My Father Winold Reiss — Recollections by Tjark Reiss

58 Queen City Heritage My Father Winold Reiss — Recollections by Tjark Reiss

W. Tjark Reiss wouldn't think of sitting for an artist. One of his traits that impressed me, particularly as I grew up, was his total lack of racial prejudice. He enjoyed people, and he tried to To look back on the years spent with my experience humanity in all its diversity. This love and father — from my earliest memories of him until his death respect that he carried for the rich variations on the in 1953 — is to remember some of the greatest experiences human theme is seen in his portraits. The many racial and of my life. There's a richness and a glow to these years that national types that he painted express an underlying digni- outshines anything since, and I think it's not just the rosi- ty and humanity. He saw not only what race his subjects ness of memory but comes from the vividness and strength were but also wanted to know their ethnic backgrounds and warmth of the person my father was. He was a great and to have a sense for how it had affected them. and talented man to be associated with, whether as father, He was the first artist to devote much atten- friend, teacher, or colleague. A strong memory of him is tion to painting portraits of Blacks. He would go up to from early childhood, when he, my mother, and I were Harlem, and to the Cotton Club, and become completely living at 4 Christopher Street in New York City. I remem- immersed in Black culture. He loved the music that he ber snuggling in bed with my parents in the morning, heard there. He felt that Blacks — unlike whites — could then frolicking around on the bed, feeling utterly secure wear almost any bright color and handle it well because of and happy.1 the strong contrast offered by their skin color. He particularly liked bright colors, especially ultramarine blue and English vermillion red. Except in his woodcuts and pastel drawings of people with black hair he did not know the color black. He was quite adamant about this, and knew that in reality, what most people saw as black was usually a deep purple. It was his conviction that if you wanted to have the colors show properly, there should always be some white to give a proper contrast. My father had taken a very comprehensive course on color in his student days at the academy in Munich. It included the theory of color as well as the actual making and mixing of the paints. When he did interior designing, and the professional painters had trouble mixing some of the colors he specified, he could quickly tell them what they had to add to get the color he wanted. His studies also included work in color chemistry, which helped him a great deal in his work. Most of his pictures have proved to be colorfast and have not faded or deterio- rated in the sunlight, the way so many pictures now do. He always used permanent colors and good paper and canvas. The only period when this was not so was during Figure 1 World War II when it was impossible to get some of the My father had a tremendous sense of good colorfast pastels from Germany. He was also very humor, was generous, got along with people very well, conscious of the poisonous effects of some paints and cau- and was able to get people to pose for him who normally tioned students about getting any paint in the mouth

W. Tjark Reiss, retired Engineering from My father, Fritz Wilhelm Credits for the illustrations in Assistant Director of Massachusetts Institute of Winold Reiss married this article are listed on Educational Facilities Technology in 1934 and is a Henriette Anna Luthy, my page 80. Planning, New York State practicing licensed architect mother, in the fall of 1912. Education Department, is New York. My mother and I arrived in received a Bachelor of New York in April 1914. Science in Architectural (Figure #1) Summer/Fall 1993 My Father Winold Reiss 59 On October 22,1913, my father sailed on the ' ] SS Imperator, from Hamburg, Germany. On the ship he met Oscar Wentz, inventor, entrpreneur, and businessman; and A.L. Baumgarten whose brother Otto, a Viennese HK -J; • restaurateur and later owner of the Voisin, the Crillon, and > & the Elysee, had an important influence on his career over the next thirty years. He arrived in Hoboken, New Jersey,

Iff, " '" * '- on October 29, and stayed at the Mills Hotel, down in the f v ... • ' 1 • Bowery, until he could find suitable quarters which turned out to be a studio at 16th Street and Fifth Avenue. My mother and I arrived in New York in April 1914 — I was three months old (having been born on December 27, in Munich). Shortly after our arrival my par- If ilLaHi \ ents rented a place in Woodstock in upstate New York Figure 2 because of the extreme danger of poisoning. He con- stantly experimented with new materials and techniques as well as with many different media, including charcoal, conte crayon, ink, oil, pastel, tempera, watercolor, dye, colored ink, and colored pencil. Besides his portraits, he did wood and linoleum cuts, batiks, textiles, graphics, designs for interiors, murals, industrial designs, and illustrations and magazine covers. He also created the largest mosaic murals in the United States, in the Cincinnati Union Terminal. This versatility served him well through the ups and downs of the 1920s, 1930s, and 1940s. If one eco- nomic avenue petered out, he turned to something else. He was never on WPA and supported himself by his own efforts throughout his life. In addition to carrying out his own artistic commissions, he was also a teacher, both in his own art schools and at New York University. For many years one of his main sources of income was his art school. Not only did he have a school in New York City but for several summers he also ran one in Woodstock. In the Figure 3 1930s he had an art school out in Glacier Park, Montana. since it was cheaper to live in the country. My mother and He taught mural painting at New York University from the I lived in the Woodstock area during the World War I late thirties through the 1940s. During World War II he years. On weekends my father would come up from the taught a course in the School of Architecture at NYU on city, where he was doing his best to earn a living. These the art of camouflage: how to disguise buildings, industrial years were not easy for a German national. Not that he was sites, military targets by modifying outlines and shadows pro-German, but having only come to this country in 1913, through the use of color and materials such as netting. the year before war broke out in Europe, he had a strong Although gregarious, Winold Reiss was a German accent and his English was not very good. very private person. He seldom joined clubs or societies, The prejudices of some of the local people at nor to my knowledge was he ever involved in any kind of that time are unforgettable. Our next-door neighbor in open dissent. During WWI he remained neutral in spite of Woodstock was a doctor who would catch me outside the his German citizenship (He became a U.S. citizen on house and tell me what horrible people I had for a mother March 14,1932). and father, who was German, and the Germans were doing

In the 1930s he had an art For several summers after school in Glacier Park, World War I Reiss ran an art Montana. (Figure #2) school in Woodstock, New York. (Figure #3) 60 Queen City Heritage

Figure 4 ghastly things like cutting off women's breasts and tortur- wood for us, which we needed for heating and cooking, ing people.2 because she was married to a German. People were actual- When my father was in Woodstock, he often ly annoyed at her for not divorcing my father because he rode horseback. One day he noticed another man on was a German. Oddly enough, she later divorced him, but horseback riding behind him. When it became obvious for a different reason. that the man was purposefully following him, my father After the house in Woodstock, we boarded stopped his horse, turned around, and asked what was at a working farm, the Lasher Farm in Bearsville. My par- going on. The man turned out to be from the Secret ents had the wonderful idea of hiring horses and a wagon Service. Some of the locals had reported that Mr. Reiss and of traveling around the countryside. They planned for was planning to poison the reservoirs in the area, which us to stay overnight at farmhouses along the way. We set served New York City. My father explained that he off with high enthusiasm, but found that no farmers enjoyed riding and as an artist was interested in land- would take us in. The farmers said that only gypsies trav- scapes, not in poisoning reservoirs. He suggested they ride eled in such a way and to be a gypsy was not desirable in together instead of in single file. After a few days of this their eyes. So, we had to turn around and go back to they became friendly, and the surveillance ended. Bearsville. After the war we continued to go to Woodstock When we lived in Woodstock, even though at various times, and my father ran an art school there for my mother was English,3 she couldn't get anyone to chop two or three summers. During these years, my dad was

In his Woodstock years, my father painted landscapes and portraits.(Figure #4) Summer/Fall 1993 My Father Winold Reiss 61 painting landscapes and portraits, one of which was of culture and undermine morality and good taste. Modern Konrad Cramer, the Woodstock artist and photographer. Art Collector, which had a beneficial effect on my dad's My father was instrumental in bringing mod- work, ceased in 1917, and he again found it necessary to ern art to the United States. In 1914 he helped found, diversify to make enough money to survive. In spite of along with his friend Oscar Wentz, the Society of Modern these difficult times, he never lost his sense of humor, nor Art in New York City and its magazine, the Modern Art his optimism, that eventually things would get better. Collector, or M.A. C. Many of the illustrations and covers It was ironic that my father suffered from were done by my father. There was also work by Konrad such suspicion during the war. Throughout his life, Cramer and Ilonka Karasz. The purpose of the M.A.C. was Winold Reiss was a pacifist, as was his brother Hans, who to introduce the new modern art form to Americans. His emigrated to Sweden in 1914 rather than stay in Germany.4 efforts to introduce this new art form, which seemed out- Violence was abhorrent to my father. For this reason, he landish to many, and his German accent and lack of fluen- would have no firearms of any kind. In 1920 when he went cy in English obviously made things very difficult. My to Mexico, everyone advised him to take a gun because of mother, an artist in her own right, was very active in pro- the civil war going on there. He refused, saying that his moting my father's work. People, who might not be eager pencil and paper would be greater protection, which to deal with a German, were receptive to mother, who proved to be the case. He tramped through the country- could move freely without incurring suspicion and prejudice since she was English. Father also did graphics and advertising work. This work, his pictures, exhibited at the Hanfstaengl Gallery, and the Winold Reiss Art School, which the M.A.C. magazine advertised, enabled my father to make a living during these years. World War I eventually killed the M.A.C, which was having important influence on modern art. A Chicago newspaper article called modern art a secret weapon of the Germans, designed to subvert American

Figure 6

side for months and several times he was surrounded by guerrillas. But he would take out his sketchbook and start drawing. This captured their interest, and they were soon glad to pose and sign the pictures. Had he had a gun he probably would have been killed. As a result of this trip, in 1923 my father illustrated an essay on Mexico written by Katherine Anne Porter, art editor for Survey Graphic magazine, who was in Mexico writing articles about the revolution at the time he Figure 5

The Winold Reiss School In 1914 Reiss helped found helped my father earn a the Society of Modern Art living. Artists such as Aaron and its magazine, Modern Art Douglas (standing middle), Collector. (Figure #6) and Ilonka Karasz (seated lower right) studied with my father (standing second from left). (Figure #5) 62 Queen City Heritage

COLOR GRAVURE Pictures in Natural Colors

Figure 7

On his trip to Mexico Reiss visited Zapata's headquarters at Cuernavaca, sketching soldiers, bandits, and revolu- tionaries along the way. (Figure #7) Summer/Fall 1993 My Father Winold Reiss 63 there. Porter wrote: Winold Reiss appeared one morning in Mexico City, quite out of nowhere, and invited me to walk to the cathedral of Tepozotlan with him that day. He had visited it in the beginning of his summer in Mexico — it was then November — and now wished to return for a final glimpse, and to take leave of his friend Captain Fernandes, who had charge of the ancient monastery for the Museum. He showed me some rather remarkable sketches of Indians and told an amazing story: he had tramped the states of Oaxaca, Jalisco, Puebla, and I think Morelos, though I am not sure, alone, unarmed, carrying enough food to last only --• 1 from one village to another. ^ This account hints at my father's stamina— the "walk" he proposed to Porter was a twenty-five mile hike.5 The connection with Survey Graphic led to commissions for a number of assignments, including one on St. Helena Island, South Carolina, painting members of the Penn Community School who were descendants of some of the last slaves brought over from Africa at the end of the Civil War and who had been dropped and left there. Because of their isolation, they had maintained an unusual ethnic purity, with no admixture with whites or other African Americans. My father produced an outstanding series of portraits, which appeared in the magazine. \ After we moved back to New York City from Woodstock, my father rented a building at 4 Christopher Street. It was an artist's dream. He actually Figure 8 made money on the building: he rented the basement to had done, no gallery would handle them because they the Four Trees Night Club as well as two stores on the didn't want their gallery full of Black visitors. The only street level. As a result the huge studio, which he used for place he could arrange for a show was at a Harlem library. his own work and the art school, was essentially free. Many years later these portraits were acquired by the Modest living quarters were in the studio part of the National Portrait Gallery in Washington, where they are building. now on permanent exhibition. He also spent a lot of time in Harlem where In 1923 my mother and father were he painted a variety of subjects, including many well- divorced,6 supposedly because of another woman — but I known Blacks. One of his portraits was of King Amoah III think it was also because of my mother's possessiveness, of the Gold Coast. Another was of Matt Hensen, who which my father couldn't stand. He needed a certain free- accompanied Admiral Peary to the North Pole. Hensen dom. After the divorce I lived with my mother, but she told interesting stories while posing, including how he had was quite understanding about letting me see a lot of my frozen and lost his toes in the dash to the pole. Not only father. When I was eight, I went to Europe with him and did my father associate with and paint men like W.E.B stayed with my grandparents in Switzerland and then with Dubois and Langston Hughes, educated Blacks who car- my grandmother, aunt, and cousin in Germany. My father ried the Harlem Renaissance, but he also painted the ordi- traveled extensively on this trip, painting portraits of nary people who were not well educated and who had German peasants as well as of the Oberammergau passion run-of-the-mill jobs, or no jobs at all. When my father players. He visited his brother Hans in Sweden, and paint- tried to arrange for exhibitions of the Black portraits he ed portraits of peasants there.

In St. Helena, South Carolina, he painted children of the Penn Community School whom Reiss believed were descendants of some of the last Africans brought to America under the slave trade. (Figure #8) 64 Queen City Heritage Much of the time Erika Lohman, a former other's artistic ability. Duncan dancer, accompanied him. My mother didn't Although I lived with my mother, I was know anything about this and would have been furious if always more than glad to go down to the studio in she had. It was a difficult and unfortunate situation for my Greenwich Village. It was a fascinating place to visit. Not father but he understood and was always glad to see me, only because it was where my dad lived and painted — I doing what he could to avoid compromising and embar- loved watching him paint — but also because of the rassing situations. During some of the Glacier Park sum- school, which meant that there were many students, mers, Erika lived on the west side of the park and would friends of my father's, business associates, and other inter- occasionally visit my father, whose studio was on the east esting people. Artists who visited included the sculptor side. An artist, originally influenced in her painting to Isamu Noguchi whose portrait he painted; his sister Ailes some extent by my father, she later developed her own Gilmour, a modern dancer; the photographer Nicholas style and produced some very fine work. My father contin- Muray; Alan Crane, a lithographer and former student; the ued his close relationship with Erika Lohman through the movie actress Wilna Hervey, and the artist (and his former 1940s.7 student) Marion Greenwood. The place was always hum- ming. Even Parker, the mounted policeman in the area, liked dropping in, ostensibly to visit my dad, but really on the chance that a nude model would be posing. The building and studio at 4 Christopher Street were unique. When the stores were not rented, my dad let Congo, a Zulu, stay in one of them. Congo, a very good-natured person, did many miscellaneous errands for my dad, the studio, and the students as well as performed African dances at the Congo Roof in the Alamac Hotel. The store Congo stayed in had a big show window, which he covered with a curtain for privacy. Sometimes he forgot about the curtain. If you approached 4 Christopher Street and saw a crowd standing out in front, you immediately knew that one, Congo had set a match to his great mop of hair; or two, he was training his boa constrictor. Congo believed that cutting his hair would seriously diminish his masculinity, and so he burned it off. It was a sight to see him lighting his hair and then patting it out with his hands. Since my father had designed the public rooms of the Alamac Hotel including the Congo Roof, he was able to arrange for Congo to dance there with his boa constrictor. Congo kept the boa in a box under his bed. It was an unforgettable experience to watch him take it out from underneath his bed and practice his dance routines. The boa constrictor, about eight feet long, would entwine itself around Congo's body. He had a tech- Figure 9 nique of stroking its throat to make the snake's muscles My father and Erika had much in common, relax which concerned my father who wondered if this but they never married. My father's divorce from my technique would always work. Congo reassured him it mother, I think, soured him on the idea of marriage. My would. Then one day when he was performing his snake mother, of course, could not really forgive him for what dance for the students, the boa constrictor would not she considered a most unacceptable lifestyle, which led her relax. After some time Congo lost all the color in his face. to seek the divorce.8 Despite their divorce, my parents The boa's muscles kept tightening, but Congo didn't maintained a fairly friendly relationship and valued each panic and kept on stroking until the snake finally released

Reiss's image of Alain Locke, editor of The New Negro: An Interpretation, captured the racial pride that Locke and other Black intellectuals of the Harlem Renaissance wished to project. (Figure #9) Summer/Falll993 My Father Winold Reiss 65

Figure 10

Figure 11

On a 1922 trip to Europe, my Erika Lohman had a close father traveled extensively relationship with my father painting portraits of German through the twenties, thirties, peasants as well as of the and forties, but they never Oberammergau passion married. (Figure #11) players. (Figure #10) Queen City Heritage watercolor. Bill Hooker was a pony express rider and an Oregon Trail Blazer of the 1870s. Other unique characters painted by Winold Reiss on his western trips included Fisherman Harrison, Sergeant Howard of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police; Hans Thompson, pioneer; "Colonel" E.A. Smith, at age ninety-four; Ewald von Hoffman; "Montana Red" Shy; and Henry Whitford. In the twenties, Americans tended to be conservative and uniform in their dress and usually wore clothing that did not vary much from the generally accept- ed style. In this respect my family was quite unusual. Maybe this was because of their artistic nature and European education, but in any case they all had the courage to dress as they wanted to. Fortunately they were talented and exercised good taste. My father wore smocks in his studio throughout his life. These Erika hand-embroidered and decorated with her own designs. My father did not care for the short American haircut and allowed his hair to cover his ears. His appearance was definitely that of an artist. I remember walking down Sixth Avenue with my father and my uncle, just after my uncle had come to this country. My uncle was wearing homespun clothing that he had brought Figure 12 from Sweden. Both had rather long hair, in fact my uncle's its grip on him. We all heaved great sighs of relief. hair was trimmed below his ears. We obviously made In 1925 at the persuasion of my father, my enough of a picture for people to turn around and stare at uncle emigrated to this country from Sweden. They lived us. I did not appreciate this and stared in return. My father and worked together until the early 1940s. My uncle, a and uncle, however, were totally unperturbed. sculptor and very accomplished in drawing and painting as My father had a healthy sense of humor (he well as in teaching, helped my father with many of his liked Wilhelm Busch, the German writer and humorist) commissions, particularly the murals for which he prepared and was a great practical joker— not in any malicious way, the canvases and enlarged the sketches to full size. My but just for innocent fun. A friend and business associate of uncle had few inhibitions. When he and my father were his, Bob Feldman, traveled in the subway with my dad, walking to Luchow's in Union Square for lunch — or and a third person who pretended to have a parrot under wherever else they happened to be walking — and saw a likely candidate for a portrait, he would try and talk the person into coming to my father's studio to pose. His effort usually paid off, and resulted in securing many quite interesting subjects. Among the interesting people who posed for Winold Reiss were the "King of the Hobos," whose portrait turned out to be a very fine one; William Henry Jackson, and Bill Hooker. Jackson (1843- 1942) was a pioneer photographer, historian, and artist of the West who took the first photographs of the Yellowstone region. While posing he described his life as a pioneer on the Oregon Trail and the Old Spanish Trail. In addition to the mass of photos he took, he also portrayed the West in Figure 13

Marion Greenwood, an artist Congo, a Zulu who at times and former student of Reiss, stayed at 4 Christopher was one of the numerous Street, believed that cutting interesting people and his hair would seriously business associates who diminish his masculinity and visited his studio. so he would burn it off. (Figure #12) (Figure #13) Summer/Fall 1993 My Father Winold Reiss 67 his coat, much to the interest of the other passengers. My father enjoyed music, and during his Feldman also told of a times in restaurants when one of youth his family often had musical evenings. He played the them pretended to speak only German, the other only flute, his brother Hans played the guitar, and his two sis- French, and the third only Hungarian. The waiter of ters sang. He brought the flute to this country, and course couldn't understand what they wanted, and they although I saw it, I never heard him play. He was too had a dramatic time explaining what they were ordering. absorbed in his art work. He also enjoyed jazz and classical In the end they all spoke English and told the waiter that music and loved to dance the foxtrot and the tango. At he really ought to learn a foreign language. parties when others were playing bridge, he would invite

WlNQl-D REl.'V.

Figure 14 For years my father had a cleaning woman by the name of Steinruck who had come over from Germany with her husband. Steinruck, who enjoyed having the students underfoot although she complained a lot, was a good-hearted soul. People took advantage of this, and played all sorts of practical tricks on her. She had only one failing, and that was that she liked to sneak a drink. My father was not a drinker, but he kept a bottle of whiskey on hand for guests. He noticed that the whiskey level was sinking lower and lower and realized that the only person who could be responsible for this was Frau Figure 15 Steinruck. My father and uncle decided they'd put a stop the young ladies to dance. In the early 1920s my dad orga- to it. They staged a conversation for Frau Steinruck to nized masquerade balls, which were very popular. My overhear, saying that someone had used the bottle to father was also a great movie fan and particularly liked relieve themselves. Ha! From then on, the liquor level westerns, because of the action and the horses and the remained stable. western landscapes.

Hans Reiss, brother of Pioneer photographer, Winold, helped with many historian, and artist of the commissions, particularly the West, William Henry Jackson murals for which he prepared who is credited with helping the canvases and enlarged to persuade Congress to the sketches to full size. create Yellowstone National (Figure #14) Park posed for Reiss. (Figure #15) Queen City Heritage My father had come to the U.S. with the an unforgettable experience, seeing the Indian tepees and idea of painting American Indians. He thought the Indians wagons surrounding the sun lodge. This always inspired would be living in the countryside outside the cities, much my father, who could not wait to see the wonderful local as the European peasants did. He was quite surprised to Indians as well as their guests. We spent much more time find that most of the Indians were far away in the West. at the Canadian Sun Dance than in Browning. James Therefore it took some time to raise the funds to travel Willard Schultz, the author of many Indian books, was there. Except for a brief visit to Browning, Montana in often there, and my father talked with him about his early 1919 my father did not have the opportunity to experience experiences while living with the Indians. Our camp of the West until 1927 when the Great Northern Railroad three or four tepees housed our Indian guests and provid- invited my father to go out to Glacier Park for the summer ed models for my father as well as for his art school. I and paint the Blackfeet Indians. The Great Northern would pick the Indians up from the reservation with Percy planned to use the portraits for indirect advertising, to Creighton, our interpreter, and bring them back with their encourage tourists to use the Great Northern Railroad and pots and pans and costumes and blankets and robes. When their hotels in Glacier Park. I accompanied him on this my father was painting, there were always a few Indians sit- trip, the first of many June to September journeys. ting around watching him, telling stories to each other and The best opportunity to see the Indians was commenting on the pictures. My father worked best with 9 at the Sun Dance, which was held in Browning, Montana, this constant murmur going on in the background. or near Cardston, Alberta, Canada. Not only were most of The Indians enjoyed posing in exchange for the Blackfeet or Blood present, but Crees, Crows, and pay and rations. Evening Pow-Wows were arranged for the Flathead, and tribes from other reservations in Alberta and students and visitors, which included participation in the Montana also joined in the celebration. In Canada the Sun dancing and singing. This was also an opportunity for the Dance was held ten miles from Cardston, Alberta, the Indians to make a little extra money. Ideal as this was for nearest community. The location and approaches here the Indians, there was always some individual who would were strictly controlled by the Canadian mounted police announce that he had to return to the reservation to "do who permitted only those with a written pass from the the haying." If they had been in camp only a short time Indian agent to attend. Approaching the celebration was and their pictures were not completed, this was a major inconvenience. It took some persuasion to have them delay their departure for a few days. Being a nomadic people they had to be on the move. Often no sooner had they returned to their haying but they sent word through others that they would like to come back. At this time the Indians had the status of "wards of the government." There was prohibition on the reservation, but in spite of this liquor was easily obtainable, and excessive drinking was a curse. My dad refused to tol- erate this and sometimes insisted that certain individuals return home. This was not a prudish attitude. He could not stand to see an Indian lose stature and dignity. Aside from the interesting histories he assembled, my father also documented the meaning of the many designs that adorned native Indian costumes. Each tribe had its own typical designs, and they were very beautiful. Those of the Blackfeet featured stylized rivers and mountains. With the more eastern Indians, flower designs indicated the influence of missionaries. My father did not believe in collecting Indian artifacts or clothing. He maintained that these beautiful artifacts should remain in the possession of the tribe. This resulted in embarrassing situa- Figure 16

On his trips west, Reiss painted many unique characters including Hans Thompson, a Bad Lands, South Dakota, pioneer. (Figure #16) J<.»$8*

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Figure 17

Figure 18

Reiss enjoyed music and In 1927 Great Northern loved to dance. In the early Railroad invited my father to 1920s he organized Glacier Park for the summer masquerade balls which were to paint Blackfeet Indians. very popular. (Figure #17) (Figure #18) 70 Queen City Heritage

Figure 19

Figure 21

Figure 20

The Indians enjoyed posing Tribes from reservations in Percy Creighton (Little Dog) in exchange for pay and Alberta, Canada, and served as interpreter. rations. In 1928 Reiss posed Montana joined the celebra- (Figure #21) with some of his Blackfeet tion of the Sun Dance. friends in Glacier Park. Left to (Figure #20) right: Unknown, Reiss, Plume, and Turtle. (Figure #19) Summer/Fall 1993 My Father Winold Reiss 71 tions, because the Indians often wished to give him something as a token of friendship. He would say that he would take the present next year, but after a couple of years of this the interpreter would indicate that the giver felt hurt and insist that my father accept the gift. One of the many things in life that my father really appreciated was the automobile. Cars gave him tremendous pleasure throughout his career. On our first trips to Montana we traveled by train but when we were there, we usually rented a car to get around to the Indians. Around 1930 my father decided it would be much better to go by automobile. He didn't drive, but my uncle did. My father began shopping for cars. He looked at all the options, but of course was interested in a car's appearance more than anything else, and the car he chose was a Hupmobile touring car. It was a beauty. We started out from New York and stopped at all kinds of places — I think it took us ten days to two weeks to make the trip. And of course, after Minneapolis and St. Paul the roads were dirt and usually washboard. My uncle attempted to teach my father how to drive, but this wasn't so easy. It took about two years before my father felt he could pass the driver's test.

Figure 23 For my high school graduation my father gave me a Ford Cabriolet, a two-seater. We also used this car for the trips out West during the summers when the art school in Glacier Park was going on. We had a regular car- avan, with other students who took students with them. It was very sociable. When we got out there, I put a trailer on the Cabriolet to pick up the Indians on the reservation and bring them to Many Glacier, where we had our camp. After several years my dad traded in the Hupmobile for his dream car, a Cadillac roadster. We used to drive out in the country on weekends in it. One summer we had no money, and we wondered how we'd get out West. My uncle was charged with talking to students and getting prepaid tuition which paid for the gas and the accommodations on the way out. However, when we got out to Glacier Park, our funds were so low that my dad put the Cadillac up on chocks in a garage. The excuse he used was that he wouldn't use such a beautiful car on the horrible roads. When we got back to New York that fall, things hadn't improved, so he gave me the job of selling it. I went to three or four places, and the most I could get was $600 for that gorgeous car. I remember how sad he felt Figure 22

Reiss documented the mean- Around 1933 he painted ing of many designs that Spider. (Figure #23) adorned native Indian costumes. His painting of Yellow Mink showed a sample of a typical Blackfoot design. (Figure #22) 72 Queen City Heritage My father felt that everybody had some sort of artistic talent — it just had to be brought out and developed in different ways. You Can Design, a book he wrote in collaboration with Albert Schweizer, stressed this point. He did not try to influence the students to paint exactly as he did but tried to encourage them to develop their own style. He encouraged young artists and gave scholarships to those who could not pay any tuition, including Aaron Douglas, a Black painter, and Acee Blue Eagle, an Indian painter. One of my father's best friends was Carl Link, a German, Munich-trained artist who had studied life drawing, graphics, interior design, and portraiture. On the last three trips West, he accompanied my father and painted some Indian portraits. He was particularly gifted in making quick, unstudied sketches of people in the sub- ways, restaurants, and the Horn and Hardart automats. He did this in a way not to reveal what he was doing although some individuals became a little annoyed and wondered why they were being so frequently observed.10 Among my dad's other friends was an artist who often helped on his murals. He was saving his money to return to Germany. My father tried to dissuade him, saying that after living here, life in Germany would seem very restricted. He went anyway and after a few years wrote back saying how sorry he was not to have followed my father's advice. To me this shows how much my father had responded to and appreciated the freedom he found in America. Figure 24 In 1927 at the end of the first summer in when he had to say, "Yes, sell it...." After that, as soon as Glacier Park, my father brought back about fifty pictures of he could afford a car again, he bought a Ford — and he Indians he had painted, and Great Northern bought the stuck to Fords (and enjoyed station wagons and convert- whole collection. This set him up for awhile financially, ibles) for the rest of his life. which was fortunate, because he soon received a rude The art school in Glacier National Park was shock. The City of New York notified my father that it was popular with my dad's students. Among the better-known going to dispossess him of 4 Christopher Street, because students were Marion Greenwood, Aaron Douglas, Alan the building was needed as a first aid center for the Crane, and Ludwig Bemelmans. Bemelmans enrolled in Independent Subway, which was about to be built. This the school for a month or two for a few years. My father was a catastrophe. He had the art school, and commissions told him that his style really should not be spoiled by too for interior designing and murals, and he also needed a much instruction. However, he came back each year, really place for his own painting. He had to have a large space. because he had a sharp eye for the ladies, and there were a After searching for many months he finallyfoun d an empty number of attractive girls in the school. We used to say, Butler Grocery warehouse at 108 West 16th Street. This "Well, here comes Bemelmans, looking for another girl!" raw space, 50 feet by 100 feet, had to be completely reno- He would come for a few weeks, meet somebody he liked, vated to meet his needs which included adding skylights, and then not show up again until the next year. This was partitions, toilet facilities, electricity, and heating. The an annual performance for several years and afforded us all expense was enormous. Fortunately he had just received some good laughs. the payment from Great Northern, all of which he invested

His dream car was a Cadillac roadster which he drove out in the country on weekends. (Figure #24) Summer/Fall 1993 My Father Winold Reiss 73 in the renovation. He insisted on a ten-year lease because which would be considerably more expensive than canvas. he was investing so much money into the building. Then So, he talked to the owners and said he would halve his fee came the 1929 crash after which few jobs came in. For the if they would apply this money to the project. He suggest- next ten years, the building drained all his hard-earned ed using mosaics only for the main figures in the murals income. He fell behind in his rent payments, so at the end and doing the backgrounds in stucco, which was a very of the ten years he had to agree to rent the facility for innovative idea. All the figures (about sixty in all) — steel another five years, to get the landlord to reduce the debt. workers, laundry machine workers, chemical workers, rail- At the new studio, at 108 W. 16th Street road workers — were drawn from life, with the models between Sixth and Seventh avenues, he hired a pianist to wearing the appropriate clothing, which my father brought play for his art school once or twice a week. The students back from Cincinnati. This was a great opportunity for him did imaginative drawing to the music, and it proved a very to include any of his friends who happened to be around popular innovation. the studio at this time. I was there a lot, and ended up pos- Just after moving into the W. 16th Street stu- ing for four or five of the figures. The preliminary sketches dio my father received the commission to do the murals were done with conte crayon on 30 by 22-inch sheets of for the new Cincinnati Union Terminal. This was an paper. These were enlarged to life size in oil on canvas. artist's dream — an opportunity to do something on a The life-sized figures were in turn doubled in size by the large scale, for a monumental building. The assignment Ravenna Mosaic Company. My father painted the figures included two giant murals for the rotunda, each 22 feet in a simplified technique using distinct color areas to high by 110 feet long, plus fourteen smaller industrial murals depicting the major industries of Cincinnati. The original agreement called for the murals to be painted on canvas, which would be stretched on the walls, but my father felt that the situation called for the use of mosaics

Figure 26 enable the mosaic workers to copy and execute them properly. The mosaic specialists normally worked from a stan- dard drawing or painting and blocked in their own interpretation of the color areas and relationships. Although the way my father did it involved considerably more work for him, it ensured that his artistic design would remain intact and accurate. Figure 25

His friend and fellow German During the 1930s, Reiss's artist devoted to Indian studio was a gathering place portraiture, Carl Link, drew a for artists, dancers, and portrait of Reiss around 1943. musicians. He painted (Figure #25) portraits, many representing the actresses and models who frequented his studio. (Figure #26) 74 Queen City Heritage When the station was completed, and the ed. The legs of one figure alone were about eight feet mosaics were about to be applied to the walls, my father long, which gives an indication of the size of the figures. received another shock. The terminal officials, facing a Otto Baumgarten, the Viennese restaurateur strike by the railroad workers, feared that the murals would and long time friend, was largely responsible for many of look too good and imply that the railroad was overly pros- the interiors that my father executed. The Crillon, a big perous. They were afraid that the unions would demand success for many years at 15 East 48th Street, was the first settlements beyond what they could afford. The situation restaurant he opened. It was the first modern — really was frustrating and difficult. The mosaics were all ready to modern — restaurant in New York City, thanks to the be installed but nothing could be done. All they could do decor that my father designed in 1919. In fact, when the was wait. Fortunately, an agreement was finally reached owner of the building saw the decor being installed, he and the murals were installed. thought it was outrageous and threatened to cancel the Designing and executing the Cincinnati lease. However, when the project was finished, he became Terminal murals took my father about two years. All the one of my father's greatest supporters. Not only was Otto figures were drawn from life, even the pictures of the ter- Baumgarten responsible for getting commissions for my minal officials were actually life portraits. Unfortunately dad, he acted as his business manager for many projects. the description of these murals in some of the existing lit- In the course of his career my dad designed erature is incorrect. One can read that these murals were many modern interiors, including the layout, murals, pic- painted from photographs of local people and places, but tures, menus, matchboxes, furniture, rugs, and advertising photographs were only used for the technical backgrounds graphics. Otto Baumgarten introduced my father to Henry of the machines.11 Lustig, owner of the Longchamps restaurant chain. My

Figure 27 Figure 28 For the 1939 New York World's Fair, my father eventually designed ten Longchamps restaurants in father received a sizeable commission, to create a 30-40 feet New York City — each in a different motif. The most suc- high and 100 feet long mural for the facade of the Theater cessful was probably the one at 59th Street and Madison and Concert building. He designed a motif which was exe- Avenue, which was done on an American Indian theme cuted in aluminum and bronze by Fechner, a very talented and in which he used a number of his Indian portraits. He metal worker (and incidentally a World War I German used another Indian motif for the Longchamps restaurant fighter pilot). It made a striking appearance when complet- in Washington, D.C., at F and 14th streets, incorporating

Preliminary sketches for his mural figures, such as the Railroad Worker (Figure # 27) and The Pioneer (Figure #28) were done with conte crayon on 30 by 22 inch sheets of water color paper. Summer/Fall 1993 My Father Winold Reiss 75 numerous Indian portraits, some very effective murals, Mr. Friedman would say, "No frames until the last bill is interior design, and graphics. He later executed a colonial paid." I then truthfully answered, "We have to sell the pic- design for the Philadelphia Longchamps.12 ture to get the money to pay you." After a little coaxing, As an interior designer my father naturally he would frown, shake his head, and agree to one more collaborated with many architects. In the twenties and thir- time. ties architects tended to be quite conventional and tradi- In 1931 my father conceived a project to pre- tional and had little training in or experience with color. serve a record of the American Indian for posterity. It envi- Many appreciated my father's innovative talent as well as sioned a collection of 300 portraits, which would cover his bold use of color and were therefore pleased to work Indian reservations in eleven different states. The plan was with him. to interest subscribers in purchasing certificates of owner- Probably a reason for his success in interior ship. For the investment, the subscriber would receive a design was that his specifications regarding upholstery, cur- portrait. My father hoped to raise enough money to spend tain material, floor coverings, table tops, menus, match two years traveling around the country painting these por- boxes, and even advertising were all coordinated to com- traits. He wrote many letters to people he believed would plement the murals and pictures. Each picture frame, be interested. Unfortunately, all the answers were negative, molding, shape, and color enhanced the painting. The so the project never got off the ground. This deeply dis- frames were custom made to his specifications by Sam couraged him — he had hoped to create a monument to Friedman on East Ninth Street. I often had to go to the American Indian. He knew that the older Indians were Friedman's shop and inquire about the status of the latest dying off and that soon there would be no Indian customs order, which had not been delivered. With a stern look, or costumes left to represent the many existing tribes.

Figure 29

He designed an aluminum and bronze mural for the Theater and Concert building at the 1939 New York World's Fair. (Figure #29) 76 Queen City Heritage As mentioned, my father loved the automo- finished preliminary scale drawing in line with what he had bile and was an inveterate weekend driver up to the coun- previously shown to the vice-president. When they entered try, where he would draw barns and landscapes and visit the studio you could tell that something was wrong. The friends. During the middle 1930s he traveled a great deal in vice-president was brusque, looked at the drawing, said, Connecticut and New York and became interested in buy- "No, that won't do," and left with the architect. We ing a farm. He told the real estate agent that he wanted couldn't understand what was going on, but a few minutes acreage on a dirt road, the buildings set back from the later the architect called and said, "You won't believe what road, with no utility poles and wires in the immediate happened — somebody told Mr. Allen that you were a vicinity of the house. He got a call from an agent in friend of Adolf Hitler and had gone to school with him in Columbia County, about a hundred miles upstate in New Austria." Well, of course my dad said that was impossible, York, who said he had just the house for him. The next since he'd never been to Austria, there was considerable weekend we drove up, picked up the agent at Copake, and difference in their ages, and he had never met Hitler — in negotiated fifteen miles over dirt roads. We eventually fact he was very much opposed to his racial prejudices, his arrived at an old broken-down farmhouse, and a barn in political views, and his actions. still less good condition, on 130 acres. This was in 1938, Fortunately my dad had a signed contract so the depths of the Depression, and the property had been that a settlement was negotiated. To minimize the disap- on the market for over two years. pointment we all felt in seeing our winter's work vanish, he My father liked the property and said he'd suggested using some of the settlement money as a down be back next weekend to look at it again. When we drove payment on the farm. up the next weekend, we took a different road and within The purchase of the farm proved to be his less than a mile of the house, we came upon a factory best investment, not only from the standpoint of inflation belching smoke and a village. My father said, "That fellow, but because it was a wonderful place to visit and within he certainly fooled me — I'm not going to take a property easy reach of New York. The old farmhouse was used more so close to anything like this." But he went back and took or less as a camp in the first years, and my dad enjoyed one more walk on the place. It was so beautiful that he working on it tremendously. He also kept his horse there. said, "Oh well, let's buy it anyway." Around 1940 my father moved his studio The problem again was money. He had from 108 W. 16th Street to Little West 12th Street. He was signed an agreement to do some murals for National Cash devoting his time increasingly to interior decoration and Register in their new showroom in Rockefeller Center. I was particularly busy with the Longchamps restaurant vividly remember the day when the architect came with the chain. The art school was no longer flourishing so my vice-president of National Cash Register to look at the father gave it up, and Uncle Hans decided to move west. drawings. We were all anticipation. My father had made a My father had finally paid off the back rent on 108 W. 16th

Figure 30

Reiss designed modern interiors including the layout, murals (Figure #30), pictures, menus, match boxes, furniture, rugs, and advertising graphics. Summer/Fall 1993 My Father Winold Reiss 77 Street, but without the art school the building was a finan- We went out to Lake Tahoe where my uncle cial drain. The considerably smaller new studio was found had built himself a studio and home and visited him. On a through an associate at New York University. The farm trip through Carson City, Nevada, my uncle showed us an was particularly advantageous because paintings, and other old stone Chinese bank, which had been built during the miscellaneous material that he had in the city, could now gold rush days. At the moment it was vacant, and my uncle be stored there.13 said he had tried numerous times to buy this property from At the end of World War II, when I returned the Chinese owner, who lived in San Francisco, but had from overseas, my dad invited my wife and me to take a not been successful. Later, when we got to San Francisco, trip out west. We traveled in his station wagon, taking sev- we saw the owner and spoke to him about the possibility eral months. We had a wonderful time, stopping in nation- of purchasing this property. He seemed quite willing, and al parks and looking at a lot of wild and incredible scenery. so my father negotiated with him to buy it. Over the next We stopped at Indian reservations and visited with our old few years my uncle rebuilt it, making alterations and addi- friends who were still living on the Blackfoot Reservation. tions to turn it into a studio and residence for my dad. He

Figure 31 As usual my father was warmly welcomed and enjoyed talk- had intended to retire there, but unfortunately he had a ing over old times. He was very sorry to see that the condi- stroke before that was possible. He never did see it com- tions of the Indians had not improved since the last time pleted.14 he had been out west and dismayed to find that many of Although he had never been sick a day in his the old people had died. This was the last time he visited life, at sixty-five he suffered a massive stroke which ended the Blackfoot Reservation. his career. He could no longer talk, and his right side was

In 1938 Reiss purchased a farm in Columbia County, New York. (Figure #31) 78 Queen City Heritage paralyzed. He did do some line drawings with his left Fortunately the 1960s and 1970s and especial- hand, but other than that he could do nothing. Once ly the 1980s saw a renewed interest in the work of Winold shortly after the end of World War II, I had mentioned to Reiss. Several museums exhibited and acquired portraits my father, who was busy with interior design commissions, for their collections.16 Art connoisseurs arranged compre- that he could now pick his jobs and turn to some of the hensive exhibitions of all aspects of his work. In 1989 an painting he really enjoyed. He looked at me and said, "Yes, article entitled "Rediscovering Winold Reiss," written by but there is so little time!" Unfortunately, he was right. John Heminway, appeared in the Smithsonian Magazine

Figure 32 Throughout this period Mildred Kaufmann, and brought him into the consciousness of a wide public. his secretary who had worked for my dad for a number of Winold Reiss is no longer forgotten. years, selflessly took care of him, engaging people to come in for periods of the day. Mildred took care of him until the very end, and became somewhat possessive in doing so. 1. My father, Fritz Wilhelm Winold Reiss, and my mother, Henriette I suggested moving him upstate to Columbia County, to a Anna Luthy, were married on September 7, 1912, in Munich. At the time of his marriage, my father was almost 26 years old: he was born nursing home near the farm, where I was now living. I September 16,1886, in Karlsruhe. thought this would be better than the New York City envi- 2. The allied propaganda of this era was very effective. The doctor's ronment, but she wouldn't hear of it.15 My father lingered hate must have been very strong to make him so unconscious of what he was pouring into a small boy. I vividly remember the night his for two years, and Mildred did all she could to relieve his house burned down as one of the great joys of my life. suffering. 3. My mother was born of Swiss parents. My grandfather was work- When my father died, he left a mass of work, ing in the Corn Exchanges in Liverpool, England, at the time, and my mother spent her childhood there. They returned to Switzerland which I transported to the farm and stored. During his when she was eleven or twelve. lifetime he had seldom been represented by an art dealer, 4. My father did not escape military service in Germany, however, he with the result that his pictures were really in "dead" stor- completed his obligatory one year of active duty at a military training age. Since his death my wife Renate, who has been instru- ground near Lake Constance, from October 1,1909, to September 30, 1910. He finished this stint with a "sehr gut" on his record, and qual- mental in these efforts, and I have attempted to preserve ified as an officer candidate. When the German army was mobilized the legacy of his artistic accomplishments. for World War I, he was already in the United States. He did report

After his father's death, Tjark museums, galleries, and Reiss transported his paint- private collections. ings and work to the farm. (Figure #32) The 1960s and 1970s saw a renewed interest in Winold Reiss and today his work is recognized and preserved in Summer/Fall 1993 My Father Winold Reiss 79 to the German consulate in New York, as he was supposed to, but over the years, but the one I remember and knew the best and for the the Consul told him, "You'll never make it— you'll end up spending longest time was Mildred Kaufmann. She was a competent, and also the war in a British prisoner of war camp. Stay right here and forget very faithful, person, taking care of the studio and tending to busi- about it," which is what he happily did. By the time World War II ness matters when we were out west in the summer. After his stroke broke out, he was an American citizen. she had the power of attorney, and there wasn't much I could do 5. That my father did indeed include the state of Morelos in his trav- without going to court, and I did not think this was a good idea. els was corroborated by Thomas Walsh, an English professor at 16. Significant research has also been done by Dr. Fred Brauen in his Georgetown University who conducted research on Katherine Anne publication, Winold Reiss: Color and Design in New American Art, Porter's papers; he reported seeing reproductions of two scenes that (New York 1980, revised 1991). Paul Razcka was instrumetnal in the Winold Reiss painted in Cuernavaca. 1986 Winold Reiss Centennial exhibition at the CM. Russell 6. The divorce decree became final on April 24,1923. Museum in Great Falls, MT. George Schriever introduced me to 7. I believe my father originally met Isadora Duncan and her dance Robert Kashey of the Shepherd Gallery in New York City, whose group through Otto Baumgarten at the Crillon Restaurant. He 1986 and later shows were extremely important. George also intro- painted portraits of all the dancers, which are now in the possession duced me to James Cox (at that time with the Grand Central Gallery of the Lincoln Center Library. in New York City), who has since opened a gallery of that name in 8. Only recently did I discover something that helps explain why my Woodstock, N.Y. W.E. Channing in Santa Fe, NM also exhibits and father never married Erika. The fine print on my parents' divorce represents Reiss, as does the Michael Lowe Gallery in Cincinnati, decree states that, although my mother was free to remarry, my OH. As a result of the first Shepherd show, Ford Peatross, Curator of father, as "defendant," would only be allowed to marry with special Architectural Design at the Library of Congress, became aware of court permission. Such a court case would doubtless have involved Winold Reiss and has assembled a large collection of his interior publicity, which my father would not have wanted to subject Erika designs at the Library of Congress. In 1989, at the invitation of Dr. to. Alan Fern, director of the National Portrait Gallery at the 9. The camp was situated near St. Mary's Lake, and they usually built Smithsonian Institution in Washington, D.C., Dr. Jeffrey Stewart a sweat lodge that would accommodate three or four. After heating guest curated an extensive show there and wrote the accompanying stones in the fire they carried them into the lodge, closed it up tight, catalog and checklist. SITES (Smithsonian Institution Traveling and using pine branches dipped in water to beat the hot stones, pro- Exhibition Service) is currently touring a traveling version of this duced the steam for the sauna. The entire activity was accompanied exhibition. by singing and the recitation of prayers, as this was a sacred ceremo- ny. All at once they would burst from the lodge, run to the lake, and plunge into the icy water. 10. Since he and my father were both bachelors, there were many Illustrations opportunities to be together. I have a profile of my father that Carl sketched on one of the trips out west. My friend, artist Ned Jacob, Figure #1. Henriette Anna Liithy. 1912. pastel on paper, Mr. and found it in a shop and bought it as a gift for me. Mrs. W. Tjark Reiss. 11. The Michael Lowe Gallery in Cincinnati has exhibited the original sketches and oil paintings for those murals. It is unfortunate that the Figure #2. Winold Reiss Summer School on St. Mary's Lake, Glacier individuals who later researched the murals have given an entirely Park, Montana, ca. 1934. Photo by W. Tjark Reiss. false impression about them. This may be the result of a photographer's wishful thinking in overemphasizing the importance of photogra- Figure #3. Design Advertisement for Winold Reiss Summer School, phy in the creation of the murals. 1919. ink on board. Courtesy Shepherd Gallery, New York, New 12. Unfortunately, as a result of civil-rights action, the Washington York. restaurant was later closed. Blacks rightfully insisted on being served, with the result that White patronage plummeted. An ironic twist, Figure #4. Woodstock Landscape, oil on canvas, Mr. and Mrs. W. since my father had been so racially unprejudiced: in this case the Tjark Reiss. Michael Fredericks Photographer. racial tensions of the day were responsible for closing access to one of the most successful designs of his career. Figure #5. Winold Reiss Crafts & Art Studio, New York City, 13. The farm also provided an environment for enjoyable experiences September 1914. Winold Reiss, standing, second from left; Aaron and opportunities for more intimate contacts between my father and Douglas, standing middle, Ilonka Karasz, seated lower right. Photo my family. This was particularly important for my son, who was quite courtesy W. Tjark Reiss. young when my father died. They enjoyed each other's company, and my dad would often draw pictures for or with him. To this day, Figure #6. Winold Reiss. Inside Cover of M.A.C. Swedish Art. my son Peter reminisces over experiences they shared. He tells of the Number, Vol. 1 No. 6, 1916. time they were drawing together and my father said, "There is something very important that I must tell you, Peter—never let jealousy be Figure #7. Cuernavaca, Pittsburgh Sun Telegraph color gravure page a part of your character." of June 1, 1930. Michael Fredericks Photographer. 14. Later on the State of Nevada condemned the property, razed the beautiful building, and built an annex office building. Although I was Figure #8. Winold Reiss. Ruby and Marie, St. Helena, South very reluctant to sell the building, my lawyer said it would be impos- Carolina, pastel on board, 1927. Courtesy W.E. Channing & Co., sible to fight the state and that ultimately we would lose the proper- Santa Fe, New Mexico. Michael Fredericks Photographer. ty. This was discouraging, because my father had intended to make a museum in the building and give it to the State of Nevada. Figure #9. Winold Reiss. Alain Locke, 1925. pastel on board, Private 15. In his work, my dad naturally needed a secretary. He had several Collection. 80 Queen City Heritage

Figure #10. Winold Reiss. The Prayer: Black Forest, 1922. colored Figure #28. Winold Reiss. conte crayon study of pioneer for pencil on paper, Renate Reiss. Michael Fredericks Photographer. Cincinnati Union Terminal murals. Courtesy The MIT List Visual Arts Center, Cambridge, Massachusetts. Figure #11. Winold Reiss. Erika Lohman in Black Dress, ca. 1938. pastel on board, Mr. and Mrs. W. Tjark Reiss. Michael Fredericks Figure #29. Installation of Bronze and Aluminum Metal Mural by Photographer. Winold Reiss, at the Theater and Concert Hall at the New York World's Fair, 1939. Photo by W. Tjark Reiss. Figure #12. Winold Reiss. Marion Greenwood, 1931. pastel and tempera on board, Courtesy James Cox Gallery, Woodstock, New York. Figure #30. Winold Reiss. design for restaurant mural; gouache on paper. Mr. and Mrs. W. Tjark Reiss. Michael Fredericks Figure #13. Winold Reiss. Congo, ca. 1934. pastel on black paper, Photographer. Private Collection. Figure #31. Winold Reiss Farm in Columbia County, New York, Figure #14. Winold Reiss. Hans Reiss, ca. 1929. pastel on paper, Mr. when purchased in 1938. Photo by W. Tjark Reiss. and Mrs. W. Tjark Reiss. Michael Fredericks Photographer. Figure #32. The Winold Reiss Farm 1989: Tjark Reiss in "The Barn," Figure #15. Jackson, William Henry, 1843- 1942, Photographer, surrounded by Winold Reiss paintings. Photo by Mark Ferri. Winold Reiss, pastel on board, 130.2 x 62.8 cm. (51 1/4 x 24 3/4 in.), 1940 NPG.90.47, National Portrait Gallery, Smithsonian Institution, Figure #33. Winold Reiss with his horse Larry, ca. 1940. Photo by W. Gift of Mr. and Mrs. W. Tjark Reiss. Tjark Reiss.

Figure #16. Winold Reiss. Hans Thompson Bad Lands, South Dakota pioneer, pastel on board, Mr. and Mrs. W. Tjark Reiss. Michael Fredericks Photographer.

Figure #17. Winold Reiss Art School, Prismatic Ball of the Society of Independent Artists held at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, March 3, 1921. Photo by Nicholas Muray, courtesy of W. Tjark Reiss.

Figure #18. Winold Reiss painting Chief Shot Both Sides. Tjark Reiss, second from the left; Falling Over the Bank, 4th from left; Percy Creighton, far right. Photo by Great Northern Railroad, 1928, courtesy of W. Tjark Reiss.

Figure #19. Winold Reiss with Blackfeet friends in Glacier Park, 1928. Left to right: Unknown. Winold Reiss, Plume, and Turtle. Photo by Tjark Reiss.

Figure #20. Sun Dance Camp, Blood Indian Reservation, Alberta, Canada, ca. 1930. Photo by W. Tjark Reiss.

Figure #21. Winold Reiss. Percy Creighton (Little Dog) ca. 1933. pastel on board, Mr. and Mrs. W. Tjark Reiss.

Figure #22. Winold Reiss. Yellow Mink, ca. 1930. a sample of typical Blackfoot design, pastel on board, Mr. and Mrs. W. Tjark Reiss. Figure 33

Figure #23. Winold Reiss painting Spider, ca. 1933. Photo by W. Tjark Reiss.

Figure #24. Winold Reiss at the wheel of his Cadillac roadster. Photo by W. Tjark Reiss.

Figure #25. Carl Link. Portrait of Winold Reiss, ca. 1943. pencil on paper. Mr. and Mrs. W. Tjark Reiss.

Figure #26. Winold Reiss. Thirties Chic, portrait of a woman on gold background, mixed media on board. Mr. and Mrs. W. Tjark Reiss. Michael Fredericks Photographer.

Figure #27. Winold Reiss. conte crayon study of railroad worker for Cincinnati Union Terminal murals. Courtesy The MIT List Visual Arts Center, Cambridge, Massachusetts.

Reiss loved to horseback ride and he kept his horse, Larry, at the farm. (Figure #33)