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Koehler, Robert (1850–1917)

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Black and white photograph of Robert Koehler, c.1907.

Robert Koehler, c.1907.

Robert Koehler was a German-born American painter, educator, and arts organizer known for his pivotal role in the development of arts exhibitions and arts education in Minnesota. He was the director of the Minneapolis School of Fine Arts from 1893 to 1914 and was a central figure in the founding of the Minneapolis Institute of Arts.

Koehler was born Robert Köhler in Hamburg, Germany, on November 28, 1850. Four years later, when he and his family immigrated to Milwaukee, they dropped the umlaut. By the 1870s, Koehler was working as a lithographer in New York City while studying art in night classes at the National Academy of Design.

In 1873, Koehler left New York for art school in Munich. He stayed there for two years, studying with noted German artists. Many of his teachers belonged to the Munich School. The group worked in the style of academic realism, an idealistic approach to painting contemporary or historical real life. In 1875, Koehler returned to New York and to his studies at the National Academy. Later, he studied at the Art Students League.

1879 again found Koehler in Munich. For the next six years, he taught in private classes, and later in his own art school, and involved himself in the art world of the city. In 1883, he organized the American section of the Munich International Exhibition, then did it again in 1888.

Koehler received bronze and silver medals at the Munich Academy and an honorable mention at the Paris Exposition Universelle in 1889 for one of his most famous paintings, The Strike. The painting had already drawn both praise and criticism at the National Academy of Design’s exhibition in 1886, a year of an international wave of labor strikes.

Later, the Minneapolis Society of Fine Arts (MSFA) bought the work and promised to put it on permanent exhibition in the Minneapolis Public Library. The nine-foot-long painting remained in the library’s attic for decades and was eventually acquired by Berlin’s Deutsches Historisches Museum.

In 1893, Koehler accepted an offer to come to Minneapolis to teach in the Minneapolis School of Fine Arts (later renamed the Minneapolis College of Art and Design). The school had been founded in 1886 by the then three-year-old Minneapolis Society of Fine Arts.

At the turn of the century, Minneapolis galleries, art societies, and artists’ studios held exhibitions of local, national, and, increasingly, international artists. T. B. Walker’s public gallery was developing into the museum it would become in 1927: Walker Art Galleries (later renamed the Walker Art Center). Many of the works of fine European and Asian art then acquired by Minneapolis collectors would later find their way to the Minneapolis Institute of Arts, founded in 1915. Minneapolis was poised to become the art center of the upper Midwest.

Soon after Koehler arrived in the city, he became the director of the MSFA. The school’s profile and curriculum grew under his directorship. The curriculum was classical, like most other art schools, but the strains of modernism coming out of Europe and New York were not completely ignored. Koehler was a vocal proponent of Impressionism and later of Cubism and Futurism. After ten years as director, he resigned but was still recognized as an essential part of the school, referred to by staff and students as “Papa Koehler.”

Koehler had a general enthusiasm for encouraging the Minnesota art world. In 1898, the Minnesota State Art Society was founded. Among its many goals was sending touring exhibitions around Minnesota to share fine art with those outside the Twin Cities.

Koehler was the society’s first president. He founded the Artists League, an association of local artists whose exhibitions illustrated the talent of the Twin Cities to the satisfaction of both the local and national press. Finally, in 1915, he played a pivotal role in the creation of the Minneapolis Institute of Arts.

Koehler continued to paint and exhibit, and to organize artists and exhibitions, until his death. On April 23, 1917, he died of a heart attack. The Minneapolis School of Fine Arts closed on April 25 to allow students and staff to attend the funeral.

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  • Bibliography

“Art Students at Koehler Funeral: Institute Directors and Officers Attend Rites of Former Director.” Minneapolis Journal, April 25, 1917.

Brooks, Edmund. Exhibition of Recent Paintings by Robert Koehler: October Sixteenth to Thirty-first, 1916, at the Gallery of Edmund D. Brooks, 89 Tenth Street South. Minneapolis: The Gallery, 1916.

Coen, Rena Neumann. Painting and Sculpture in Minnesota, 1820–1914. Minneapolis: University of Minnesota Press, 1976.

Conforti, Michael. Minnesota 1900: Art and Life on the Upper Mississippi, 1890–1915. Newark, DE: University of Delaware Press, 1994.

“Cubists Condemned by Clergyman and Praised by Artist.” Minneapolis Journal, April 12, 1913.

Dennis, James M. Robert Koehler’s The Strike: The Improbable Story of an Iconic 1886 Painting of Labor Protest. Madison, WI: The University of Wisconsin Press, 2011.

Gale and related families papers, 1753–2013 (bulk 1813–1998)
Manuscripts Collection, Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul
http://www2.mnhs.org/library/findaids/00319.xml
Description: The collection includes correspondence, printed materials, programs, financial statements, reports, and newspaper clippings documenting the activities of attorney Edward C. Gale, including his work on behalf of the Minneapolis Society of Fine Arts.

Flagg, Harriet S. “Robert Koehler.” Minneapolis Journal, April 28, 1917.

Folwell, William Watts. “A Timely Suggestion.” Minneapolis Journal, December 8, 1900.

Gale, Harlow. Robert Koehler and the Art League. [Minneapolis]: N.p., 1917.

John S. Bradstreet & Co. Exhibition and Sale of Paintings, Drawings, and Etchings, the Works of Robert Koehler: Held at the Art Rooms of John S. Bradstreet & Co. Minneapolis: The Company, 1900.

“Koehler Funeral Set for Tomorrow: Minneapolis School of Art to Remain Closed as Mark of Respect.” Minneapolis Journal, April 24, 1917.

Minneapolis Institute of Art. Rainy Evening on Hennepin Avenue.
http://collections.artsmia.org/art/303/rainy-evening-on-hennepin-avenue-robert-koehler

N6537
Pamphlets Relating to Artists in Minnesota, 1890–
Pamphlet Collection, Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul
Description: Pamphlets and printed ephemera relating to the biography and works of Minnesota artists, including Robert Koehler.

“Robert Koehler, Art Teacher, Drops Dead.” Minneapolis Morning Tribune, April 24, 1917.

M512
Robert Koehler correspondence, 1888–1927
Microfilm Collection, Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul
Description: Correspondence (mostly 1888–1890) relating to Koehler’s The Strike, a painting depicting industrial conflict. Most of the letters deal with Koehler’s efforts to withdraw the painting from the exhibition and replace it with the original sketch for the canvas so that it could be purchased for a Milwaukee art gallery.

Related Images

Black and white photograph of Robert Koehler, c.1907.
Black and white photograph of Robert Koehler, c.1907.
"Kloestevl und Jagdschloss in Hinterviss, Tyrol," 1874. Pen and Ink on paper by Robert Koehler.
"Kloestevl und Jagdschloss in Hinterviss, Tyrol," 1874. Pen and Ink on paper by Robert Koehler.
"Self Portrait," 1881. Pen and ink on paper by Robert Koehler.
"Self Portrait," 1881. Pen and ink on paper by Robert Koehler.
"Self Portrait Behind an Easel," 1881. Charcoal on paper by Robert Koehler.
"Self Portrait Behind an Easel," 1881. Charcoal on paper by Robert Koehler.
"The Strike," 1885. Print by Robert Koehler.
"The Strike," 1885. Print by Robert Koehler.
"The Socialist," 1885. Etching on paper by Robert Koehler.
"The Socialist," 1885. Etching on paper by Robert Koehler.
"Old Woman looking down," c.1885. Etching by Robert Koehler.
"Old Woman looking down," c.1885. Etching by Robert Koehler.
"Woman in a Rocking Chair," c.1885. Watercolor on paper by Robert Koehler.
"Woman in a Rocking Chair," c.1885. Watercolor on paper by Robert Koehler.
"Two Figures in Profile," c.1885. Etching by Robert Koehler.
"Two Figures in Profile," c.1885. Etching by Robert Koehler.
"Two Crossed Trees," c.1885. Etching by Robert Koehler.
"Two Crossed Trees," c.1885. Etching by Robert Koehler.
Black and white photograph of the studio of artist Robert Koehler in Minneapolis, c.1900.
Black and white photograph of the studio of artist Robert Koehler in Minneapolis, c.1900.
Color image of "Rainy Evening on Hennepin Avenue," c.1902, Oil on canvas painting by Robert Koehler.
Color image of "Rainy Evening on Hennepin Avenue," c.1902, Oil on canvas painting by Robert Koehler.

Turning Point

In 1893, Robert Koehler becomes the second director of the Minneapolis School of Fine Arts.

Chronology

November 28, 1850

Robert Koehler is born Robert Köhler in Hamburg, Germany.

1854

The Koehler family immigrates to Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

1871

Koehler travels to New York for eye surgery. He stays to work as a lithographer and attend night classes at the National Academy of Design.

1873

Koehler begins to study fine art at the Royal Academy in Munich. His teachers include academists Karl von Piloty and Ludwig Thiersch. He returns to New York in 1875 because of a lack of funds.

1877

Koehler exhibits at New York’s National Academy.

1879

Koehler returns to Munich and the Royal Academy. He stays in Munich for more than a decade, teaching private classes, establishing an art school, and organizing exhibitions of American artists in Munich as the president of the Munich Artists’ Club.

1883

Koehler organizes the American section of the Munich International Exhibition, a role he would again fill in 1888.

1889

One of Koehler’s most famous works, The Strike, painted in 1886, is exhibited in the American Section of the Paris Exposition Universelle. The Minneapolis Society of Fine Arts eventually acquires the work.

1893

Koehler moves to Minneapolis to become the director of the Minneapolis School of Fine Arts.

1900

The Strike is featured at a solo show at the Bradstreet gallery. No paintings are sold from the show, prompting William Watts Folwell to write and publish an open letter criticizing the art patrons of Minneapolis.

1903

Koehler becomes the president of the Minnesota State Art Commission, a position he holds for seven years.

1910

Koehler wins a bronze medal at the International Art Exhibition at Buenos Aires.

1913

Koehler attends the International Exhibition of Modern Art (the Armory Exhibition) in Chicago and, back in Minnesota, argues the merits of Cubism and Futurism to the citizens of Minneapolis.

1914

Koehler retires as the director of the Minneapolis School of Fine Arts.

1917

Koehler dies in Minneapolis on April 23.