Arthur William Woelfle (1873-1936)

A painter, lecturer and instructor, Arthur William Woelfle was born in Trenton, New Jersey on December 17, 1873. He was one of six children born to Louis and Bertha Nick Woelfle.

Woelfle studied art at the Brooklyn Institute under Professor Boyle where he won a scholarship. He also studied under Will H. Low and C.Y. Turner at the National Academy of Design in New York and also under Carroll Beckwith and Siddons Mowbray at the Art Students League. He later studied in Paris and at the Munich Academy where he was awarded an honorable mention in 1897.

The artist seems to have settled for a time in Erie, Pennsylvania, where he exhibited between 1899 and 1905 in the local Art Club's yearly exhibits. He also executed a 125 foot mural for the art gallery at the Public Library. He then traveled for a number of years, doing murals and portraits in the Youngstown, Ohio area. By 1914 he held several teaching positions: Essex Falls, New Jersey; Tarrytown, New York; at the Mechanics Institute and the Grand Central School of Art, both in New York City. In the latter position he taught classes in portrait and figure painting for eight years.

In 1928 the Erie Art Club honored him with a joint exhibit along with George Elmer Browne. That same year he won the Grant prize from the New Rochelle Art Association. Further awards came in 1929 with a silver medal and figure prize from the Allied Artists of America; in 1934 with a first place in the New Jersey Annual Art Show at the Montclair Art Museum, and in 1935 with a medal awarded by the National Arts Club of which he was a life member. He also belonged to the American Federation of Arts.

Early in 1936 Arthur W. Woelfle suffered a nervous breakdown. He died at his mother's home in Brooklyn on March 6, 1936, at age 62.

Sources:
Biography excerpted from the unpublished manuscript by Dr. Kirk W. Steehler, Erie Artists - A History of Heroes. Courtesy of Erie Art Museum.

Information courtesy of Edward P. Bentley, researcher of Lansing, Michigan

The following is excerpted from the 1933 Grand Central School of Art Catalogue, and submitted April 2004 by Renee Faure, whose father Edmund Greacen was the founder of the Grand Central School of Art.

Arthur W. Woelfle, A.N.A., Instructor in the School of Painting and Drawing

Arthur W. Woelfle, A.N.A. : Born in Trenton, N.J. Studied Brooklyn Institute: Art Students' League under John Twachtman and Kenyon Cox, and in Paris and Munich. Member of National Arts Club, New York; National Academy of Design; Allied Artists of America; Grand Central Art Galleries; Salamagundi Club. Awarded Figure prize, Allied Artists of America, and Adolph Grant and Irvin Hanson Prizes. Regular exhibitor at leading exhibitions.Represented in many permanent galleries and public buildings, among them the new court house, Youngstown, Ohio, with a mural 125 feet long, and ten portraits of Ohio judges.

Arthur Wolfle – “The Elks are always doing lovely things … thanks to the artistic skill of four members of the lodge, Mr. Wolfle … the walls [for the Colonial Garden Party] were covered…. But the garden contained other things than peacocks and roses, and cocked hats and swords; all around the wall were statues of smokers representing each century that has passed since Sir Walter Raleigh first discovered just what a boon tobacco was to mankind. All of these statues were the work of Mr. Wolfle. Coshocton people do not need to be told … what genuinely artistic work he always does” per Coshocton (Ohio) Morning Tribune, February 23, 1906, page 3 and further information on Wolfle attending the evening’s smoker; “Mr. and Mrs. Arthur Wolfle of New York City arrived Sunday for a short visit with relatives and friends in Coshocton.” per Coshocton (Ohio), Morning Tribune, October 4, 1916, page 5; private of the first class recruited training in Monmouth, N.J., for going “somewhere in France” per Brooklyn Daily Eagle, August 5, 1917, page 36, i.e. 8; Arthur Wolfle was on the honor role for the Memorial Day services, per Sea Cliff (NY) News, May 21, 1932, page 1)