BORN: 1888, Rostock, Germany

DIED: 1976, West Bend)

German born Robert von Neumann began studying art at the Vereinigte Staatschulen fur freie und angewandte Kunst (United State Schools for Free and Applied Arts) in Berlin. At the school, he studied under German illustrator and designer, Bruno Paul, and Czech painter and lithographer, Emil Orlik, from the years 1910 to 1914.

When WWI cast a shadow over Europe, von Neumann served on the German infantry. After the war, he taught in Berlin and moved to the United States in 1926. He settled in Milwaukee and began working on the art staff of the Milwaukee Journal and as a lithographer. From 1929 to 1930, he taught at the Layton School of Art and from 1930 to 1959, he was a faculty member of the Wisconsin State Teachers College.

In 1933, von Neumann became a naturalized citizen and moved to Gloucester, Massachusetts to study under Hans Hoffman at the Earnest Thurm School of Art.

Von Neumann was a founding member of the Wisconsin Watercolor Society and served as President of Wisconsin Painters and Sculptors during 1931 and 1932. He was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Fine Arts in 1972. In 2007, he became a recipient of the Wisconsin Visual Arts Lifetime Award.

Von Neumann has exhibited at various institutions including National Academy of Design and for the World’s Fair of 1939. His works can be seen in collections of the Milwaukee Art Museum, Library of Congress, and Bibliotheque Nationale.

SOURCES:

Print Club of Albany, Biography of Robert Von Neumann via askART, http://www.askart.com/artist_bio/Robert_Franz_Von_Neumann/11182245/Robert_Franz_Von_Neumann.aspx.

Museum of Wisconsin Art (MOWA) Archives: http://www.wisconsinart.org/archives/artist/robert-franz-albert-von-neumann/profile-111.aspx