Leopold Charles Matzal (August 13, 1890 – November 22, 1956) was a 20th-century Austrian-American visual artist. He was a realistic painter, known in New York City and northern New Jersey for his society

portraiture A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face is always predominant. In arts, a portrait may be represented as half body and even full body. If the subject in full body better re ...

and also, later in his career, for

mural A mural is any piece of Graphic arts, graphic artwork that is painted or applied directly to a wall, ceiling or other permanent substrate. Mural techniques include fresco, mosaic, graffiti and marouflage. Word mural in art The word ''mural'' ...

Life

Matzal was born on August 13, 1890, in Vienna, Austria, the second of the four children of Carl and Eleanora Prögelhof Matzal. He studied at the Imperial and Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Vienna, 1909–1919. At the Royal Academy, Matzal studied under

Alois Delug Alois Delug (25 May 1859 – 17 September 1930) was an Austrian painter and a professor at the Academy of Fine Arts, Vienna. He may be remembered best for his supposed role in rejecting Adolf Hitler's application to join the academy. Life A ...

and Rudolf Jettmar; he also travelled to Germany for studies under

Wilhelm Trübner Wilhelm Trübner (February 3, 1851 – December 21, 1917) was a German Realism (visual arts), realist Painting, painter of the circle of Wilhelm Leibl. Biography Trübner was born in Heidelberg. He was the third son of a silver- and goldsmit ...

and

Heinrich von Zügel Heinrich Johann von Zügel (22 October 1850, Murrhardt – 30 January 1941, Munich) was a German painter who specialized in pictures of farm and domestic animals, often posed with a human in a dramatic or humorous situation. Life Beginning in 1 ...

. Matzal's studies were interrupted by active duty with the

Austro-Hungarian army The Austro-Hungarian Army, also known as the Imperial and Royal Army,; was the principal ground force of Austria-Hungary from 1867 to 1918. It consisted of three organisations: the Common Army (, recruited from all parts of Austria-Hungary), ...

during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

. In 1921 he emigrated to the United States. Matzal's first wife died in 1924, and in August 1929 he married Elsa Grasme of Hoboken. He taught at the

Newark School of Fine and Industrial Arts Newark School of Fine and Industrial Art (NSFIA) was a city-run vocational and art school in Newark, New Jersey. Opened in 1882 as the Evening Drawing School, its name was changed in 1909 to the Fawcett School of Industrial Arts, and changed agai ...

in New Jersey, 1928–1956. He was a member of the

Salmagundi Club The Salmagundi Club, sometimes referred to as the Salmagundi Art Club, is a fine arts center founded in 1871 in the Greenwich Village section of Manhattan, New York City. Since 1917, it has been located at 47 Fifth Avenue. , its membership rost ...

and of the New York branch of the Schlaraffia, a German arts organization. After a long illness, Matzal died on November 22, 1956, at St. Mary's Hospital, Orange, NJ.

Work

Matzal's portraits of State Supreme Court Justice James F. Minturn and State Chancery Court Vice-Chancellor John J. Fallon were both hung in the State House, Trenton, NJ. His portrait of Hoboken Mayor Patrick R. Griffin was hung in the Hoboken City Hall. Matzal also painted portraits of Newark Mayor Ralph A. Villani and New York City Mayor

Jimmy Walker James John Walker (June 19, 1881November 18, 1946), known colloquially as Jimmy Walker and Beau James, was an American attorney, lyricist, and Democratic Party politician who served as the 97th mayor of New York City from 1926 until his resign ...

. During the period 1922–1929, nine different portraits by Matzal were selected for the exhibitions of the

National Academy A national academy is an organizational body, usually operating with state financial support and approval, that co-ordinates scholarly research activities and standards for academic disciplines, and serves as a public policy advisors, research ...

. Matzal also painted landscapes and seascapes, in both oil and watercolor, especially of scenes in New England and the Catskill Mountains of New York. Matzal painted two murals under the auspices of the

Federal Art Project The Federal Art Project (1935–1943) was a New Deal program to fund the visual arts in the United States. Under national director Holger Cahill, it was one of five Federal Project Number One projects sponsored by the Works Progress Administratio ...

(FAP), a branch of the

Works Project Administration The Works Progress Administration (WPA; from 1935 to 1939, then known as the Work Projects Administration from 1939 to 1943) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to c ...

. In 1937 he executed a mural at the Branch Brook School for Crippled Children. This mural depicted scenes from children's fairy tales. Matzal completed a second FAP mural in 1939, this one at the Bergen Branch (later renamed the Miller Branch) of the Jersey City Free Public Library. This mural featured scenes from the writings of

Washington Irving Washington Irving (April 3, 1783 – November 28, 1859) was an American short-story writer, essayist, biographer, historian, and diplomat of the early 19th century. He wrote the short stories "Rip Van Winkle" (1819) and "The Legend of Sleepy ...

Henry Wadsworth Longfellow Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (February 27, 1807 – March 24, 1882) was an American poet and educator. His original works include the poems " Paul Revere's Ride", '' The Song of Hiawatha'', and '' Evangeline''. He was the first American to comp ...

, and

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by the pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, and essayist. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has produced," with William Fau ...

. In 1949 Matzal painted murals depicting the four seasons for the Stacy-Trent Hotel in Trenton, NJ, and then in 1950 two large murals of English deer hunting scenes for the Roost Restaurant of Newark, NJ.

Notable students

* Maurice Bilton *

Leo Dee Leo Dee (July 8, 1931—November 22, 2004) was an American artist and teacher. A native of Newark, New Jersey, he achieved first regional and then national prominence for his "incredibly detailed" and realistic silverpoint drawings that conveyed ...

Helen Frank Helen Frank (born 1930) is an American artist from New York City, New York and New Jersey. She is known for her etchings and Watercolor painting, watercolors of New York City, New Jersey, arts appreciation, cultural identity, immigration, women's ...

* William D. Gorman * Mel Klapholz * Louis Konwiser * Louis Legakis * Felix Nestele * Warren Padovan * Michael Stoffa"Oil Painting Demonstration At Local Bank".
''The Times'' (Scotch Plains-Fanwood, NJ ) Vol. 9, No. 1. January 4, 1968. p. 10. * Charles Waterhouse

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Matzal, Leopold Charles American portrait painters American muralists Austrian-American history Painters from Newark, New Jersey Painters from Vienna 1890 births 1956 deaths 20th-century American painters American male painters 20th-century American male artists Austrian emigrants to the United States