Michael Francis PODULKE

 

Born October 4, 1922 in Mazeppa, Minnesota - Died December 20, 1980, Norden, Ostfriesland, Germany

The painter and graphic artist Michael Podulke grew up in a small american village in Minnesota called Mazeppa. His parents were both immigrants from Europe - his father, the village blacksmith, was Polish, his mother Norwegian.

 

Podulke entered the army immediately after high school and served in the Pacific during WWII. At one point during the conflict, he managed to survive 47 days alone in the Philippine jungle. After the war, much decorated by the army, Podulke went back to school, studying art at the University of Minnesota.

 

In the 1950s, Podulke moved to the Netherlands where he helped to found an art gallery. In 1975 he moved to the town of Norden in Ostfriesland Germany, and worked in a studio there until his death in 1980.