biography of Roscoe MISSELHORN (1902-1997)

Birth place: Sparta, IL

Death place: Sparta, IL

Addresses: St. Louis, MO, 1920s-1932; Sparta, IL, 1932-97

Profession: Painter, printmaker, illustrator, mural painter

Studied: St. Louis Schl. of Fine Arts; Wash. Univ.; with Fred Carpenter, Delos Nicholson

Exhibited: his woodcut, Ohio River Fishboat" was shown at the Brooklyn Mus., LOC, and Carnegie Inst.; St. Louis Artist Guild, 1955 (solo); "Sketches of Southern Illinois," Sparta, IL, 1983; Missouri Hist. Soc., 1987 (retrospective)"

Member: St. Louis Artist Guild; Friday Nighters

Work: Missouri Hist. Soc.; St. Louis Mus. A.; Murals: Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis; Sparta (IL) City Hall; Sparta (IL) Savings and Loan

Comments: Known for his pencil sketches of historic sites, particularly of Southern Illinois and St. Louis. He produced portfolios of his drawings of local scenes in St. Louis, St. Gevevieve, New England, the Carolinas, Texas, New Orleans, and Quebec. During the 1940s he focused on historic sites and buildings of Southern Illinois, producing a portfolio of hundreds of sketches, some appearing in the magazine, The Egypptian Key. His work also appeared as covers for a number of magazines, including Sunshine; Illinois; Ford Times; and Greyhound Bus Highway Traveler. His sketches of riverboats and Ozark mills were reproduced on calenders. In addition to pencil, Misselhorn also produced views in pen and ink, woodblock, and engraving. Teacher, Southern Ill. Univ., adult classes, Sparta, IL, 1950s-60s. Other positions: political cartoonist for Sparta newspaper in early 1920s; as a commercial artist, he worked for Budweiser and Carbondale Free Press. Author: Sketching with Pencil (Bridgman Pub., 1949); Misselhorn's Pencil Sketches of Missouri (Riverside Press, 1970s).

Sources: Harry Hagen, Misselhorn's Pencil Sketches of St. Louis (Riverside Press, 1970s); info. courtesy Philip Tomsich, Wildwood, MO.