A Georgian Artist

Today's post is provided by Nan D., a art/ art history teacher on a German artist with big Georgia connections!

 Enjoy!

Lady in Red Hat dressed to the Nines ca. 1985 Stained glass mosaic

 Women Women Wearing Red Hat 1984

Flowers in Vase ca 1982 stained glass mosaic



"I am Welsh by ancestry, German by birth, an American by adoption, and Southern by choice."
-Steffen Thomas

Biography

1906

• Born Fürth, Bavaria, Germany

1920-1923

• Apprenticed as stone carver - sculptor

1924

• Completed courses in Drawing and Sculpture, School of Applied Arts, Nürnberg (Nuremberg), under the tutelage of Professors Widmer and Rumelin.

1925-1928

•    Studied Classical Sculpture, Academy of Fine Arts, Munich, with Professors Herman Hahn, Joseph Wakerle, and Bernhard Bleeker.
•    Studied architecture at Munich Technical School and anatomy at University of Munich’s Medical School.
•    Awarded Master Student status and a Certificate of Recognition in 1927.
•    Exhibited regularly at the Glaspalast (Glass Palace) in Munich, where he won awards for sculpture and had his art displayed with works by Modern Art Masters, such as Van Gogh, Matisse, Picasso, and Munch.

1928

•    Came to the USA to work as a sculptor on Mar-a-Lago, the Palm Beach estate of E. F. Hutton and Marjorie Merriweather Post. (Estate now owned by Donald Trump, who operates it as the Mar-a-Lago Club)

1929

•    Returned to Germany briefly, and then came back to USA to establish himself as a sculptor.
•    Completed several portrait commissions in Alabama

1930

•    Opened his first professional studio in Atlanta, GA, established himself as a sculptor, and began receiving commissions for public sculpture.

1933

•    Married Sara Douglass, a City of Atlanta school teacher.

1935

•    Became an American Citizen

1939-1941

•    National Youth Administration (NYA), art supervisor for Georgia, under the WPA.

1941-1972

•    Moved from Atlanta to Stone Mountain, GA, raised four children, built large studio, house and sculpture garden
•    Completed many public sculptures, several on monumental scale
•    By mid 1950’s began devoting himself to creative art, working in many media

1973-1989

•    Moved with his wife Sara back to Atlanta •    Continued to work on a smaller scale in sculpture, painting, drawing and printmaking

1990

•    Died on January 27, 1990

1997

•    Sara Douglass Thomas, Steffen Thomas' widow, established the Steffen Thomas Museum of Art, a nonprofit museum dedicated to Steffen Thomas' life and art.
Public Collections, Exhibitions, and Awards

1920s

Glaspalast (Glass Palace), Munich, invited to exhibit his sculpture many times
Academy of Fine Arts, Munich, Award of Excellence for Laboré, a sculpture of a mother and children

1930s

Berry College Museum Collection, Rome, GA, marble bust of Martha Berry
Georgia State Capitol Rotunda, Atlanta, marble bust of Moina Michael, the Poppy Lady
Tuskegee Institute, bronze bust of George Washington Carver (now at the Carver Museum, Tuskegee University)
Piedmont Park Collection, Atlanta, Pioneer Women, bronze plaque
High Museum, Atlanta, exhibition

1940s

National Youth Administration, Georgia, Plow Boy and Youth, monumental plaster sculptures
Georgia State College for Women, bust of Chief Justice Richard B. Russell
State Capitol Building, Atlanta, US Senator Hoke Smith, bronze plaque
University of Georgia, Chancellor Charles M. Snelling, bronze bust
University of Georgia, Sanford Stadium, Chancellor S. V. Sanford, bronze bust
Scottish Rite Hospital, Decatur, GA, Dr. Michael Hoke, bronze plaque
State Capitol Building, Atlanta, Charles H. Herty, bronze bust
Atlanta University, Atlanta, Dr. John Hope, bronze bust
State Capitol Grounds, Atlanta, GA, Eugene Tallmadge Memorial, colossal bronze on granite base
Young Harris College, North Georgia, Dr. Joseph A. Sharp, bronze bust

1950s

Vicksburg National Military Park, Vicksburg, MS, Alabama Memorial
Courthouse, Vienna, GA, bust Senator Walter F. George
Smithsonian Institute, Washington DC, exhibited
High Museum, Atlanta, Southeastern Art Show, exhibited
Sculptor’s Society, NYC, exhibited
Fulton National Bank Lobby, Atlanta, Robert Fulton, Fulton Steamboat, and Atlanta City Hall, cast aluminum murals
West Point Military Academy Collection, West Point, NY, Class of 1915 Monument
State Capitol Building, Atlanta, bust Governor John M. Slaton

1960s

Emory University, Atlanta, exhibition
Jens Rison, Decorative Arts Center, Atlanta, exhibition
High Museum of Art Permanent Collection, Atlanta, St. Francis and the Wolf of Gubbio, bronze

1970s

Lord and Taylor Art Gallery, Atlanta, exhibition
Agnes Scott College Permanent Collection, Decatur, GA, Mother and Child, over life size marble, selection of small sculptures and paintings
Fulton County Collection (Roswell Library Grounds), Atlanta, Reclining Madonna and Child, marble
Callanwolde Arts Center Permanent Collection, Atlanta, Bird of Prey, limestone carving; Girl on a Motorcycle, limestone carving; and selected paintings
Dodd Art Center Permanent Collection, LaGrange College, LaGrange, GA, selected paintings, drawings, and prints
Ty Cobb Museum Permanent Collection, Royston, GA, Ty Cobb, drawing
Museum of Arts and Science Collection, Macon, GA, selected sculptures, paintings and drawings
City of Atlanta Collection and Urban Design Award, Trilon, welded copper fountain sculpture
Warm Springs Hospital Campus, Warm Springs, GA, FDR, monumental concrete head
Museum of the City of Mobile Permanent Collection, Mobile, AL, Alabama Memorial, plaster model
St. Johns Museum of Art, Wilmington, NC, exhibition

1980s

St. Johns Museum of Art, Wilmington, NC, Freedom of the Figure, traveling exhibition
Bryant Galleries, New Orleans and Jackson, MS, exhibitions
St. Johns Museum of Art Permanent Collection (now Cameron Art Museum), Wilmington, NC, selected works
Albany Museum of Art Permanent Collection, Albany, GA, Sowing the Seeds, painting
Southern Company, selected as feature artist for a national ad campaign
Gwinnett Council for the Arts Permanent Collection (now Hudgens Center for the Arts), Duluth, GA, selected sculpture and paintings
Georgia Governor’s Award in the Arts, for lifetime achievement in the arts

1990s

Publication of Art of Steffen Thomas, by Alan Aiches and Anthony Janson, catalogue for traveling exhibition.
Broome Street Gallery, NYC, Art of Steffen Thomas, exhibition
Lauren Rodgers Museum, Laurel, MS, Art of Steffen Thomas, exhibition
Museum of Arts and Sciences, Macon, GA, exhibition
SCAD, Savannah, GA, exhibition
Hudgens Center for the Arts, Duluth, GA, exhibition

Steffen’s Desk Mosaic in glass ca. 1973

~Nan D. Art/Art History Teacher

Steffen Thomas in his Atlanta Studio


Thanks for reading! And thank you, Nan, for this awesome post!

Be sure to check out her teacher resource art project for kids of all ages and grades!

MJ

Steffen Thomas Museum -

4200 Bethany Rd
Buckhead, GA
30625