Alfred A. Sessler (1909–1963) was an American artist known for his murals for the

Works Progress Administration The Works Progress Administration (WPA; renamed in 1939 as the Work Projects Administration) was an American New Deal agency that employed millions of jobseekers (mostly men who were not formally educated) to carry out public works projects, i ...

(WPA), his printmaking, and his career as a teacher.

Biography

Sessler was born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin,on January 14, 1909. He attended the Layton School of Art in the early 1930s. He later attended the Milwaukee State Teachers College, graduating in 1944. He earned his Master of Arts degree the following year from

University of Wisconsin–Madison A university () is an educational institution, institution of higher education, higher (or Tertiary education, tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several Discipline (academia), academic disciplines. Universities ty ...

. Sessler painted two murals for the

New Deal The New Deal was a series of programs, public work projects, financial reforms, and regulations enacted by President Franklin D. Roosevelt in the United States between 1933 and 1939. Major federal programs agencies included the Civilian Cons ...

art project, the

Treasury Section of Fine Arts The Treasury Section of Painting and Sculpture was a New Deal art project established on October 16, 1934, and administered by the Procurement Division of the United States Department of the Treasury. Commonly known as the Section, it was rena ...

. He painted the mural entitled ''Gager’s Trading Post on the Wadsworth Trail'' for the United States post office in

Morris, Minnesota Morris is a city in and the county seat of Stevens County, Minnesota, United States. The population was 5,105 at the 2020 census. Morris is surrounded by some of the nation's richest agricultural land, and agribusiness is important to the loca ...

. He also painted the mural entitled ''Lumbering in Early Lowell'' for the

Lowell, Michigan Lowell is a city in Kent County of the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 3,783 at the 2010 census. Lowell is part of the Grand Rapids metropolitan area and is about east of the city of Grand Rapids. The city is mostly surrounded by ...

post office. Sessler also created lithograph prints for 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 Administrati ...

. In 1945 Sessler began teaching at the University of Wisconsin–Madison where he founded their graphic arts program. Sessler is credited with creating the color reduction woodcut. He taught at University of Wisconsin until his death. Sessler died on September 16, 1963, in Madison, Wisconsin. His work is in the collection of the

National Gallery of Art The National Gallery of Art, and its attached Sculpture Garden, is a national art museum in Washington, D.C., United States, located on the National Mall, between 3rd and 9th Streets, at Constitution Avenue NW. Open to the public and free of char ...

, the

Smithsonian American Art Museum The Smithsonian American Art Museum (commonly known as SAAM, and formerly the National Museum of American Art) is a museum in Washington, D.C., part of the Smithsonian Institution. Together with its branch museum, the Renwick Gallery, SAAM holds o ...

, and the

Syracuse University Syracuse University (informally 'Cuse or SU) is a Private university, private research university in Syracuse, New York. Established in 1870 with roots in the Methodist Episcopal Church, the university has been nonsectarian since 1920. Locate ...

Art Museum. In 1988 the Wisconsin Academy of Sciences, Arts, Letters Gallery held a retrospective of his work entitled ''The prints of Alfred Sessler from 1935 to 1963''. In 2015 Sessler was included in the exhibition ''Founders & Visionaries: Wisconsin Jewish Artists from the Milwaukee Art Museum'' at the

Jewish Museum Milwaukee Jewish Museum Milwaukee is located in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, USA. The Jewish Museum Milwaukee's mission is to preserve and present the Jewish experience through the lens of Greater Milwaukee, and to celebrate the continuum of Jewish heritage and ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Sessler, Alfred A. 1909 births 1963 deaths People from Milwaukee American artists Federal Art Project artists