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IN MEMORIAM
CHARLES JULIUS UMLAUF
The Umlauf Sculpture Gardens and Museum, located
in Austin, Texas, and the considerable body of work abounding
in all parts of the United States in private and public collections,
attest to the prolific creativity of one of America's renowned
artist-teachers, Charles Julius Umlauf. The University of Texas
at Austin is fortunate in having had an art professor of his
greatness to bring distinction to our fair city and to the state
of Texas. His entire life was dedicated to his art, and upon
his death he left a legacy in sculpture from which aspiring artists
and art lovers can draw inspiration.
Charles Julius Umlauf was born on July 17, 1911,
in South Haven, Michigan. He was raised in Chicago, Illinois,
during the great depression, an unlikely time for a young man
to contemplate entering a field that held little financial promise.
But for Umlauf it was not a question of financial gain; for him
there was no other choice. From his early childhood his preoccupation
with materials, which he carved and fashioned into images, would
lay the cornerstone for a distinguished career ahead. The Art
Institute of Chicago became the formative environment for Umlauf.
The Institute offered a Saturday program for talented youngsters,
and the school became an important part of his life. In addition,
the Chicago Art Museum and its very special Ryerson Art Library
in the same building offered a rare opportunity to study the
masters. Immediately after graduation from high school, Umlauf
commenced his formal art education. After completing three years
(1929-1932) at the Institute, and before returning in 1934 for
two more years, he accepted a job as an assistant at the Chicago
Institute of Sculpture under the direction of Viola Norman. While
working long hours at her school of art, he created two sculptures
that were exhibited at the 1933 World's Fair on the shore of
Lake Michigan --- a rare feat for a young and unknown artist.
Charles Umlauf, even in those early years, displayed
an amazing skill in his interpretation of the human figure. He
developed an appreciation for anatomy from studying the works
by the great sculptors Donatello, Rodin, Bourdelle and others
as well from his teacher in sculpture, Albin Polasek. His anatomy
instructor, Allen Philbrook, known for his strictness, gave him
the highest grade ever obtained in the anatomy class up to that
point. There were frequent visits on Saturdays and Sundays to
the Field Museum and Shedd Aquarium, located on the lake front,
always with a sketch book at hand. He would later convey to his
students that without a true knowledge of what lies beneath the
skin, one cannot possibly understand the human form.
The artist's veneration for life, especially for
the human form, and the skills he possessed in coordinating materials
and ideas, resulted in highly individual, expressive works of
art. He did not confine himself to a restricted, stylistically
traditional mode of sculpture that emulated the great masters
but was also absorbed in the carvings by primitive, tribal artists.
Inspired by Cubism, he experimented with interpretation of form
and space in geometric compositions.
Umlauf's works through the years fully demonstrate
his dexterity and his mastery of carving, be it in stone or hardwood.
His work in clay, however, held the greatest fulfillment for
him. The most expressive body of work completed in his lifetime
was achieved in this medium, which he could fashion briskly into
forms with a variety of moods and purposes. Pietàs, portraits
and animal came to life, embued with vitality. His ability to
capture, fresh, the intrinsic character of an animal or a human
figure and to give each a unique expression, demonstrates an
intuitive grasp of the artistic dilemma of when and where to
stop. This masterful touch is also evident in the countless drawings,
completed as sketches for the works to be realized in clay, stone
or bronze, although he sometimes approached these workings in
wax. He often drew directly on the block of stone or wood before
he proceeded to carve. Umlauf's religious portrayals, whether
of Christ or saintly figures, became symbols of the human spirit
and love for all mankind. During the period in his sculpture
in which he utilized distortion, the contortion of form was not
a manifestation for its own sake, but used to emphasize suffering
experienced especially in times of overwhelming loss, poverty,
and war. During his early years, Umlauf also devoted some of
his time to painting and this medium posed no problems for one
so gifted, whatever the subject matter.
In 1941, soon after receiving Chicago news media
recognition for his War, Mother and Refugees, the new
College of Fine Arts at the University of Texas at Austin offered
Charles Umlauf the position of instructor in sculpture, which
he accepted. Organized and run by professional artists under
a sympathetic administration, the Department of Art afforded
the young sculptor precious time for his own creative work while
his career as a teacher would sustain him and his family in comparative
security. His students at the University remember Professor Umlauf
as a kind, sensitive, and caring teacher who, although a hard
taskmaster, listened to their problems and offered them professional
and helpful advice. For his dedication to his profession, the
students in the department presented him with a Teaching Excellence
Award.
We learn of his convictions in his own words:
... an artist must continue to observe
and study, specializing in the period or kind of art most suited
to his abilities and taste. This I feel, develops one's sensitivity
and broadens one's vocabulary...that by personal discipline and
determination one gains a certain freedom...but it must be earned.
Umlauf's colleagues respected him as one of the
most gifted amongst them, and he was greatly admired by his many
patrons. Upon his retirement from the University, he worked in
his studio at home where he continued to produce works, both
modest and monumental in size. He often traveled to Italy to
oversee their casting in bronze.
Charles Julius Umlauf was a prolific, creative
and dedicated artist who brought enrichment to all who were touched
by his presence and the eloquence of his art. When he died on
November 19, 1994, he left behind a magnificent body of art works
in which his presence will continue to be felt in the years to
come.
To accompany this Memorial Resolution, the members
of the Committee prepared the individual statements reproduced
below. A chronology may be found in The Sculpture and Drawing
of Charles Umlauf. Essay by Gibson A. Danes. University of
Texas Press, 1980.
Letter From Kenneth Prescott
Professor Charles Umlauf was a strong and powerful
man, yet a kind and generous person, completely dedicated to
his profession as artist and as teacher in the Department of
Art. The students fortunate enough to have him as a teacher will
always carry with them a vivid memory of the experience. So will
every faculty member who served with him. He was a master art
teacher in the best sense of the term, one who taught by demonstration
and one who insisted on the highest standards in judging the
students' work. He was not to be persuaded to use class averages
or award grades for simply a good effort. Within the Department's
governing board, the Budget Council, his well-reasoned and forceful
suggestions and conclusions molded the progress and growth of
the Department of Art through the years. Those who had disagreements
with Umlauf would remember them well. New and inexperienced faculty
had good reason to regard him with awe, for Charles Umlauf would
brook no nonsense or artistic shortcuts that bypassed the fundamentals
he knew to be essential for the successful teaching of studio
art.
As ever more faculty members who served with Umlauf
retire to be replaced by new teachers with new ideas, the foundry,
equipment and procedures that he instigated will change. But
for years to come, somewhere in the world there will be students
who reflect the fundamentals taught by Charles Umlauf at the
same time as they reach for their own personal expressions.
While I served as chairman of the Department of
Art in the '70s and early '80s I profited greatly by Umlauf's
advice and assistance. For me the strength of his handshake was
matched by the sincerity of his support. On the rare occasions
when we did not agree, he made certain that I knew the reason.
When Charles Umlauf retired, he left a big vacuum.
I missed him then, and now that he is gone, I again experience
the feeling that an essential character has left the stage. However,
we are all fortunate to have here in Austin the Umlauf Sculpture
Garden and Museum, where his spirit will always live in the works
that he created. We are grateful to his friend and patron, Roberta
Crenshaw, who worked tirelessly for many years to make this,
Charles Umlauf's dream, come to fruition, and to his wife, Angelina,
whose never wavering support played no little role in making
the artist's achievements possible.
Kenneth W. Prescott
Professor Emeritus
Letter from William Kelly Fearing
In 1945 the Fort Worth Art Association presented
the work of Charles Umlauf with a one man exhibition in the gallery
of the Old Fort Worth Public Library. I was teaching at Texas
Wesleyan College in Fort Worth at that time and had never had
contact with Umlauf's work. This exhibition made a deep impression
on my esthetic appreciation of sculpture. It was a beautiful
show, and my students and I made many trips to it enjoying and
studying Umlauf's sculpture and drawings. Umlauf had been present
at the opening and I had the pleasure of meeting him. His warm
and forceful personality made a deep impression.
When I became a member of the Art Department faculty
at the University of Texas at Austin in 1947, Umlauf and I soon
became friends, and we remained close friends for 45 years.
I admired Umlauf's artistic knowledge and his
frankness in sharing it. His understanding of human anatomy was
fantastic, and on a number of occasions I benefited from his
knowledge. Once after we had lunch together I asked if he would
like to drop by my studio to look at a painting in progress on
my easel. Looking at my work for a moment I was surprised when
he asked for a pencil, not a crayon or brush, just a pencil,
which I obligingly provided. I was more than surprised when he
started carving into my canvas with the sharp point of the pencil
making corrections in the anatomy of the figures I was developing
in the painting. His verbal criticism was superb; his sculptural
remarks that were left required a sizable amount of impasto painting
to restore the canvas surface. Nevertheless I was most grateful
for his informative corrections. I had no other colleague who
would have made such bold suggestions on my work. I liked that
about Umlauf and accepted his frankness and sincerity.
For a number of years he and I worked out together
with weights at a local gym. This training helped to strengthen
the grip in my small hands, and I learned how to return an acceptable
response to his crippling handshake. Musician friends refused
to shake hands with Umlauf. Since no one I knew could return
that handshake in the way he gave it I don't believe he was ever
fully aware of the devastation his greetings brought. However,
as Umlauf offered his outstretched hand, his generous greeting
smile with its warm durability more than compensated for the
pain from that mighty handshake.
I hadn't seen as much of Charlie in recent years
as I would have liked; and as it so often happens when someone
has suddenly departed only then do we realize that empty space
in our feelings which they had occupied in our lives when they
were alive. Umlauf's death left this kind of emptiness in my
being...until I came back to the scope of his work. No great
artist can outline his art and his ideas. That empty space I
had felt by his departure has now been filled with a new and
greater feeling in me by his art. His sculpture lives, his ideas
gain new dimensions and are there like his outstretched hand
to greet me, somewhat more gentle, but with all the force I felt
from Umlauf's living presence.
William Kelly Fearing
Ashbel Smith Professor Emeritus
Letter from Paul Peter Hatgil
Charles Julius Umlauf served as chairman, along
with his teaching duties, in the year 1951 when I was appointed
to teach at the Art Department at the University of Texas at
Austin. My duties consisted of sharing the heavy teaching load
in sculpture with Charles, not realizing at the time that I would
be in the presence of a noted and famed sculptor. Very soon I
began to respect Charles and consider him my mentor and role
model because of his dedication and knowledge of his subject.
As a young man embarking on the beginning of a career in the
arts, and as an instructor at an institution of higher learning
and not yet having the experience in teaching and directing students,
I relied heavily on my mentor's patience and guidance in the
classroom. During the critique sessions when we jointly appraised
the student work for grading he would point out the successes
of my students' work and what I needed to do to better aid those
whose work needed improving. It was a good time to listen and
not be heard.
Although a hard taskmaster, Charles was an extremely
sensitive person and ready to offer his assistance in time of
need. In those years of my formative development as an artist
I was most fortunate to be in the company of such a devoted teacher
and artist. In those early years, when the department was still
in its infancy, we would fire the student clay work in a building
that served as a barracks during World War II. The kiln or firing
oven would reach temperatures nearing 3000 degrees, and the danger
of burning the building down was always a strong possibility.
Charles, with fire extinguisher in hand, would clamber into the
attic to inspect the roof supports while I would shout from down
below and above the din of the gas blowers, "Is everything
O.K., Charles?" Fortunately, through countless firings we
managed to keep the building intact. The barracks were soon torn
down to make room for new facilities and a great increase in
faculty members, but the tribulations and having to do with sparse
facilities and the times of initial growth will remain in my
memory.
My teaching at the Art Department improved over
the years, earning me two teaching excellence awards. These awards
would not have been possible without the early instruction I
received from Charles.
Paul Peter Hatgil
Professor Emeritus
<signed>
Larry R. Faulkner, President
The University of Texas at Austin
<signed>
John R. Durbin, Secretary
The General Faculty
This Memorial Resolution was prepared by a special
committee consisting of Professors Kenneth W. Prescott (Chair),
William Kelly Fearing, and Paul Peter Hatgil. Professor H. Paul
Kelley assisted in editing the resolution.
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