Anton Gág was a Bohemian-American painter

Painting

Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a surface . The application of the medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush but other objects can be used. In art, the term painting describes both the act and the result of the action. However, painting is...

 and studio photographer

Photography

Photography is the art, science and practice of creating durable images by recording light or other electromagnetic radiation, either electronically by means of an image sensor or chemically by means of a light-sensitive material such as photographic film...

 known for his portraits, still life

Still life

A still life is a work of art depicting mostly inanimate subject matter, typically commonplace objects which may be either natural or man-made...

s, landscapes, and murals. He spent most of his working life in Minnesota

Minnesota

Minnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...

.

Biography

Anton Gág was born in Walk, Bohemia, a province of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, now in the Czech Republic. He seemed to fit the stereotype of the "Bohemian artist"— pursuing an artistic talent that did not earn him much money, allowing his children much freedom, and non-conforming in his personal behavior. Indeed, his life and art were formed by the liberal humanist values of the German-Bohemian culture.

Anton and his wife Elisabeth Biebl came to the United States and settled in New Ulm, an immigrant community in southern Minnesota, raising a family of seven children with the German traditions and language. In 1894, Anton built a Queen-Anne style family home that he decorated with murals, and used for a successful photographic studio.

His most famous child, Wanda Gág

Wanda Gág

Wanda Hazel Gág was an American author and illustrator. She was born on March 11, 1893, in New Ulm, Minnesota. Her mother and father were of Bohemian descent. Both parents were artists who had met in Germany. They had seven children, who all acquired some level of artistic talent...

, moved to New Jersey where she became a celebrated author and artist.

Anton died in New Ulm in 1908 from tuberculosis at the young age of 49.

Gág Family Home

The house where the Gág family lived is now dedicated to the story of this family, showing examples of their art and the way of life in those years. The exterior of the house has been painted to show the colors that were used when the Gágs lived there. The interior is also being restored to that time period. The process has uncovered detailed, decorative hand-painting done by the Gágs, on walls throughout the home.

The Wanda Gág House, located at 226 N. Washington, New Ulm, Minnesota, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places

National Register of Historic Places

The National Register of Historic Places is the United States government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects deemed worthy of preservation...

and is open for public tours.