Ferdinand Louis Schlemmer (September 26, 1892 – 1947) was an American artist.

Biography

FritzSchlemmerPortraitOfHisNephewPhilipWeidling

Ferdinand Louis 'Fritz' Schlemmer was born and raised in

Crawfordsville, Indiana Crawfordsville is a city in Montgomery County in west central Indiana, United States, west by northwest of Indianapolis. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 16,306. The city is the county seat of Montgomery County, the only cha ...

, the son of Otto and Louise (Miller) Schlemmer. He enrolled in

Wabash College Wabash College is a private liberal arts men's college in Crawfordsville, Indiana. Founded in 1832 by several Dartmouth College graduates and Midwestern leaders, it enrolls nearly 900 students. The college offers an undergraduate liberal arts cur ...

but soon left to study art in Chicago. He was noted as an athletic swimmer and basketball player. Along with Harold Heaton, Earl Russell, Fern Hobart Doubleday, he was extremely active for a couple of years in the "Paris Players" group traveling all over the United States to give performances for Chautauquas. While in Muskegon, Michigan the local Chronicle noted that their "Man Outside," was "screamingly funny," and the "most enjoyed program in this year's Chautauqua." Their group was embodied in the Redpath Chautauqua company. In the Columbus (Georgia) Daily Enquirer, Monday May 29, 1916, Fritz Schlemmer was praised as a "master of lighting effects," as well as mentioning his painting talents adding to the "effectiveness of the production." Schlemmer was listed as having been in the Indiana National Guard for five years when he registered for World War I on May 25, 1917 (World War I Draft Card) while in Madison County, Mississippi during his Chautauqua days. He was listed as being "tall, of medium build, had brown hair and dark brown eyes." Both his World War I and World War II draft cards list his birth date as September 26, 1891, as does his birth certificate in Crawfordsville, Indiana. Schlemmer was commissioned a first lieutenant with the

89th Infantry Division (United States) The 89th Infantry Division, originally known as the "89th Division," was an infantry formation of the United States Army that was active during World War I, World War II, and the Cold War. History World War I The 89th Division was official ...

in 1917 and served as Divisional Camouflage Officer during the Meuse-Argonne Offensive in

World War I World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...

.''Swift, Beth'' (2005),
Fritz Schlemmer was an Artist for Town, College
, Crawfordsville Journal Review. July 19, 2005. After the war he studied in Paris and also spent winters in Florida where he did society portraits. During the summers he studied in

Provincetown, Massachusetts Provincetown is a New England town located at the extreme tip of Cape Cod in Barnstable County, Massachusetts, in the United States. A small coastal resort town with a year-round population of 3,664 as of the 2020 United States Census, Provincet ...

, at the

Cape Cod School of Art The Cape Cod School of Art, also known as Hawthorne School of Art, was the first outdoor school of figure painting in America; it was started by Charles Webster Hawthorne in Provincetown, Massachusetts Provincetown is a New England town located ...

. He returned to Crawfordsville in 1923 and opened a studio. In 1924 he married Beatrice Deane and they had one daughter, Beverly. He was appointed "Artist in Residence" at

in 1939. Schlemmer had 19 pieces accepted into the

Hoosier Salon The Hoosier Salon is an annual juried art exhibition that features the work of Indiana artists and provides them with an outlet to market their work. The Hoosier Salon Patron's Association, the nonprofit arts organization that organizes the event, ...

over a period of seven years. He died on March 12, 1947, of

Addison's disease Addison's disease, also known as primary adrenal insufficiency, is a rare long-term endocrine disorder characterized by inadequate production of the steroid hormones cortisol and aldosterone by the two outer layers of the cells of the adrenal ...

Gallery

File:John Jacob Coss by Ferdinand Louis Schlemmer.png, Portrait of John Jacob Coss by Ferdinand Louis Schlemmer File:Fritz Schlemmer Paris Street Scene unsigned.jpg, Paris Street Scene by Ferdnand Louis Schlemmer

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Schlemmer, Ferdinand Louis 1892 births 1947 deaths Painters from Indiana 20th-century American painters American male painters United States Army personnel of World War I United States Army officers Military personnel from Indiana 20th-century American male artists