Wanda Gag, illustrator and painter, became a highly praised printmaker in New York in the 1920s and 1930s, and was much credited for her skill in depicting scenes of everyday life.

She was born in New Ulm, Minnesota, and grew up with the customs and fairy tales of her parents' native Bohemia (Czechoslovakia), in a household filled with German music and literature. Her father, Anton Gag, was an artist who supported the family by decorating houses and churches, and he encouraged her interest in art.

In 1910, her drawings were included in a traveling exhibition organized by the Minneapolis School of Art. After winning prizes for her work, she began formal art study, spending a year at the St. Paul School of Art and completing a ...