Max Fernekes

Maximillian (Max) Margius Fernekes was an American artist known for his etching and watercolors of the Wisconsin cityscapes. He has been called the Norman Rockwell of Mineral Point and Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

Fernekes was born to Max Fernekes Sr., a local architect who encouraged him to study engineering at Marquette University. Unfulfilled, Fernekes dropped out to become a full time artist. He first studied painting and printmaking for a year under artist Gustave Moeller.

Fernekes survived the Great Depression selling his art in the streets of Milwaukee with his wife the artist Ava Avery Fernekes. His work often depicts rural Wisconsin landscapes, documents its architecture and the daily lives of peoples, and at times cityscapes.

Fernekes illustrated in the 1930s Index of American Design, a catalog of pre-1880s decorative arts of Wisconsin, written by Clarence F. Hornung. This was financed by the highly publicized Works Progress Administration, which provided jobs to indigent American artists. One of his work included was 'Arch Grill' (1938). This helped launch his career as an illustrator. Fernekes was then commissioned by various Milwaukee journals, magazines, and newspapers.

Fernekes was a prolific artist and had many devoted fans. Among them was Michael T. Crowley Sr., former CEO of Bank Mutual, collected the paintings, which were displayed throughout Bank Mutual's corporate headquarters. When Associated Banc-Corp bought Bank Mutual, more than 90 paintings of Fernekes was donated to the Wisconsin Historical Society.

Text courtesy of Wikipedia, 2023