7.5"w  signed, 1945

 

 

Alfred Sessler  "Log"  lithograph, 3.25"h x 6"w, signed, no date

 

 

Alfred Sessler  "Xmas tree lumberjack"  lithograph, 4"h x 3.5"w, signed, no date

 

 

Alfred Sessler untitled (two portraits)  lithograph, 3"h x 2"w (each), signed, 1960

 

 

Alfred Sessler  "Berlin"  lithograph, 5.75"h x 2.5"w, signed, 1938

Pictured in "American Art Today", art exhibition catalog for the New York World's Fair, 1939

 

 

Alfred Sessler  "Cold World II" lithograph, 6"h x 6.75"w, 10/25, signed, 1951

 

 

Alfred Sessler  "Track Worker" lithograph, 7.75"h x 3.25"w, 12/20, signed, 1951

 

 

Alfred Sessler  "Farmer" lithograph, 6"h x 4"w, ed 10, signed, no date

 

 

Alfred Sessler  (untitled)  etching, 6.75"h x 4.25"w, 1/4, signed, no date

 

 

Alfred Sessler  "3 Ladies"  lithograph, 10"h x 7.25"w, ed 15, signed, 1955

 

 

Alfred Sessler  "Hamburger Joint"  lithograph, 3.25"h x 4.75"w, signed, no date

 

 

Alfred Sessler  "Clown Bandsman" lithograph, 14.75"h x 10"w, signed, 1952

This print is also known as ""Clown Majordomo"

 

 

Alfred Sessler "Night Rider #1" woodcut, 7"h x 5"w, signed, no date

 

 

Alfred Sessler "Pageant Prelude" lithograph, 8.25"h x 5.75"w, 10/11, signed, 1938

 

 

Alfred Sessler "Dragon Root" color woodcut, 11.75"h x 21"w, ed 10, signed, 1958

 

 

Alfred Sessler "Tree Dancer"  color woodcut, 18"h x 11.25"w, 9/10, signed, 1958

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Tom Lee Rost, Jr. (1909-2004)

“No biographical information was found.” That is the statement on the website of the Museum of Wisconsin Art’s research department under the heading for “Tom Rost.” That is unfortunate, because Rost’s Milwaukee Journal Sentinel obituary can readily be found online. Here are some details from it. Rost’s family moved to Milwaukee from Indiana when he was young. He attended high school in Milwaukee and attended Milwaukee State Teachers College (MSTC) from 1926-1930. He was an artist/illustrator at a local Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) camp in the early 1930’s (Camp Honey Creek). Rost told me he did similar work at the Boerner Botanical Garden in Hales Corners, Wisconsin; that is, making drawing of the work projects there. In 1936 he began working for the Milwaukee Journal as an illustrator (He told me that Robert Von Neumann got him that job) and stayed there until 1945. During the war years he created many military maps for the newspaper. After the war he moved to New York City to work as a commercial artist. After five years, he moved back to Milwaukee and cofounded an advertising and illustration firm. During this time Rost worked as a freelance commercial artist, creating a number of magazine covers for the likes of “Field and Stream” and other similar publications.

I first met Rost in the 1990’s. I was searching for information on Wisconsin artists of interest to me, and I just looked him up in the phone book. I found someone with his name, but not knowing if it was the same person, I sent a letter of polite inquiry. With it, I sent a list of artists whose work I sought. He turned out to be the person I was looking for and I got a speedy reply from Rost. He invited me up for a visit and we got along well. He told me my list of artists “brought back a flood of memories.” He said he had forgotten many of those artists, but I could see in his eyes that he remembered much, too. We chatted for some time. I ended up buying some of his prints from the 1930’s, as well as some prints he got from other artists in “art trades.” We met several more times. One time I asked him about a specific print of his that showed CCC workers peeling potatoes in the camp kitchen. He remembered the print, but said they were all gone. Then he thought for a moment and said that he still had the block and offered to pull a new print for me. I readily accepted. Not long after, I visited again and he gave me the print. What a fantastic experience for me. At that time Tom was about ninety years of age, and I think he enjoyed pulling the print as much as I did receiving it.

What Rost’s obituary didn’t say was that he created well regarded WPA murals that can still be found in three Midwest post offices; two in Wisconsin---Elkhorn (1938) and Lancaster (1940), and one in Paoli, Indiana (1939). He also created a number of prints for the WPA, but the exact number is uncertain. He was a charter member of the Wisconsin Printmakers, a group that originated in 1935. His prints can be found in two of their Wisconsin Artist Calendars, 1936 and 1937. He exhibited numerous times with the Wisconsin Painters and Sculptors and at the Wisconsin Salon in Madison, Wisconsin in the 1930’s. He also exhibited at the Art Institute of Chicago and other institutions.

 

Tom Rost  "Excavators"   woodcut  11.25"h x 15"w  1934

Tom told me this was his favorite print.

 

 

Tom Rost "Camp Honey Creek"   woodcut  4"h x 6"w  1934

 

 

Tom Rost   untitled (Newspaper Seller)  woodcut  5"h x 8"w  no date

 

 

Tom Rost  "Winter Farm Chore"  woodcut  11"h x 14.25"  1933

 

 

Tom Rost  untitled (Outside the Factory)  woodcut  11"h x 13.25"w  1934/35

I have two of this print. One is dated 1934 the other 1935.

 

 

Tom Rost  untitled (Mixing Cement)  woodcut  12"h x 15.5"w  1934

 

 

Tom Rost  "Dump Wagon"  woodcut 10.75"h x 14.24"w  no date

 

 

Tom Rost  "Quarry at Grafton" (Grafton, Wisconsin)  woodcut  4"h x 6"w  no date

I have seen this print with the title "Lime Kiln".

 

 

Tom Rost  "Lunch Hour"  woodcut  8"h x 10"w  no date

 

 

Tom Rost  "Caulkers"  woodcut  6.5"h x 8.75"w  1934

 

 

Tom Rost  "Peeling Potatoes"  woodcut  10"h x 8"w  no date

I think the original date was 1934. Rost printed this in the late 1990's but I don't know if it is considered a restrike, since it was pulled by the artist himself.