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Karl Priebe

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Karl J. Priebe
Karl Priebe, c. 1950
Born(1914-07-01)July 1, 1914
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
DiedJuly 5, 1976(1976-07-05) (aged 62)
Milwaukee, Wisconsin
NationalityAmerican
EducationLayton School of Art
School of the Art Institute of Chicago
Known forPainter
Notable workMadonna and Child
MovementSurrealism
AwardsPrix de Rome: 1941[1]

Karl Priebe (July 1, 1914 – July 5, 1976) was an American painter from Milwaukee, Wisconsin whose studies and paintings of birds, exotic animals, and African-American culture won him national and international recognition.[2]

Biography

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Karl John Priebe was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, to Emil Priebe (1873–1949) and Catherine Wacker (1876–1955). He graduated from the Layton School of Art, where he studied under Gerrit V. Sinclair, before moving on to the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, which he graduated from in 1938. After serving on the anthropology staff of the Milwaukee Public Museum (1938–42) and as director of the Kalamazoo Institute of the Arts (1943–44), he moved to New York City, becoming one of the few Wisconsin artists of his generation whose paintings were shown at major public and private galleries, among them the Museum of Modern Art.[3]

Priebe (second from left) with Frank Roy Harriott, Edward Atkinson, and Tom Kemp in January 1948, photographed by Carl Van Vechten

While in Manhattan, Priebe befriended many artists, including photographer Carl Van Vechten, with whom he maintained a long correspondence.[4] Vechten sent a number of his photographs to Priebe, including after the latter's return to Milwaukee. Priebe's collection of photographs by Van Vechten eventually amounted to 4,000 items.[5]

Priebe drew the inspiration for his works from numerous locations. After he became an instructor at the Layton School of Art, his paintings of exotic animals brought him further recognition and can be attributed to his numerous trips to the Milwaukee County Zoo.[6][7][8] He first became interested in African-American culture when, as an art student in Chicago, he taught a class in a settlement house largely attended by African Americans. His Black figures, he recalled later, were not intended as portraits, but were taken from his memories of people he saw in the settlement house.[9] Throughout his creative life, Priebe was known for his love of Black culture. He was a longtime friend of jazz singers Billie Holiday and Pearl Bailey, writer Langston Hughes, painter Charles Sebree, and musician Dizzy Gillespie.[10][11][12]

In 1941, Priebe was awarded the Rome Prize for Visual Arts by the American Academy in Rome, though, because of the onset of WWII, he was unable to use the grant to study in Europe.[13] Along with painters Gertrude Abercrombie, John Wilde, Marshall Glasier, Dudley Huppler, and Sylvia Fein, he made up a loose group of artists known as the Wisconsin Magic Realists.[7][14][15][16]

The last public exhibition of Priebe's works took place at Marquette University in February 1976, featuring over a hundred works.[17]

Personal life

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Karl Priebe with Nancy Berghaus in 1975

Priebe was gay.[8][12][18][19] In 1944, Priebe had a brief romantic relationship with writer Owen Dodson.[20]

Between 1945 and 1955, he shared his life with New York writer Frank Roy Harriott.[21]

In his later years Priebe suffered from a number of ailments. In November 1975, he had one of his eyes surgically removed, and his health began to decline. He died from cancer at his home in Milwaukee on July 5, 1976, at the age of 62.[3]

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Karl J. Priebe Papers, ca. 1900-1978 // Archives // Raynor Memorial Libraries // Marquette University".
  2. ^ Levy, Hannah Heidi (2004). Famous Wisconsin Artists and Architects. Oregon, WI: Badger Books. p. 145. ISBN 978-1932542127.
  3. ^ a b Auer, James (July 6, 1976). "Artist Priebe Dies at 62". Local News. Milwaukee Journal. Milwaukee, WI. p. 1 & 3. Retrieved 2025-07-29.
  4. ^ "The Postcard Correspondence from Van Vechten to Priebe, 1946-1956". Marquette University. Milwaukee, WI. 2025. Retrieved 2025-07-29.
  5. ^ "Additional Collections of Carl Van Vechten Photographs". Library of Congress. Washington, DC. 2025. Retrieved 2025-07-29.
  6. ^ "Karl Priebe: Young Midwest Artist Lives and Paints in an Odd World of Fantasy". Life Magazine. New York. November 24, 1947. p. 68. Retrieved 2025-07-29.
  7. ^ a b Cozzolino, Robert (2005). With Friends: Six Magic Realists, 1940-1965. Madison, WI: Elvehjem Museum of Art. p. 84. ISBN 978-0932900005.
  8. ^ a b Wagner, R. Richard (2019). We've Been Here All Along: Wisconsin's Early Gay History. Madison, WI: Wisconsin Historical Society Press. p. 154. ISBN 978-0870209123.
  9. ^ Jensen, Dean (February 6, 1976). "Color, Music Fill Priebe's World". Milwaukee Sentinel. Milwaukee, WI. p. 5.
  10. ^ Robinson, Jontyle Theresa; Greenhouse, Wendy (1991). The Art of Archibald J. Motley, Jr. Chicago: Chicago Historical Society. p. 57. ISBN 978-0913820155.
  11. ^ Merrill, Peter C. (1997). German-American Artists in Early Milwaukee: A Biographical Dictionary. Madison, WI: Friends of the Max Kade Institute for German-American Studies. p. 100. ISBN 0924119012. Retrieved 2025-07-29.
  12. ^ a b Snyder, Michael (2022). James Purdy: Life of a Contrarian Writer. New York: Oxford University Press. p. 59. ISBN 978-0197609729.
  13. ^ Key, Donald; Kirkhorn, Michael (October 20, 1968). "A Retrospective of Karl Priebe". Milwaukee Journal. Milwaukee, WI. p. 4.
  14. ^ Seaman, Donna (2017). Identity Unknown: Rediscovering Seven American Women Artists. New York: Bloomsbury. p. 40. ISBN 978-1620407585.
  15. ^ Wainwright, Lisa (2006). Things of Nature and the Nature of Things: John Wilde in the McClain Collection. Madison, WI: Chazen Museum of Art. p. 9. ISBN 978-0932900982. Retrieved 2025-07-29.
  16. ^ Caples, Garrett T. (2014). Retrievals. Seattle, WA: Wave Books. p. 82. ISBN 978-1933517988. Retrieved 2025-07-29.
  17. ^ "Priebe Exhibit Scheduled at MU". Part 3. Milwaukee Journal. Milwaukee, WI. January 23, 1976. p. 12. Retrieved 2025-07-29.
  18. ^ Dervaux, Isabelle (2005). Surrealism USA. New York: Hatje Cantz / National Academy Museum. p. 42–43. ISBN 978-1887149143.
  19. ^ Masterson, Paul (July 3, 2017). "Remembering Wisconsin's Forgotten Gay Artist, Dudley Huppler". Shepherd Express. Milwaukee, WI: Louis Fortis. Retrieved 2025-07-28.
  20. ^ Hatch, James V. (1995). Sorrow Is the Only Faithful One: The Life of Owen Dodson. Urbana: University of Illinois Press. p. 117. ISBN 978-0252064777. Retrieved 2025-07-29.
  21. ^ Cozzolino, Robert (2018). "The Sorceress in the Center of Everything". In Karma Gallery (ed.). Gertrude Abercrombie. New York: Karma. p. 56. ISBN 978-1949172027. Retrieved 2025-07-28.
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Archival collections
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