Works
Biography
The Red Silo
Winold Reiss (1886-1953) was an artist and designer who emigrated to the United States from Germany in 1913. Probably best known as a portraitist, Reiss was a pioneer of modernism and well known for his brilliant work in graphic and interior design. A compassionate man who greatly respected all people as human beings, he believed that his art could help break down racial prejudices. Like his father Fritz Reiss (1857-1915), who was also an artist and who was his son's first teacher, Winold Reiss was artistically moved by diverse cultures. The elder Reiss focused on folk life in Germany while Winold drew substantial inspiration from a range of cultures, particularly Native American, Mexican, and African-American.
As did many young aspiring artists, Winold Reiss studied with the esteemed painter and teacher Franz von Stuck at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Munich, which was at that time a center of the decorative and fine-arts movement. It is not known whether Reiss met E. Martin Hennings (1886-1956) and Walter Ufer (1876-1936), who were also studying at the Royal Academy about that time and who later became members of the Taos Art Society. All of these artists' works depict elements taught by von Stuck.
Romantic visions of the West had spread across France and Germany through the tales of artists who had already visited the western portion of the United States. The popular novels of German author Karl May (1842-1912), whose stories of the American west filled young minds with travel and adventure tales, dealt with noble Indians and cowboys and offered moral lessons. Young Reiss was an avid reader of May's books.
It was often due to the American railroad companies' commissions that artists were enabled to travel in the West, paint the native peoples, and enjoy the magnificent landscapes. Some of them, like Ernest Blumenschein (1874-1960), Ernest Hennings and Walter Ufer, as well as many European artists who had settled in the East, went to the Southwest where they were supported through the commissions of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway Company's advertising campaign. Winold Reiss, however, headed to the Northwest. He chose Montana as his destination after hearing about the Blackfeet Indians and Glacier Park from his friend H.V. Kaltenborn, editor of the Brooklyn Eagle, who had traveled there earlier. After his first trip to Montana in January of 1920, Reiss was able to return to Glacier Park many times in a long-lasting collaboration with the Great Northern Railway. His works graced the calendars, menus, playing cards, and souvenirs of the Great Northern Railway for thirty years, thus reaching a wide audience.
Reiss's works remain well known today, in part because of the railroad calendars and souvenirs produced from his portraits. However, his work—like that of other great artists and illustrators such as Norman Rockwell—survives and flourishes not just as a result of the Great Northern's printed matter but because he captured a very recognizable and uniquely American theme. Reiss also expressed the great feeling for color and design that his native friends favored. He rendered his subjects in a way that conveyed honor, beauty, and dignity upon them, free of racial prejudice. His own unique style can be viewed as a synthesis of bold, colorful graphic design, skillful drawing, and fine art.
As did many young aspiring artists, Winold Reiss studied with the esteemed painter and teacher Franz von Stuck at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Munich, which was at that time a center of the decorative and fine-arts movement. It is not known whether Reiss met E. Martin Hennings (1886-1956) and Walter Ufer (1876-1936), who were also studying at the Royal Academy about that time and who later became members of the Taos Art Society. All of these artists' works depict elements taught by von Stuck.
Romantic visions of the West had spread across France and Germany through the tales of artists who had already visited the western portion of the United States. The popular novels of German author Karl May (1842-1912), whose stories of the American west filled young minds with travel and adventure tales, dealt with noble Indians and cowboys and offered moral lessons. Young Reiss was an avid reader of May's books.
It was often due to the American railroad companies' commissions that artists were enabled to travel in the West, paint the native peoples, and enjoy the magnificent landscapes. Some of them, like Ernest Blumenschein (1874-1960), Ernest Hennings and Walter Ufer, as well as many European artists who had settled in the East, went to the Southwest where they were supported through the commissions of the Atchison, Topeka & Santa Fe Railway Company's advertising campaign. Winold Reiss, however, headed to the Northwest. He chose Montana as his destination after hearing about the Blackfeet Indians and Glacier Park from his friend H.V. Kaltenborn, editor of the Brooklyn Eagle, who had traveled there earlier. After his first trip to Montana in January of 1920, Reiss was able to return to Glacier Park many times in a long-lasting collaboration with the Great Northern Railway. His works graced the calendars, menus, playing cards, and souvenirs of the Great Northern Railway for thirty years, thus reaching a wide audience.
Reiss's works remain well known today, in part because of the railroad calendars and souvenirs produced from his portraits. However, his work—like that of other great artists and illustrators such as Norman Rockwell—survives and flourishes not just as a result of the Great Northern's printed matter but because he captured a very recognizable and uniquely American theme. Reiss also expressed the great feeling for color and design that his native friends favored. He rendered his subjects in a way that conveyed honor, beauty, and dignity upon them, free of racial prejudice. His own unique style can be viewed as a synthesis of bold, colorful graphic design, skillful drawing, and fine art.
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