Featured Artists' Biographies (Z)

View larger image and more information for Adolf Zdrasila's original etching, Rubezahl

Adolf Zdrasila 'Adolf Zdrazila' (Poruba, 1868 - Troppau, Silesia, 1942): : An important twentieth century Silesian painter and printmaker, Adolf Zdrasila studied art at the Academy of Vienna and in Karlsruhe, as a pupil of Kalkreuth. After completing his studies, Adolf Zdrasila spent several years in Munich and became a member of the Munich Secession. Upon his return to Silesia, Adolf Zdrasila worked extensively for Edmund Wilhelm Braun, the Director of the Museum of Arts and Crafts, Troppau. In this capacity he created murals for buildings such as the Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Troppau, and the church at Taschendorf. Today examples of his fine art are included in the Provincial Museum of Troppau and the Municipal Museum of Vienna.

View larger image, more information and other original works of art by Jaroslav Zetek.

Jaroslav Zetek (Prague, 1929 - Toronto, 1982): An outstanding modern painter and watercolorists, Jaroslav Zetek studied and practiced art in his native Prague before immigrating to Canada in 1968. He first administered the Skylon Gallery in Niagara Falls (1970) before opening his own studio and gallery in Toronto in 1974. His work with acrylics date mostly from this period. His most important one-man exhibition was held at the Wayne Fine Art Gallery, Old Bond Street, London, England. Jaroslav Zetek's painting are now included in the permanent collections of public galleries in France, Malta and England.

View larger image, more information and other original works of art by Lee Woodward Zeigler.

Lee Woodward Zeigler (New Windsor-on-the-Hudson, NY, 1868 - Baltimore, 1952): A fine American muralist and oil painter, Lee Woodward Zeigler studied at the Maryland Institute of Art. By the turn of the century Zeigler had established a large reputation for his paintings and murals in both the United States and Great Britain. He was a full member of the Hudson Highland Art Association, the Medieval Academy of America, the American Federation of Arts and Britain's prestigious Royal Society of Artists. Zeigler also created a number of fine drawings and illustrations for the Magazine of Art, beginning in 1909.

During the first decades of the twentieth century Zeigler was much in demand for both his portraits and hismissioned as public murals and reveal a more delicate, less formal characteristic of the artist's oeuvre. Zeigler's art from this period usually contains the graceful Art Nouveau lines and tones one sees in this beautiful example.

View larger image, more information and other original works of art by Marco Zim.

Marco Zim (Moscow, Russia, 1880 - New YorkCity, 1963): Born in Moscow, Marco Zim immigrated to the United States in 1885. He studied art in New York at both the National Academy of Design, under Ward and Maynard, and the Art Students League, under George Grey Barnard, and in Paris at the Ecole des Beaux Arts. Returning from France, Zim worked in New York until 1910. In 1911 he had moved to San Diego where (along with Maurice Braun) he founded the San Diego Academy of Art. From 1914 to 1916 Zim maintained studios in Los Angeles and then resided in Santa Barbara until approximately 1925. After that date he returned to New York, living first on University Avenue and then West 74th Street.

Marco Zim was a well recognized painter, etcher and sculptor. He was a full member of the Artland Club of Los Angeles, the Los Angeles Painters and Sculptors Club, the California Art Club, the San Francisco Art Association and the Society of American Etchers. His art is today included in such major American collections as the Library of Congress, Washington, DC, the New York Public Library, the Art Institute of Chicago and the Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

View larger image, more information and other original works of art by Edward Zuelch.

Clarence Edward Zuelch (Cleveland, Ohio, b. 1904): A twentieth century American painter, illustrator and lithographer, Clarence Edward Zuelch studied art under Henry George Keller at the Cleveland School of Art. Shortly after finishing his studies, Zuelch became a full member of the Cleveland Printmakers and was awarded First Prize in 1932 for illustration art at the Cleveland Museum of Art.

During his career, Zuelch became well known for his fine figure studies, animal depictions and landscapes. Today his original art is housed in most major Ohio collections, including the Cleveland Museum of Art and the Cleveland Public Library. A large collection of Zuelch lithographs of animal studies created during the 1930's and early 1940's will be found at Case Western Reserve University, Cleveland. It is possible that this original drawing was a preparatory study for a lithograph. During the era of the Great Depression Zuelch was often commissioned by the Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.) for original drawings and lithographs. Founded by President Roosevelt in 1935, the W.P.A. actively assisted American artists during the bleak economic period of the 1930's. Without its aid the many great works of art created by this generation would not have been made. The W.P.A. operated chapters for artists in almost every major city until it was suspended at the end of 1943.