Alfons Baumgart (1887-1962)
 

Alfons Baumgart was born in Russia and he traveled throughout Europe and the United States as a child of an architect who designed large Cathedrals and Churches.  

 

As a boy, Baumgart was fascinated with his father’s work.  He especially enjoyed watching the artists as they created and painted murals throughout the buildings that his father had designed.  At an early age, Baumgart started drawing and shaping designs of his own.  His father was very impressed with his son’s ideas and many were incorporated into the work of his father.  

 

His interest in art continued to grow during his adolescent years and he graduated from the Royal Academy of Art of Munich, Germany In 1905.  He was a special student of Herrmann Brusch and continued to study throughout Europe and the United States from 1905 to 1913.

 

Baumgart lived in Minneapolis for most of his adult life, working as an artist, interior decorator, and art instructor.  He exhibited at The Beard Art Gallery in Minneapolis during the early 1900s.

 

Many of Minnesota’s large early churches have murals and other architectural designs that were created by Baumgart.  He also designed murals for many other buildings in the area which included: the old Radisson Hotel, the Dyckman Hotel, and Bridgeman’s Ice Cream Parlor on Hennepin Ave. 

 

Large portions of Baumgart’s work are landscapes depicting rural Minnesota.