Walter Ufer, Going East, 1917
(shown at the Art Institute of Chicago, National Academy of Design, Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, It depicts the Mirabal family taking the twenty mile pilgrimage out to Sacred Blue Lake)
Tor has added the following book about Walter Ufer to our library:
The Klauer Family of Dubuque Iowa : A Story of Patronage - by Dean A. Porter PhD, 2019
…………. The Palette and Chisel receives prominent mention at the beginning of Ufer’s career, with seated quotes as follows :
After experiencing the 1913 Armory Show at The Art Institute of Chicago, he (Chicago Mayor Carter H. Harrison) became actively involved in the Chicago contemporary art scene. In November 1914, he fathered the Commission for Encouragement of Local Art, a program that budgeted city funds to acquire art to decorate public buildings in Chicago. Beneficiaries of this program were future Taos Society of Artists' painters Victor Higgins, Walter Ufer and E. Martin Hennings-all of who would eventually become friends with Klauer. Harrison appointed Higgins to represent the Palette and Chisel Club on the board of the Commission. In fact, Harrison appears to have also played an influential role in the juried shows at The Art Institute. After Harrison and his syndicate sponsored Ufer and Higgins's trips to New Mexico, the two artists became frequent prizewinners at The Art Institute.
Walter Thor, Im Atelier (Die Frau des Künstlers), 1903
Walter Thor, 1910
There were a number of teachers the American artists were attracted to while in Munich, many of whom were considered old school. Both Ufer and Hennings studied with Walter Thor ( 1870-1929) hose reputation for his portraits of Tyrolean peasants made him a master ~f the academic style of realism. Thor had a private school that both artists joined.2 At the age of thirty-five, Ufer was too old to join the Academy, but managed to learn as much as he could from the opportunities available to him. Ufer enjoyed describing the duress he experienced while painting. He was thrilled to be in Thor's class. Working with ·he man he called a "great teacher," Ufer wrote about his painting Woman of Dachau :
ALL of my fellow students liked it very much. Thor came in on Friday and immediately walked to my painting. He stood studying it. Asked me if I had a palette knife. I gave him one. One, two, three and he had scrapped it off I was mad. He said that it was very good and this [was} to see if it was an accident. He said to the monitor 'This model poses another week and Ufer is to choose any position he wants.' I could hardly wait until Monday came. I chose my position and did it work! I'll say so. At the end of that week he came again complemented me, saying it was better than the first - 'Now I know you can paint, Ufer.
They all returned from Europe with their trunks filled with paintings. Higgins was offered a one man show at the Palette and Chisel Club soon after reaching Chicago. Higgins exhibited thirty-five paintings and was awarded the Club's Gold Medal in the first of two Palette and Chisel Club exhibits. He was awarded a gold medal in the Club's Gold Medal Show in 1913 followed by a Silver Medal the next year.
Initially denied a show, Ufer had to wait until March 1914 for his exhibit. There is no record that Hennings ever had a solo show at the Palette and Chisel Club, even though he was a prominent member.
The Palette and Chisel Club provided welcomed exposure. The club was founded in 1895 and was the second oldest artists' organization in America. Its purpose was to provide a place for work and study as well as a venue for exhibitions. Among its membership were Charles Marion Russell and George Bellows, ·later joined by Higgins, Ufer and Hennings. All three held administrative posts in the organization, with Ufer serving as President in 1917. The Palette and Chisel Club played a critical role in attracting key patrons to their paintings. During Ufer's March 1914 show, he sold paintings to the Harrison brothers, Andreas Wackenreuter and their friends. Even though several of the sales only netted between $20 and $50, Ufer had been discovered. His career as a fine arts painter, like that of Higgins, had been launched. Ufer made a major commitment of time and energy to the club. He organized programs for the club, invited an impressive number of lecturers, and organized circuit exhibitions of the members' art. Despite his efforts, he found he had to resign his presidency. In his letter of resignation, he claimed he had been: "grossly misjudged by his fellow members, and finds this an insult to his good service as President"
