Karl J Priebe was an American painter from Milwaukee, Wisconsin whose studies and paintings of birds, exotic animals, and African-American culture won him international recognition.
10 Facts About Karl Priebe
1.
2.
Karl Priebe graduated from the Layton School of Art, which closed due to financial insolvency in 1974.
3.
Karl Priebe studied at the School of the Art Institute of Chicago, graduating in 1938.
4.
Karl Priebe was one of the few Wisconsin artists of his generation to escape the regionalist label and win showings in prestigious galleries, like those in New York City.
5.
Karl Priebe's paintings were shown at major public and private galleries, among them the Milwaukee Art Museum, the Corcoran Gallery, Museum of Modern Art, and the Art Institute of Chicago.
6.
Karl Priebe drew the inspiration for his works from numerous locations.
7.
Karl Priebe 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.
8.
Karl Priebe was the only Milwaukeean ever to receive the Prix de Rome, an honor accorded to him in 1941.
9.
Karl Priebe was a longtime friend of such jazz greats as Billie Holiday, Pearl Bailey and Dizzy Gillespie and of painters Gertrude Abercrombie and John Wilde.
10.
Karl Priebe died at his home in Milwaukee after a long struggle with cancer on July 5,1976, at the age of 62.