biography of Lee Woodward ZEIGLER (1868-1952)

Birth place: Baltimore, MD

Death place: Fanewood," Newburgh, NY"

Addresses: Baltimore, until 1885; NYC, 1886-1910; St. Paul, MN, 1910-18; Newburgh, NY, 1918-52

Profession: Mural painter, illustrator, lecturer

Studied: Maryland Inst., 1886; self-taught

Exhibited: School of Five Arts, Univ. Kansas, 1909; St. Paul Inst., 1915 (gold); Maryland Inst., 1925 (medal); NAD; Northwestern Artists, St. Paul, 1915 (medal); AIC

Member: Charcoal Club, Baltimore (1885, funding mem.); Hudson Highland AA; AFA; Mural Painters; SC, 1905; NYWCC, 1906; Lg. Am. Artists, Inc.; NSMP; Medieval Acad. Am.; Royal SA, London (fellow)

Work: Maryland Inst. (Maryland" mural); St. Paul (MN) Inst.; Church of St. John, NYC; Trinity Church, Ft. Wayne, IN; St. James-by-the-Sea, Monticito, CA; Chapel of the Transfiguration, Glendale, OH; Enoch Pratt Free Lib., Baltimore, MD ("The Faerie Queene"); Art Mus., Wilmington, DE; St. Michael's Church, Church of St. Mary Magdelene, both in NYC; Calvary Church, Cincinnati; equestrian portrait, Gen. Anthony Wayne, Stony Point Mus., NY; portrait of Washington, West Point. Commissions: Elmira Correctional Facility, Elmira, NY; Stony Point Mus., NY; St. Thomas Church, New Windsor, NY; St Paul (MN) Library; Roman Catholic Church, W 34th St., NYC; many churches, now painted over."

Comments: (Before 1886 he was known as Albert Lee Zeigler) Known especially for his murals depicting historical, literary, and narrative subjects. From 1889 to 1904, he drew for Life magazine, and in 1905 began concentrating on illustrations for historical novels. From 1910 to 1918 he served as director of the St. Paul (MN) Inst Sch. of Art. When he returned to the east coast in 1918, he began painting murals, and by 1930 was in great demand. Ziegler's major project was the "The Faerie Queene," an eighteen-panel mural depicting the Age of Chivalry, covering 1800 square feet of wall space at the Enoch Pratt Free Library (Baltimore, MD), a work that took 12 years to complete (1933-45). The mural, now in need of restoration, reflected his life-long interest in the pageantry and poetry of the Middle Ages. Zeigler himself wrote poetry and was a friend of Edward Arlington Robinson. Illustrator: deluxe editions of Jane Austen (27 volumes); Kingsley (4 vols.); Gauthier; Balzac.

Sources: WW40; The Zeigler Memorial Art Exhibition (Maryland Institute, 1954); info courtesy of Audrey Z. Archer-Shee, Easton, MD.