Gisella Loeffler facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Gisella Loeffler Lacher
Born	ca 1902 near Vienna, Austria
Died	12 September 1977 Taos, New Mexico, US
Nationality	European
Education	Washington University, St Louis
Known for	painting, illustrator, children's literature, fabric arts, artist
Notable work	Franzi and Gizi (children's book), Carrie Tingley Hospital murals

Gisella Loeffler (1902–1977) was a talented artist from Austria and America. She was a painter, illustrator, and worked with fabrics. Her art had a special folk style, which means it looked like traditional art from different cultures. Gisella started her art journey in St. Louis, Missouri. Later, she moved to a famous art community in Taos, New Mexico. Even though her art looked different from others in Taos, people loved it. She is famous for painting murals in an Albuquerque hospital. These murals were part of a special government art program in the 1930s.

Gisella Loeffler's Early Life and Art Training

Gisella Loeffler was born around 1902 near Vienna in Austria. When she was a young child, her family moved to the United States. They settled down in Missouri. Gisella studied traditional painting at the Washington University in St. Louis School of Fine Arts. But her childhood memories inspired her to paint in a folk art style.

In 1920, Gisella won an award at an art show in St. Louis. A famous artist named Paul Dougherty was the judge. He even bought one of her paintings! Another group, the St. Louis Friends of Local Artists Society, bought a painting too. They put it in public schools for everyone to see. They also gave Gisella a scholarship to help her continue her art studies. From 1924 to 1928, Gisella created black and white pictures. These pictures were for the cover of the St. Louis Post Dispatch Sunday Magazine.

Gisella Loeffler's Amazing Art Career

Painting Murals for Children

In 1930, Gisella got a special job. She was asked to paint the walls and ceiling of a new operating room. This was at the Barnes Hospital. The idea was to help children forget their fears before surgery. Her beautiful work caught attention all over the world.

Moving to the Taos Art Colony

In 1933, Gisella moved with her daughters to Taos, New Mexico. She joined the famous Taos art colony. Here, she worked for the New Deal Federal Art Project. This was a government program that hired artists during the Great Depression. Gisella painted murals in schools and hospitals. She also made large fabric art pieces called batiks. These batiks were "rich in color and exotic in design." They were shown in Albuquerque and St. Louis. Some were even put in hotels. In 1939, she sent a special illustrated letter to Eleanor Roosevelt. She was protesting when the Federal Art Project was going to end.

Illustrating Children's Books

During World War II, Gisella moved to California. She helped by painting camouflage on airplanes. While there, she illustrated a children's book. It was called Franzi and Gizi (1941). The book was written by Margery Williams Bianco. Life magazine called it "one of the best juvenile [book]s of any year." Another review said it had "brilliant peasant art."

In 1942, a book called The Spanish-American Song and Game Book was published. Gisella and her daughter, Undine L. Gutierrez, illustrated it. This book was also a New Deal project. Gisella mixed her Austrian folk art style with Native American and Hispanic designs. People from all over the world wanted this "charmingly illustrated" book. Another book, Little-Boy-Dance by Elizabeth Willis DeHuff, came out in 1946. Reviewers found the pictures "amusing" and "delightful."

Art After the War

After the war, Gisella moved back to Taos. For many years, she designed greeting cards. She worked for companies like Associated American Artists. Her art prints and paintings were sold in special frames she designed and painted herself.

From the 1950s to the 1970s, Gisella worked with tapestries. She wove the fabric and added her designs. She used embroidery and appliqué to create beautiful wall hangings. She won awards for her tapestries in 1959 and 1967. These were at the Santa Fe Museum of International Folk Art shows. Her tapestries were also shown in other states like Illinois and California. In 1957, a company called Metlox Pottery made dishes with Gisella's Happy Time design. It wasn't a big seller then, but today it is very popular with collectors.

Gisella illustrated three more children's books in the 1960s. The last one, El Ekeko, she also wrote herself. She also carved and painted toys and Christmas decorations. Her work was featured in the Better Homes and Gardens Christmas Ideas magazine several times.

Gisella Loeffler's Lasting Legacy

Gisella's unique art style was different from other artists in Taos. But she was known as "a Taos legend." People said her work brought "an uplifting presence." Her art showed "children or childlike adults" living in a happy, colorful world.

Mabel Dodge Luhan, a famous Taos resident, wrote about Gisella in 1947. She said, "How people are attracted to your funny little painted children... Everyone is allured and amused by the life of these robust infants." A Taos gallery owner said in 1959 that Gisella was "one of our most popular and colorful exhibitors." In 1998, an art show called Loeffler and Kloss: Two Taos Legends featured her work. It described Gisella as one of "the best known artists of Taos."

Gisella Loeffler's Personal Life

Gisella Loeffler married Edgar Lacher in the early 1920s. They had two daughters together. They divorced in 1933. In 1949, she married her second husband, Frank P. Chase. They lived in the former home of writer D.H. Lawrence in Taos.

Gisella was known for her colorful clothes and her colorful home. She decorated her furniture, walls, and windows with her folk art designs. She lived in Taos for over 40 years. She passed away there on September 12, 1977.

Gisella Loeffler's Children's Books

• 1941 Franzi and Gizi by Margery Williams Bianco
• 1942 The Spanish-American Song and Game Book (a New Deal project)
• 1946 Little-Boy-Dance by Elizabeth Willis DeHuff
• 1961 The Burro who sat down by Doris Shannon Garst
• 1962 Little Mouse by Charles Paul May
• 1964 El Ekeko (author and illustrator)

Where to See Gisella Loeffler's Art

Gisella Loeffler's artworks are kept in several museums and collections. You can find them at:

• The Panhandle-Plains Historical Museum in Canyon, Texas
• The Harwood Museum of Art in Taos, New Mexico
• The New Mexico Museum of Art (in their New Deal collection)
• The Museum of International Folk Art in Santa Fe, New Mexico
• The Carrie Tingley Hospital in Albuquerque, New Mexico