1887-1956
The son of a German carpenter, Leopold Seyffert was raised in and around Colorado Springs, Colorado, where he received some early training from an artist named Latare. The year after his family moved to Pittsbugh in 1904, he enrolled in the Stevenson School of Art, while working as a stockboy at the South Pennsylvania Oil Company.
Seyffert entered the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Art in Philadelphia in 1906. His teachers included Thomas Anshutz, Cecelia Beaux, Henry Breceknridge, Daniel Garber and William Merritt Chase. From 1909 to 1913, Seyffert also taught at Philadelphia's Graphic Sketch Club.
In 1910, after winning the Pennsylvania Academy's Cresson fellowship, the artist traveled to Europe with the painter Helen Fleck. He married Fleck in 1911. After the award of a second Cresson fellowship in 1912, Seyffert spent time in Volendam, Holland, becoming friendly with the musician Leopold Stowkowski. His paintings of peasants executed during this period reveal the influence of the Dutch masters. During the summer of 1914, Seyffert studied with the Spanish portraitist Ignacio Zuloanga in Madrid.
Seyffert taught at Philadelphia's School of Design for Women (now the Moore Collge of Art) from 1914 to 1921. In 1916, he spent the first of two summers in Seal Harbor, Maine, a part of the musician's colony surrounding Stokowski. Seyffert began teaching at the Art Institute of Chicago in 1917, where he was to remain for ten years. In 1930, following his divorce from Fleck, the artist married a former model, Grace JayÿVernon. The couple settled permanently in New York. Although Seyffert spent several summers in Europe, his trip to Guatemala in 1934 is perhaps most notable among his travels. Commissioned by the Grace Lines, Seyffert executed scenes of local life to decorate their Carribean flag ships.
Known for his bravura brushstroke and vibrant color, Seyffert was an extremely successful portraitist during the 1920s and 1930s. He was the recipient of numerous awards, among them the Hallgarten Prize at the National Academy of Design in 1918, a gold medal from the Pennsylvania Academy in 1921, and a gold medl at the SesquiÄCentennial Exposition, held in Philadelphia in 1926.
Seyffert entered the Pennsylvania Academy of the Fine Art in Philadelphia in 1906. His teachers included Thomas Anshutz, Cecelia Beaux, Henry Breceknridge, Daniel Garber and William Merritt Chase. From 1909 to 1913, Seyffert also taught at Philadelphia's Graphic Sketch Club.
In 1910, after winning the Pennsylvania Academy's Cresson fellowship, the artist traveled to Europe with the painter Helen Fleck. He married Fleck in 1911. After the award of a second Cresson fellowship in 1912, Seyffert spent time in Volendam, Holland, becoming friendly with the musician Leopold Stowkowski. His paintings of peasants executed during this period reveal the influence of the Dutch masters. During the summer of 1914, Seyffert studied with the Spanish portraitist Ignacio Zuloanga in Madrid.
Seyffert taught at Philadelphia's School of Design for Women (now the Moore Collge of Art) from 1914 to 1921. In 1916, he spent the first of two summers in Seal Harbor, Maine, a part of the musician's colony surrounding Stokowski. Seyffert began teaching at the Art Institute of Chicago in 1917, where he was to remain for ten years. In 1930, following his divorce from Fleck, the artist married a former model, Grace JayÿVernon. The couple settled permanently in New York. Although Seyffert spent several summers in Europe, his trip to Guatemala in 1934 is perhaps most notable among his travels. Commissioned by the Grace Lines, Seyffert executed scenes of local life to decorate their Carribean flag ships.
Known for his bravura brushstroke and vibrant color, Seyffert was an extremely successful portraitist during the 1920s and 1930s. He was the recipient of numerous awards, among them the Hallgarten Prize at the National Academy of Design in 1918, a gold medal from the Pennsylvania Academy in 1921, and a gold medl at the SesquiÄCentennial Exposition, held in Philadelphia in 1926.
