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Joseph Friebert (painter)

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Joseph Friebert
Friebert in his studio, 1940
Born(1908-05-11)May 11, 1908
Buffalo, New York
DiedDecember 16, 2002(2002-12-16) (aged 94)
Milwaukee, Wisconsin[1]
Resting placeSpring Hill Cemetery and Mausoleum, Milwaukee, Wisconsin
NationalityAmerican
EducationMarquette University
Layton School of Art
University of Wisconsin–Madison
StyleSocial Realism
Abstraction

Joseph Friebert (May 11, 1908 – December 16, 2002) was an American painter and printmaker in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Much of his work, from the Social Realist style of his early period to the figurative approach of his later years, tackles class, race, and labor struggles, as well as the evolution of Milwaukee throughout the Great Depression and postwar years. In the 1950s, Friebert turned to semi-abstraction, focused on urban structures and landscapes, and one of his pictures was included in the American pavilion of the 1956 Venice Biennale.[2] In parallel, he taught at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee from 1946 to 1976.[3]

In 2015, the Wisconsin-based Kohler Foundation distributed 280 paintings by Friebert to art museums nationwide in an attempt to increase his representation in public collections. Among institutions that received works were the Art Institute of Chicago, Detroit Institute of Arts, Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art, and Philadelphia Museum of Art.[4]

Life and work

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Joseph Friebert was born on May 11, 1908, in Buffalo, New York, the fourth child of a tailor and labor organizer from Hungary, Edward Friebert (1875–1960), and Hermine Hahn (1876–1954), who was born in present-day Slovakia.[5][6] In 1911, the family relocated to Milwaukee and Edward Friebert espoused the cause of socialism, which would later influence his son’s education and art.[7][8]

After graduating from North Division High School in 1926 and obtaining a pharmaceutical degree from Marquette University, Friebert worked in various drugstores in town. Joining the Milwaukee Sketch Club, he met several painters, including Alfred Sessler, Ruth Grotenrath, Schomer Lichtner, and Santos Zingale. In 1936, he enrolled in the Layton School of Art where he studied under painter Gerrit V. Sinclair, before transferring to the Wisconsin State College of Milwaukee, where he was mentored by painter Robert Von Neumann.[9] Friebert’s wife, Betsy Ritz (1910–1963), whom he married in 1937, was also a visual artist.[10]

In 1946, a year after obtaining a degree in art education and teaching briefly at the Layton School of Art, Friebert left pharmacy for good to join the faculty of the Wisconsin State College.[3][11] He was kept on staff as the college became integrated into the University of Wisconsin system as its Milwaukee campus in 1956. In the meantime, he also obtained a Master’s degree from the University of Wisconsin–Madison and spent a year working at the Art Students League, studying notably with Yasuo Kuniyoshi.[3] One of Friebert's students at UW–Milwaukee was muralist Richard Haas, who graduated with a Bachelor's degree in Art in 1959.[12]

In the same decade, Friebert turned toward abstraction, eventually mentoring fellow Wisconsin painter Fred Berman.[4][13] His new visual approach caught the attention of Chicago dealer and museum curator Katharine Kuh, who selected one of his works, Urban Cathedral, for the 1956 Venice Biennale.[14] Following the death of his wife in 1963, Friebert returned to figuration, focusing on industrial landscapes and views of the Wisconsin farmland. He equally produced a number of watercolors, lithographs, and monotypes.

Retrospective exhibitions of Friebert’s art were organized during his lifetime by the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee in 1977, Milwaukee Art Museum in 1989, and Haggerty Museum of Art in 1998. He died on December 16, 2002, in Milwaukee.

Museum collections

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In part thanks to gifts from family members and the Kohler Foundation, works by Friebert are found in several museum collections across the United States.

Friebert’s brother-in-law, Maurice Ritz (1911–1977), and his wife Esther Leah Medalie (1918–2003), collected several pieces by Friebert, which were included in temporary exhibitions and in their eventual bequest of nearly 300 European and American works to the Milwaukee Art Museum in 2004.[15][16] As of 2025, the museum holds 7 works by Friebert, as well as prints and drawings by his wife Betsy and younger daughter Judith (born 1945).[17]

In 2018, the Museum of Wisconsin Art in West Bend organized a retrospective exhibition of Friebert’s art after a donation of 67 paintings, drawings, and prints from the Friebert family and the Kohler Foundation made the institution the largest repository of his works.[18] The Chazen Museum of Art in Madison holds 20 works by Friebert, including a 1942 self-portrait.[19]

References

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  1. ^ Auer, James (December 18, 2002). "Friebert leaves compassionate record of Depression". Section B. Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Milwaukee, WI. p. 11. Retrieved July 14, 2025.
  2. ^ Hall, Michael D.; Glascock, Pat (2003). Great Lakes Muse: American Scene Painting in the Upper Midwest, 1910-1960: the Inlander Collection in the Flint Institute of Arts. Flint, MI: Flint Institute of Arts. p. 132. ISBN 978-0939896233.
  3. ^ a b c Friebert Rossen 2018, p. 25.
  4. ^ a b Friebert Rossen 2018, p. 27.
  5. ^ Friebert Rossen 2018, p. 19.
  6. ^ "Obituaries: Mrs. Hermine Friebert". Milwaukee Sentinel. Milwaukee, WI. March 21, 1954. p. 13. Retrieved July 18, 2025.
  7. ^ "Friebert, Edward". April 27, 2016.
  8. ^ McAdams, Shane (August 26, 2018). "The Politics of Joseph Friebert's 'Life in Art'". The Shepherd Express. Milwaukee, WI: Louis Fortis. Retrieved July 18, 2025.
  9. ^ Friebert Rossen 2018, p. 20.
  10. ^ "Betsy Ritz Friebert". David Barnett Gallery. Milwaukee, WI. 2025. Retrieved July 19, 2025.
  11. ^ "Joseph Friebert Joins Layton School Faculty". Section VII. Milwaukee Journal. Milwaukee, WI. July 1, 1945. p. 3. Retrieved July 18, 2025.
  12. ^ "Oral History Interview with Richard Haas". Archives of American Art. Washington, DC: Smithsonian Institution. March 16, 2009. Retrieved July 18, 2025.
  13. ^ Corbett 2006.
  14. ^ Key, Donald (January 29, 1961). "Cathedrals Beckon Friebert". Part 3. The Milwaukee Journal. Milwaukee, WI. p. 6. Retrieved July 17, 2025.
  15. ^ Bowman, Russell (1992). "A Breadth of Vision: Maurice and Esther Leah Ritz". In Taylor, Sue (ed.). A Breadth of Vision: The Ritz Collection. Milwaukee, WI: Milwaukee Art Museum. p. 5. ISBN 978-0944110287. Retrieved July 18, 2025.
  16. ^ "The Maurice and Esther Leah Ritz Collection". Milwaukee Art Museum. Retrieved July 18, 2025.
  17. ^ "Collection". Milwaukee Art Museum. Milwaukee, WI. 2025. Retrieved July 18, 2025.
  18. ^ Friebert Rossen 2018, p. 14.
  19. ^ "The Permanent Collection". Chazen Museum of Art. Madison, WI. 2025. Retrieved July 18, 2025.

Bibliography

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  • Carter, Curtis (1998). Joseph Friebert at Ninety. Milwaukee, WI: Haggerty Museum of Art, Marquette University. ISBN 978-0945366058.
  • Corbett, John (2006). Joseph Friebert, Fred Berman, and the Milwaukee Scene, 1935–1965. Chicago: Corbett vs. Dempsey.
  • Friebert Rossen, Susan (2018). Joseph Friebert: A Life in Art. West Bend, WI: Museum of Wisconsin Art. ISBN 978-0999438817.
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