Louis Maurer (February 21, 1832 – July 19, 1932) was a German-born American

lithographer Lithography () is a planographic method of printing originally based on the immiscibility of oil and water. The printing is from a stone (lithographic limestone) or a metal plate with a smooth surface. It was invented in 1796 by the German a ...

, and the father of the American painter

Alfred Henry Maurer Alfred Henry Maurer (April 21, 1868 – August 4, 1932) was an American modernist painter. He exhibited his work in avant-garde circles internationally and in New York City during the early twentieth century. Highly respected today, his wor ...

. He was the last surviving artist known to have been employed by

Currier and Ives Currier and Ives was a New York City printmaking business that operated between 1835 and 1907. Founded by Nathaniel Currier, the company designed and sold inexpensive, hand painted lithographic works based on news events, views of popular cult ...

. Prior to his death, Maurer was extensively interviewed about the firm by collector and connoisseur Harry T. Peters for his book ''Currier & Ives, Printmakers to the American People''. Maurer was born in Biebrich, Germany, and studied

anatomy Anatomy () is the branch of biology concerned with the study of the structure of organisms and their parts. Anatomy is a branch of natural science that deals with the structural organization of living things. It is an old science, having it ...

, mechanical drawing, and lithography in

Mainz Mainz () is the capital and largest city of Rhineland-Palatinate, Germany. Mainz is on the left bank of the Rhine, opposite to the place that the Main joins the Rhine. Downstream of the confluence, the Rhine flows to the north-west, with Ma ...

before immigrating to the United States in 1851. He began working as a lithographer at the firm of T.W. Strong in 1852. Later that same year he joined Currier and Ives, working there until 1860. Maurer's series '' The Life of a Fireman'' (1854) was a popular lithography series produced for

. (These prints inspired sculptor John A. Wilson's Firemen's Memorial.) During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states ...

, Maurer worked as a shooting instructor in Palisades Park. He was later a partner in the lithography firm of Heppenheimer & Maurer until his retirement in 1884. Maurer began to study art in an academic setting at the age of fifty, first at the Gotham Art Academy and later at the

National Academy A national academy is an organizational body, usually operating with State (polity), state financial support and approval, that co-ordinates scholarly research activities and standards for academic disciplines, most frequently in the sciences but ...

under

William Merritt Chase William Merritt Chase (November 1, 1849October 25, 1916) was an American painter, known as an exponent of Impressionism and as a teacher. He is also responsible for establishing the Chase School, which later would become Parsons School of Design. ...

. Maurer's archives are located at the American Antiquarian Society. Gallery File:The Life of a Fireman - Currier and Ives.png, The Life of a Fireman, lithograph for ''

'', 1854 File:The American Fireman by Louis Maurer 1858.jpg, ''The American Fireman - Always Ready,'' 1858 File:Louis Maurer - The Great Royal Buffalo Hunt - 1895.jpg, ''The Great Royal Buffalo Hunt,'' 1895

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1832 births 1932 deaths American centenarians Men centenarians German emigrants to the United States American lithographers {{printmaker-stub