Michael Francis PODULKE

 

Born April 10, 1922 in Mazeppa, Minnesota - Died December 20, 1980, Norden, Ostfriesland, Germany

 

Pagliacci (The Clowns) - After the Opera by Ruggero Leoncavallo (Title written by hand lower left).

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.

 

Original Engraving

 

Signed in pencil lower right by the artist. Dated [19]51.

 

Dimensions: Around 19 X 15 inches (full sheet including margins)

 

Condition: The sheet has some light spotting and toning.

 

SOLD