Charles Julius Umlauf (1910- 1994) was the sixth of eight children born to French and German immigrant parents on a farm outside South Haven, Michigan. When he was eight, the family moved to Chicago. Umlauf’s fourth grade teacher recognized his talent and helped him earn summer scholarships at the Art Institute of Chicago. Working under master sculptors Lorado Taft and Albin Polasek, Umlauf gained competence in a wide array of media. In 1937, Umlauf married fellow Art Institute student Angeline “Angie” Allen. The couple moved to Austin in 1941 when Umlauf became a Life Drawing and Sculpture professor at the University of Texas’s art department. He taught at UT for 40 years, retiring as Professor Emeritus in 1981.
Umlauf’s sculptures range from haunting expressionism, to detailed neoclassical realism, to lyrical abstraction. His materials are equally diverse: exotic woods, terra cotta or cast stone in his early work, rich bronzes and alabasters and luminous marbles in his prime. With equal facility, Umlauf sculpted family groupings, whimsical animals, religious and mythological figures, and sensuous nudes.
Umlauf won numerous prestigious awards, including a Guggenheim Fellowship and a Ford Foundation Grant. Locally he was honored in 1985 by the Houston Art League as “Texas Artist of the Year” and in 1993 by the City of San Antonio as “Alcalde.” Public collections and museums across the United States own his work, including the Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C. and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York City. In Texas, there are more Umlauf sculptures in public locations than there are works by any other single sculptor.
REF: Umlauf Sculpture Garden and Museum
I've visited the Umlauf Sculpture Garden and Museum in Austin, Texas on several occasions and spent a lot of time meandering the sculpture garden taking photographs of the many angelic and religious sculptures by important artist, Charles Umlauf (1910-1994). My intent is to frame my photographs and offer them for sale. This bronze sculpture titled "Nun" was created in 1972. This figure, in a traditional habit and hood, stands with her eyes closed and hands clasped together in prayer.
All my frames are used and re-used for my photographs using the existing glass or plexiglass with new paper backing, new hardware (sawtooth hanger), and new wall bumpers to protect your wall surface from damage and keeps your picture straight on the wall.
Measures 17” high x 11’ wide; ready to hang
Photograph by Alice Lowe