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 and also, later in his career, for murals.

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 Af ...

and

Rudolf Jettmar Rudolf Jettmar (10 September 1869, Tarnów — 21 April 1939, Vienna) was an Austrian painter and printmaker. The largest collection of the work of Rudolf Jettmar in the United States is held by the Jack Daulton Collection in Los Altos Hills, ...

; he also travelled to Germany for studies under

Wilhelm Trübner Wilhelm Trübner (February 3, 1851 – December 21, 1917) was a German realist painter of the circle of Wilhelm Leibl. Biography Trübner was born in Heidelberg. He was the third son of a silver- and goldsmith, Johann Georg Trübner, and h ...

and Heinrich von Zügel. Matzal's studies were interrupted by active duty with the Austro-Hungarian army during World War I. 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 and of the New York branch of the

Schlaraffia Schlaraffia is a worldwide German language, German-speaking society founded in Prague (then Austrian Empire) in 1859 with a pledge of friendship, art and humor. The Schlaraffen, an exclusively male organization (many men of a mellower age and in ...

, 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 Ralph A. Villani (September 11, 1901 – February 28, 1974) served as Mayor of Newark, New Jersey from 1949 to 1953. To date he is the last elected mayor of Newark from the Republican party. Biography Villani was born in Elizabeth, New Je ...

and New York City Mayor Jimmy Walker. During the period 1922–1929, nine different portraits by Matzal were selected for the exhibitions of the National Academy. 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 (FAP), a branch of the Works Project Administration. 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, Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, and

Mark Twain Samuel Langhorne Clemens (November 30, 1835 – April 21, 1910), known by his pen name Mark Twain, was an American writer, humorist, entrepreneur, publisher, and lecturer. He was praised as the "greatest humorist the United States has p ...

. 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 which convey ...

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

* 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 Artists from Newark, New Jersey Artists from Vienna 1890 births 1956 deaths 20th-century American painters American male painters 20th-century American male artists Austrian emigrants to the United States