View source for 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.<ref name="merrill">{{cite book|last=Merrill|first=Peter C.|date=1997|title=German American Artists in Milwaukee: A bibliographical Dictionary|url=https://search.library.wisc.edu/digital/API3UUO6QQKQPD8V|location=Madison Wisconsin|publisher=Friends of the Max Kade Institute for German-American Studies}}</ref><ref name="Krainik">{{Cite magazine|last=Krainik|first=Cliff|url=https://content.wisconsinhistory.org/digital/api/collection/wmh/id/52694/download|title=The Artist Couple of Mineral Point Max and Ava Fernekes A Duet in Paint and Clay|work=Wisconsin Magazine of History|via=Wisconsin Historical Society|format=JPEG 2000|date=Summer 2018|accessdate=27 March 2023}}</ref>
{{Infobox person|name=Maximillian (Max) Margius Fernekes|image=|imagesize=|alt=|caption=|birth_name=|birth_date={{birth date|1905|07|07}}|birth_place=Milwaukee, Wisconsin|death_date=1905|death_place=Lampasas, Texas|nationality=|movement=|works=|awards=|signature=}}
== Biography ==
Max 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.<ref name="merrill" /><ref name="Krainik" />

He survived the Great American Depression selling his art in Milwaukee's street 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.<ref name="merrill" /><ref name="Krainik" />

He illustrated in the 1930s “The [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Index_of_American_Design Index of American Design]”, a catalog of pre-1880s decorative arts of Wisconsin, written by Clarence F. Hornung. This was financed in the Great Depression by the highly publicized Works Progress Administration, which provided jobs to indigent American artists.  One of his work included was 'Arch Grill' (1938) <ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.nga.gov/collection/art-object-page.23756.html|title=Arch Grill, 1938 by Max Fernekes -National Gallery Art|accessdate=14 May 2023}}</ref>. It helped launch his career as an illustrator. He was then commissioned by the Milwaukee journals, and magazines and newspapers, among other.<ref name="merrill" /><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.cedarburgartmuseum.org/past-exhibitions-55|title=Cedarburg Museum Past Exhibitions|accessdate=27 March 2023}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.annexgalleries.com/artists/biography/4524/Fernekes/Maximillion|title=Maximillian Margius Fernekes Biography -The Annex Gallery|accessdate=27 March 2023}}</ref>

He 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 Corp., the more than 90 paintings Fernekes collection was donated to the Wisconsin Historical Society.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://newsroom.associatedbank.com/releases/wisconsin-historical-society-receives-former-bank-mutuals-max-fernekes-art-collection/|title=Wisconsin Historical Society Recieves as a Donation Bank Mutual's Ferneke's Art Collection|accessdate=27 March 2023}}</ref>

== Works ==
Max Ferneke's work is very rarely available at auction<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.invaluable.com/artist/fernekes-max-r48yhnhwi0/sold-at-auction-prices/|title=Maximillian Margius Fernekes Art Sold At Auction|accessdate=27 March 2023}}</ref> but a number of his paintings are owned by the city of Milwaukee and on display, so can be viewed in various city buildings.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://city.milwaukee.gov/ImageLibrary/Groups/cityDCD/artsboard/pdfs/MABARTCATALOGw-photosforweb7-2022.pdf|title=City of Milwaukee Art Collection and Location|accessdate=27 March 2023}}</ref> These include:

Arch Grill, National Gallery of Art -not on display.

Elegance from Time Victorian, etching on display at the Milwaukee City Hall.

Gesu Church Milwaukee, etching, on display at the city of Milwaukee 841 Bldg.

Jones Island Main Street, etching on display at the Milwaukee City Hall.

Milwaukee Avenue, etching on display at the Milwaukee City Hall.

Milwaukee Skyline, etching on display at the Milwaukee City Hall.

Northpoint Water Tower Milwaukee, etching on display at the City Hall.

Northwestern Depot Milwaukee, etching on display at the city of Milwaukee 809 Bldg.

Old Barn, watercolor, at the city of Milwaukee -not on display.

Wells Street Bridge Milwaukee, etching on display at the city of Milwaukee 841 Bldg.

== Museum Collections ==

* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/National_Gallery_of_Art National Gallery of Art, Washington, DC]
* City of Milwaukee
* [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wisconsin_Historical_Society Wisconsin Historical Society, Madison, WI]

== References ==
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{{Authority control}} {{DEFAULTSORT:Fernekes, Max}}

[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:People_from_Milwaukee Category:People from Milwaukee] [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:1905_births Category:1905 births] [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:1984_deaths Category:1984 deaths] [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:American_people_of_German_descent Category:American people of German descent] [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:19th-century_American_painters Category:19th-century American painters] [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:American_male_painters Category:American male painters] [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:19th-century_American_male_artists Category:19th-century American male artists]