1 00:00:01,320 --> 00:00:04,240 Speaker 1: Welcome to Stuff You Missed in History Class, a production 2 00:00:04,400 --> 00:00:13,880 Speaker 1: of iHeartRadio. Hello, and welcome to the podcast. I'm Holly 3 00:00:13,920 --> 00:00:15,360 Speaker 1: Frye and I'm Tracy V. 4 00:00:15,480 --> 00:00:19,160 Speaker 2: Wilson. So artist Wanda Gog is another that has been 5 00:00:19,200 --> 00:00:22,239 Speaker 2: on my list for quite a while. If you look 6 00:00:22,280 --> 00:00:24,159 Speaker 2: at her art, it's pretty natural to want to know 7 00:00:24,200 --> 00:00:27,720 Speaker 2: who the person behind it is. Alice Gregory, writing for 8 00:00:27,760 --> 00:00:31,320 Speaker 2: The New Yorker in twenty fourteen, described Gog's work this way, 9 00:00:31,360 --> 00:00:34,600 Speaker 2: which I thought was quite beautiful quote fairy tale familiar, 10 00:00:34,680 --> 00:00:40,640 Speaker 2: but also strange and unforgettably specific. Gog's work is high contrast. 11 00:00:40,720 --> 00:00:43,440 Speaker 2: It's mostly black and white, and it runs the gamut 12 00:00:43,479 --> 00:00:46,879 Speaker 2: from illustrations for children's books, which she also wrote, to 13 00:00:47,040 --> 00:00:51,599 Speaker 2: intriguing still lifes that look anything but still. And her 14 00:00:51,640 --> 00:00:55,440 Speaker 2: personality in her life story is equally enthralling, from her 15 00:00:55,560 --> 00:00:59,840 Speaker 2: very unusual childhood to her quest for independence as an artist. 16 00:01:00,760 --> 00:01:03,800 Speaker 2: We also have the benefit with Gog of covering a 17 00:01:03,880 --> 00:01:07,200 Speaker 2: subject that was a prolific diarist, so we do know 18 00:01:07,360 --> 00:01:10,000 Speaker 2: a lot about her inner thoughts and the details of 19 00:01:10,000 --> 00:01:12,680 Speaker 2: her day to day life. And because of this wealth 20 00:01:12,720 --> 00:01:16,039 Speaker 2: of information, and because I just find her wildly intriguing. 21 00:01:16,480 --> 00:01:18,760 Speaker 2: She is a two parter, so today we're going to 22 00:01:18,840 --> 00:01:22,039 Speaker 2: talk about her early life up through art school and 23 00:01:22,080 --> 00:01:25,840 Speaker 2: her early professional career, and then on Wednesday's episode we 24 00:01:25,880 --> 00:01:29,119 Speaker 2: will talk about the fame and success that she had 25 00:01:29,200 --> 00:01:33,400 Speaker 2: starting in the late nineteen twenties. Wanda Hazel Gog was 26 00:01:33,400 --> 00:01:36,600 Speaker 2: born on March eleventh, eighteen ninety three. She was the 27 00:01:36,640 --> 00:01:41,520 Speaker 2: first child of Anton and Elizabeth Biebelgog. Elizabeth went by Lissi. 28 00:01:42,360 --> 00:01:45,160 Speaker 2: Anton had moved to the US in eighteen seventy two 29 00:01:45,280 --> 00:01:48,160 Speaker 2: from Bohemia, which at the time was part of Austria. 30 00:01:48,840 --> 00:01:50,880 Speaker 2: He was thirteen and had moved to the town of 31 00:01:51,000 --> 00:01:55,320 Speaker 2: New Ulm, Minnesota. Lissy, who was ten years younger than 32 00:01:55,360 --> 00:01:58,640 Speaker 2: he was, moved there just a year after he did 33 00:01:58,720 --> 00:02:03,440 Speaker 2: from her birthplace of Hairsburg, Pennsylvania. Her parents, like Anton's, 34 00:02:03,480 --> 00:02:04,360 Speaker 2: were from Bohemia. 35 00:02:05,120 --> 00:02:09,480 Speaker 1: Anton stayed in Newulm, which had a large Austrian German population. 36 00:02:09,760 --> 00:02:12,919 Speaker 1: As an adult, he had always envisioned a life as 37 00:02:12,919 --> 00:02:16,040 Speaker 1: an artist for himself, but that wasn't an avenue that 38 00:02:16,120 --> 00:02:20,320 Speaker 1: was really going to offer him a dependable living in Newolm. Still, 39 00:02:20,480 --> 00:02:23,840 Speaker 1: he incorporated creativity into his work as best he could, 40 00:02:23,880 --> 00:02:27,679 Speaker 1: working as a photographer, a painter, and a decorator. One 41 00:02:27,680 --> 00:02:29,880 Speaker 1: of his most prominent works was a mural that he 42 00:02:29,919 --> 00:02:32,760 Speaker 1: painted on commission for the World's Fair the Yrwanda was 43 00:02:32,800 --> 00:02:35,880 Speaker 1: born that was showing the Dakota attacking New Elm in 44 00:02:35,919 --> 00:02:39,240 Speaker 1: eighteen sixty two. This was commissioned as the Sioux attacking 45 00:02:39,320 --> 00:02:41,440 Speaker 1: New Elm, just to point out how things have changed 46 00:02:41,880 --> 00:02:43,799 Speaker 1: and how they kind of made up their own versions 47 00:02:43,840 --> 00:02:47,400 Speaker 1: of what had happened. After that fair, the mural was 48 00:02:47,480 --> 00:02:51,360 Speaker 1: moved to the Minnesota state Capitol. Wanda later wrote of 49 00:02:51,400 --> 00:02:55,960 Speaker 1: this work, which was, of course somewhat controversial, quote, I 50 00:02:56,040 --> 00:02:59,280 Speaker 1: have often wondered with what mixed emotions Papa must have 51 00:02:59,360 --> 00:03:03,760 Speaker 1: made these picks. Naturally, he sympathized with the pioneers, who 52 00:03:03,760 --> 00:03:06,440 Speaker 1: threw no fault of their own, had been so brutally attacked, 53 00:03:06,760 --> 00:03:09,440 Speaker 1: and yet I know that he loved the Indians also 54 00:03:09,600 --> 00:03:13,680 Speaker 1: and felt they had been wronged. Still, it made money, 55 00:03:13,960 --> 00:03:16,960 Speaker 1: and Anton needed that money as he was starting a family. 56 00:03:17,880 --> 00:03:19,920 Speaker 1: Thanks to that income, he was able to build a 57 00:03:19,960 --> 00:03:22,880 Speaker 1: Queen Anne style house in New Olm at two twenty 58 00:03:22,919 --> 00:03:28,280 Speaker 1: six North Washington Street, but practicality never dampened his or 59 00:03:28,360 --> 00:03:31,840 Speaker 1: Lyssi's love of the arts, and they strongly encouraged their 60 00:03:31,919 --> 00:03:36,600 Speaker 1: children's creativity in every way. Anton and Lissie had six 61 00:03:36,720 --> 00:03:42,080 Speaker 1: more children after Wanda, Stella, Delhi, Howard, Asta, the Znelda 62 00:03:42,200 --> 00:03:45,880 Speaker 1: who went by Tussy and Flavia. The early years of 63 00:03:45,880 --> 00:03:49,360 Speaker 1: the Gog family sound quite beautiful and lively. Despite money 64 00:03:49,400 --> 00:03:52,880 Speaker 1: being tight, the kids always had art projects, both at 65 00:03:52,880 --> 00:03:56,720 Speaker 1: home and when visiting their nearby relatives. Apparently, when the 66 00:03:56,800 --> 00:04:00,200 Speaker 1: kids found out that not everyone drew as part of 67 00:04:00,200 --> 00:04:02,400 Speaker 1: their day to day life, they were taken aback and 68 00:04:02,560 --> 00:04:07,000 Speaker 1: really a little confused. Wanda mentioned in her diary how 69 00:04:07,080 --> 00:04:10,480 Speaker 1: odd it was that other families didn't think of quote, 70 00:04:10,640 --> 00:04:14,800 Speaker 1: drawing and painting as essential activities as eating and sleeping. 71 00:04:15,600 --> 00:04:19,520 Speaker 1: Wanda very clearly admired her father and deeply appreciated the 72 00:04:19,600 --> 00:04:23,680 Speaker 1: artistic encouragement that their household offered to everyone in the family. 73 00:04:24,040 --> 00:04:27,400 Speaker 1: She wrote, quote, in our home, artistic expression of all 74 00:04:27,480 --> 00:04:31,000 Speaker 1: kinds was taken for granted. Our father, Anton Gog, was 75 00:04:31,040 --> 00:04:33,840 Speaker 1: an artist, and in our mother's family, the creative urge 76 00:04:33,839 --> 00:04:37,520 Speaker 1: took the form of painting, modeling, and fine cabinet work. 77 00:04:38,120 --> 00:04:41,200 Speaker 1: We children, six girls and a boy, all drew, and 78 00:04:41,320 --> 00:04:45,279 Speaker 1: most of us wrote stories and poems. Anton Gog, though 79 00:04:45,360 --> 00:04:48,599 Speaker 1: always in delicate health, worked hard and kept his large 80 00:04:48,600 --> 00:04:52,960 Speaker 1: family in modest comfort. During the week, for his livelihood, 81 00:04:53,000 --> 00:04:56,640 Speaker 1: he decorated houses and churches, but on Sundays, for his 82 00:04:56,760 --> 00:05:01,560 Speaker 1: inner satisfaction, he painted pictures in his attic studio. We 83 00:05:01,760 --> 00:05:04,880 Speaker 1: children had learned early how to behave when someone was 84 00:05:05,040 --> 00:05:08,640 Speaker 1: making something, and were sometimes allowed in his studio while 85 00:05:08,640 --> 00:05:12,359 Speaker 1: he painted there. I liked this. There was a silent, 86 00:05:12,560 --> 00:05:15,320 Speaker 1: serious happiness in the air, which, although I had no 87 00:05:15,400 --> 00:05:18,760 Speaker 1: words for it, then I recognized as the ineffable joy 88 00:05:18,800 --> 00:05:23,640 Speaker 1: of creation. I had already experienced this exaltation myself at times, 89 00:05:23,720 --> 00:05:26,919 Speaker 1: so I knew that on Sundays my father was happy 90 00:05:26,960 --> 00:05:31,279 Speaker 1: in his soul. But unfortunately, that happy home, filled with 91 00:05:31,320 --> 00:05:35,200 Speaker 1: the joy of creativity, did not last forever. In May 92 00:05:35,279 --> 00:05:39,640 Speaker 1: nineteen oh eight, Anton died of tuberculosis, plunging the family 93 00:05:39,760 --> 00:05:44,600 Speaker 1: into a period of grief and financial uncertainty. Wanda's diaries 94 00:05:44,640 --> 00:05:47,680 Speaker 1: from her adolescence offer some insight into her drive to 95 00:05:47,720 --> 00:05:51,920 Speaker 1: make money and also her feelings about her own artistic integrity. 96 00:05:52,320 --> 00:05:55,360 Speaker 1: Her published diaries began on August twelfth, nineteen oh eight, 97 00:05:55,360 --> 00:05:57,640 Speaker 1: when she would have been fifteen so that was just 98 00:05:57,920 --> 00:06:01,400 Speaker 1: six months or so after her father's death. The first 99 00:06:01,640 --> 00:06:04,000 Speaker 1: entry makes her mindset pretty clear. Quote. 100 00:06:04,040 --> 00:06:06,640 Speaker 2: I sent one of my pictures to the journal Junior 101 00:06:06,839 --> 00:06:09,719 Speaker 2: Toddy's hanged our dollies and forgot to put my address 102 00:06:09,760 --> 00:06:12,400 Speaker 2: on it, so I sent another envelope with my address 103 00:06:12,440 --> 00:06:15,599 Speaker 2: on it the same day. I send a story Lose Soap, 104 00:06:15,640 --> 00:06:18,600 Speaker 2: Bubble Party, and a picture to illustrate it to McCall's. 105 00:06:19,160 --> 00:06:22,000 Speaker 2: Some time ago, I sent these three articles to the 106 00:06:22,040 --> 00:06:27,400 Speaker 2: Youth Companion Story, Golden Brooch, picture, great Grandmother's Chest, poem, 107 00:06:27,560 --> 00:06:30,120 Speaker 2: great Grandmother's Chest. I wonder how the whole thing will 108 00:06:30,160 --> 00:06:33,760 Speaker 2: turn out. A few days ago, Margaret Kelly told me 109 00:06:33,880 --> 00:06:38,040 Speaker 2: that Martha Schmid didn't believe I drew freehand. She thinks 110 00:06:38,080 --> 00:06:42,599 Speaker 2: I trace trace, indeed, when I don't even care much 111 00:06:42,680 --> 00:06:43,360 Speaker 2: for copying. 112 00:06:44,160 --> 00:06:47,239 Speaker 1: I love how indignant she is an me that she's 113 00:06:47,360 --> 00:06:53,200 Speaker 1: like how dare yes. On a more serious note, she 114 00:06:53,400 --> 00:06:57,560 Speaker 1: also notes very carefully in the early entries any money 115 00:06:57,560 --> 00:07:00,839 Speaker 1: that she makes from her writing, in any care prizes 116 00:07:00,920 --> 00:07:04,320 Speaker 1: she and her siblings win in competitions like at the 117 00:07:04,320 --> 00:07:09,239 Speaker 1: County Fair. She was very keenly aware of the loss 118 00:07:09,240 --> 00:07:11,960 Speaker 1: of her father as a breadwinner as well, of course, 119 00:07:12,000 --> 00:07:15,200 Speaker 1: as a beloved family member. She mentions at one point 120 00:07:15,200 --> 00:07:17,880 Speaker 1: that the money she has collected from various winnings will 121 00:07:17,920 --> 00:07:20,960 Speaker 1: pay for shoes because she has outgrown hers and she 122 00:07:21,000 --> 00:07:24,760 Speaker 1: cannot wear them any longer without pain. And this concern 123 00:07:24,880 --> 00:07:28,120 Speaker 1: over finances may be linked to something that she took 124 00:07:28,240 --> 00:07:32,679 Speaker 1: directly from her last moments with her father. His last 125 00:07:32,680 --> 00:07:36,440 Speaker 1: words were what Papa was unable to accomplish, Wanda will 126 00:07:36,440 --> 00:07:39,880 Speaker 1: have to finish. So whether he meant that in terms 127 00:07:39,880 --> 00:07:42,640 Speaker 1: of artistic expression or in taking care of the family 128 00:07:42,720 --> 00:07:47,480 Speaker 1: has been interpreted differently by different historians. But either way, 129 00:07:47,920 --> 00:07:50,520 Speaker 1: that's a lot to put on a fifteen year old shoulders. 130 00:07:50,720 --> 00:07:51,440 Speaker 1: And to make. 131 00:07:51,280 --> 00:07:54,360 Speaker 2: Matters worse, her mother Lissy, was not in good health, 132 00:07:54,440 --> 00:07:58,400 Speaker 2: so Wanda truly emerged at that point as the family's 133 00:07:58,440 --> 00:08:03,040 Speaker 2: breadwinner when she was a high school age teenager. We'll 134 00:08:03,040 --> 00:08:05,720 Speaker 2: talk about Wanda's daily life and the struggles of the 135 00:08:05,760 --> 00:08:09,080 Speaker 2: Goog family after Anton's death, after we pause for a 136 00:08:09,120 --> 00:08:22,280 Speaker 2: sponsor break. When Wanda wasn't drawing or writing material that 137 00:08:22,400 --> 00:08:25,400 Speaker 2: she hoped to sell to bring money in, she was 138 00:08:25,440 --> 00:08:29,239 Speaker 2: taking care of her six siblings. In one diary entry, 139 00:08:29,280 --> 00:08:32,440 Speaker 2: she writes about a rumor that a classmate shared with her, quote, 140 00:08:32,679 --> 00:08:35,360 Speaker 2: fern Fisher was here yesterday and she said that somebody 141 00:08:35,400 --> 00:08:38,240 Speaker 2: told her that I don't do anything but read and draw. 142 00:08:38,840 --> 00:08:42,280 Speaker 1: I guess so. I wonder if washing dishes, sweeping about 143 00:08:42,280 --> 00:08:44,760 Speaker 1: six times a day, picking up things the baby and 144 00:08:44,800 --> 00:08:47,880 Speaker 1: Howard throw around are reading and I've never heard of 145 00:08:47,960 --> 00:08:51,280 Speaker 1: taking care of babies, combing little sisters, cleaning bedrooms and 146 00:08:51,320 --> 00:08:54,760 Speaker 1: attics as being classed as drawing. I wonder what else 147 00:08:54,800 --> 00:08:55,880 Speaker 1: people will say about me. 148 00:08:56,760 --> 00:08:59,960 Speaker 2: She also talks about making dinner when her mother, who 149 00:09:00,080 --> 00:09:02,800 Speaker 2: had recently given birth to the last child of the family, 150 00:09:02,960 --> 00:09:07,720 Speaker 2: needed to sleep. These entries about mealmaking are really saddening. 151 00:09:08,160 --> 00:09:10,840 Speaker 2: She describes not having much food to cook with and 152 00:09:10,960 --> 00:09:13,680 Speaker 2: having to figure out how to stretch what ingredients they 153 00:09:13,720 --> 00:09:16,920 Speaker 2: could afford, and how to divide the food among all 154 00:09:16,960 --> 00:09:20,040 Speaker 2: the kids so everyone got some. But there are also 155 00:09:20,200 --> 00:09:24,160 Speaker 2: delighted mentions of books she read, art her siblings, made 156 00:09:24,320 --> 00:09:30,439 Speaker 2: gifts from relatives, etc. But always always the careful accounting 157 00:09:30,520 --> 00:09:33,960 Speaker 2: of the money she makes through her magazine submissions and 158 00:09:34,160 --> 00:09:38,240 Speaker 2: odd jobs like making party place cards on commission, and 159 00:09:38,400 --> 00:09:40,800 Speaker 2: how much she is able to give her mother to 160 00:09:40,880 --> 00:09:44,320 Speaker 2: keep the family afloat. In nineteen oh nine, sixteen year 161 00:09:44,360 --> 00:09:48,880 Speaker 2: old Wanda had a professional break. The Minneapolis Journal published 162 00:09:48,880 --> 00:09:53,280 Speaker 2: a ten part series titled Robbie, Bobby and Mother Gooseland 163 00:09:53,480 --> 00:09:57,160 Speaker 2: and paid her fifty dollars for it. As Wanda neared 164 00:09:57,160 --> 00:09:59,880 Speaker 2: the end of high school and plotted a potential make 165 00:10:00,160 --> 00:10:03,960 Speaker 2: do job as a teacher, she also dreamed, as anyone would, 166 00:10:04,040 --> 00:10:05,920 Speaker 2: of a life where she might not have to take 167 00:10:05,960 --> 00:10:09,600 Speaker 2: such employment, noting in her diary quote, if I ever married, 168 00:10:09,960 --> 00:10:12,440 Speaker 2: next to marrying for love, I shall marry so that 169 00:10:12,480 --> 00:10:16,200 Speaker 2: I won't have to bother myself with financial matters, at 170 00:10:16,240 --> 00:10:19,760 Speaker 2: least I think so now. She did get a teaching 171 00:10:19,840 --> 00:10:22,760 Speaker 2: job in nineteen twelve after graduating from high school, but 172 00:10:22,840 --> 00:10:26,200 Speaker 2: her eye was still on an art career, and there 173 00:10:26,240 --> 00:10:30,439 Speaker 2: were some fortuitous events that made that dream possible. She 174 00:10:30,480 --> 00:10:33,920 Speaker 2: had never stopped entering her artwork in competitions, and she 175 00:10:34,000 --> 00:10:36,480 Speaker 2: won a fair number of them, enough to be mentioned 176 00:10:36,480 --> 00:10:40,120 Speaker 2: in the papers on several occasions, and those mentions got 177 00:10:40,120 --> 00:10:43,480 Speaker 2: in front of the right eyes. Tyler McWhorter, the head 178 00:10:43,520 --> 00:10:46,320 Speaker 2: of the Saint Paul's School of Art, had told Wanda 179 00:10:46,440 --> 00:10:49,280 Speaker 2: that she could attend on a scholarship and that she 180 00:10:49,480 --> 00:10:53,160 Speaker 2: only had to pay for living expenses, but that was 181 00:10:53,360 --> 00:10:56,920 Speaker 2: way out of the realm of possibility financially. As Wanda 182 00:10:56,960 --> 00:11:00,440 Speaker 2: put it, quote, which is certainly dandy, but the school 183 00:11:00,520 --> 00:11:04,280 Speaker 2: experiment goes first. So mister mcwarter, great deal of thanks 184 00:11:04,280 --> 00:11:06,800 Speaker 2: and a pile of regrets to you. But then in 185 00:11:06,920 --> 00:11:11,199 Speaker 2: nineteen thirteen, a businessman from Saint Paul named Charles Wesky 186 00:11:11,480 --> 00:11:15,040 Speaker 2: visited the family home. Wanda knew he was coming to 187 00:11:15,080 --> 00:11:17,360 Speaker 2: talk to her about art school and wrote in her 188 00:11:17,480 --> 00:11:20,760 Speaker 2: diary quote, the martyr like act for me to play 189 00:11:21,160 --> 00:11:24,600 Speaker 2: would be to teach school and deny myself everything until 190 00:11:24,600 --> 00:11:27,800 Speaker 2: I had the family properly settled. Then I could begin 191 00:11:27,880 --> 00:11:31,880 Speaker 2: my career in life, however small it might be. But oh, 192 00:11:32,040 --> 00:11:35,160 Speaker 2: I'm only human, and I do want to go to 193 00:11:35,240 --> 00:11:39,439 Speaker 2: the university or to art school. Weshkey, who knew mcwarter 194 00:11:39,640 --> 00:11:41,880 Speaker 2: and had been in touch with him about Wanda's situation, 195 00:11:42,400 --> 00:11:45,120 Speaker 2: told Wanda that he had been a fan of her 196 00:11:45,160 --> 00:11:48,280 Speaker 2: father Anton's work, and he had seen her art in 197 00:11:48,320 --> 00:11:52,160 Speaker 2: the paper and wanted to help her family. He pledged 198 00:11:52,440 --> 00:11:55,800 Speaker 2: his own financial support to cover her room and board 199 00:11:55,880 --> 00:11:59,000 Speaker 2: and whatever art supplies she needed. So she was off 200 00:11:59,040 --> 00:11:59,800 Speaker 2: to art school. 201 00:12:00,520 --> 00:12:05,320 Speaker 1: Wanda's diary entry about this whole thing happening is very charming. Quote, 202 00:12:05,400 --> 00:12:08,800 Speaker 1: well it's over, mister Weshke's visit, I mean, and I'm 203 00:12:08,840 --> 00:12:12,640 Speaker 1: to go to art school and such charming arrangements. I 204 00:12:12,679 --> 00:12:15,160 Speaker 1: don't even have to work for my board. I shall 205 00:12:15,160 --> 00:12:19,160 Speaker 1: probably stay at the YWCA and be independent, have a 206 00:12:19,200 --> 00:12:21,400 Speaker 1: definite amount of money to put in the bank by 207 00:12:21,440 --> 00:12:24,440 Speaker 1: someone or a number of someone's, and not do anything 208 00:12:24,559 --> 00:12:27,200 Speaker 1: but do the things I was meant to do. As 209 00:12:27,200 --> 00:12:30,640 Speaker 1: he expresses it, he impressed it fully upon us that 210 00:12:30,720 --> 00:12:34,040 Speaker 1: his was no charity work, but that he was predestined, 211 00:12:34,080 --> 00:12:36,600 Speaker 1: so to speak, to do what he was doing. He 212 00:12:36,720 --> 00:12:39,520 Speaker 1: is doing it for art's sake and for humanity's sake, 213 00:12:40,080 --> 00:12:43,080 Speaker 1: he thinks, Oh, how can he that I will repay 214 00:12:43,200 --> 00:12:46,000 Speaker 1: humanity a thousandfold for what is being done for me. 215 00:12:46,720 --> 00:12:49,760 Speaker 1: He knows just how I feel about things, simply taking 216 00:12:49,800 --> 00:12:51,040 Speaker 1: words out of my mouth. 217 00:12:51,800 --> 00:12:54,720 Speaker 2: We should mention, though, that while this was obviously a 218 00:12:54,760 --> 00:12:58,400 Speaker 2: piece of good fortune for Wanda, it meant that another 219 00:12:58,600 --> 00:13:00,880 Speaker 2: member of her family would have to take on the 220 00:13:00,880 --> 00:13:04,720 Speaker 2: burden of bringing in money for the family. That person 221 00:13:04,880 --> 00:13:07,880 Speaker 2: was her sister, Stella, who like Wanda, got a teaching 222 00:13:07,960 --> 00:13:11,400 Speaker 2: job after high school. While money was in short supply, 223 00:13:11,920 --> 00:13:15,520 Speaker 2: education was prioritized enough that none of the God children 224 00:13:15,679 --> 00:13:19,120 Speaker 2: left school to work before graduating, so it was good 225 00:13:19,120 --> 00:13:22,760 Speaker 2: timing that Stella was joining the workforce as this opportunity 226 00:13:22,800 --> 00:13:26,600 Speaker 2: came to Wanda. After a year at art school, Wanda 227 00:13:26,640 --> 00:13:30,000 Speaker 2: started working at a commercial art studio called BUCKB. Mears, 228 00:13:30,360 --> 00:13:32,600 Speaker 2: which was something that the school had arranged, like a 229 00:13:32,600 --> 00:13:36,559 Speaker 2: little internship. But it seems like there was a miscommunication 230 00:13:36,679 --> 00:13:39,600 Speaker 2: here because Wanda had not realized that this was an 231 00:13:39,800 --> 00:13:44,840 Speaker 2: unpaid internship. This wasn't really tenable, and she didn't tell 232 00:13:44,880 --> 00:13:47,000 Speaker 2: her family initially because she didn't want. 233 00:13:46,840 --> 00:13:50,680 Speaker 1: To worry them. But then before long she was informed 234 00:13:50,720 --> 00:13:53,959 Speaker 1: that she would be collecting a salary, and she didn't 235 00:13:54,000 --> 00:13:56,560 Speaker 1: know it at the time, but her benefactor, Charles Weshkey, 236 00:13:56,640 --> 00:14:00,439 Speaker 1: had stepped in again. The firm was not paying her sealery. 237 00:14:01,120 --> 00:14:03,959 Speaker 1: He was because he believed the experience she was gaining 238 00:14:04,040 --> 00:14:07,320 Speaker 1: was valuable enough that she needed to stay. She didn't 239 00:14:07,360 --> 00:14:09,920 Speaker 1: find out about this arrangement until years later. 240 00:14:10,720 --> 00:14:14,360 Speaker 2: God clearly grappled with what people expected of her, as 241 00:14:14,400 --> 00:14:17,720 Speaker 2: any young person in her position might she wrote in 242 00:14:17,760 --> 00:14:20,560 Speaker 2: the autumn that she was working in her internship. Quote, 243 00:14:20,640 --> 00:14:24,440 Speaker 2: they people have been in a most terrible suspense all 244 00:14:24,480 --> 00:14:26,880 Speaker 2: the time for fear that I wouldn't get to the 245 00:14:26,920 --> 00:14:31,040 Speaker 2: point where I would earn money. Paula reminded me of 246 00:14:31,080 --> 00:14:34,320 Speaker 2: the time she had told me to draw magazine covers 247 00:14:34,400 --> 00:14:38,239 Speaker 2: and said that was the result of hearing some remarks. 248 00:14:38,760 --> 00:14:41,440 Speaker 2: They expect me to make a great deal of money 249 00:14:41,480 --> 00:14:44,480 Speaker 2: and sort of along the side to become famous. And 250 00:14:44,600 --> 00:14:48,840 Speaker 2: when I want neither fame nor money, ding it, ding it, 251 00:14:49,000 --> 00:14:51,520 Speaker 2: ding it, I wish I had iron to bite, or 252 00:14:51,600 --> 00:14:54,440 Speaker 2: would to gnaw, or logs to chop. I know I 253 00:14:54,440 --> 00:14:57,600 Speaker 2: need the money, but I can't sit here serenely listening 254 00:14:57,680 --> 00:15:01,000 Speaker 2: while they lose the sight of the thing. I am 255 00:15:01,040 --> 00:15:04,000 Speaker 2: afraid I shall have to disappoint them. If I were 256 00:15:04,000 --> 00:15:07,360 Speaker 2: to become a popular magazine illustrator, they would undoubtedly say 257 00:15:07,440 --> 00:15:10,200 Speaker 2: Wanda has made good, Whereas if I turned my art 258 00:15:10,240 --> 00:15:12,680 Speaker 2: over to life and win no fame, they will say 259 00:15:12,720 --> 00:15:15,400 Speaker 2: she had talent, but she didn't use it in the 260 00:15:15,520 --> 00:15:18,960 Speaker 2: right way. I like that she envisions herself like a 261 00:15:19,000 --> 00:15:23,120 Speaker 2: perpetual starving artist. In a moment, we're going to talk 262 00:15:23,160 --> 00:15:27,280 Speaker 2: about another patron who saw Wanda Dog's potential and encouraged 263 00:15:27,320 --> 00:15:29,840 Speaker 2: her career. But first we will hear from the sponsors 264 00:15:29,840 --> 00:15:42,520 Speaker 2: who contribute to our careers by supporting the show. After 265 00:15:42,560 --> 00:15:45,760 Speaker 2: a few months of her internship, Wanda actually managed to 266 00:15:45,840 --> 00:15:47,080 Speaker 2: get another patron. 267 00:15:47,200 --> 00:15:50,280 Speaker 1: That was Hershel V. Jones, who was the managing editor 268 00:15:50,320 --> 00:15:54,720 Speaker 1: at the Minneapolis Journal. Jones took Wanda under his wing 269 00:15:54,840 --> 00:15:57,400 Speaker 1: and he paid for her to enroll at the Minneapolis 270 00:15:57,400 --> 00:16:01,000 Speaker 1: School of Art. She commented on the main difference that 271 00:16:01,040 --> 00:16:03,400 Speaker 1: she noticed at the new school as compared to her 272 00:16:03,440 --> 00:16:07,000 Speaker 1: prior art school, and also manages to be very self 273 00:16:07,040 --> 00:16:10,840 Speaker 1: confident in doing so. Quote, in the Minneapolis School they 274 00:16:10,920 --> 00:16:13,960 Speaker 1: go at things more methodically than in Saint Paul. Especially 275 00:16:13,960 --> 00:16:17,120 Speaker 1: our teacher, mister Phoenix. I don't know but that he 276 00:16:17,280 --> 00:16:20,400 Speaker 1: is a trifle too methodical. However, I don't think I 277 00:16:20,400 --> 00:16:23,480 Speaker 1: am in danger. I believe too sincerely in what I 278 00:16:23,520 --> 00:16:26,400 Speaker 1: am fighting for, and I fight no less sincerely for 279 00:16:26,440 --> 00:16:29,680 Speaker 1: that which I believe to be drawn dangerously far from 280 00:16:29,680 --> 00:16:33,760 Speaker 1: the myself track. For half artists, his method may be good. 281 00:16:34,080 --> 00:16:35,720 Speaker 1: I mean for people who can never hope to go 282 00:16:35,760 --> 00:16:38,360 Speaker 1: beyond a certain limit in art, and people who have 283 00:16:38,440 --> 00:16:41,560 Speaker 1: not enough good, sound originality to lead them into the 284 00:16:41,640 --> 00:16:42,440 Speaker 1: right paths. 285 00:16:43,240 --> 00:16:46,440 Speaker 2: During this time, she also ruminated on what it meant 286 00:16:46,480 --> 00:16:49,560 Speaker 2: to her to have ambition. In the winter of a 287 00:16:49,640 --> 00:16:53,120 Speaker 2: first year in Minneapolis, she wrote, quote, it's cowardly to 288 00:16:53,200 --> 00:16:56,680 Speaker 2: be overly modest. In fact, I think many artists are 289 00:16:56,800 --> 00:17:00,480 Speaker 2: modest for just that reason. For instance, a mine would 290 00:17:00,480 --> 00:17:02,760 Speaker 2: be afraid to say, if I want, I can make 291 00:17:02,840 --> 00:17:05,879 Speaker 2: people sit up and notice my work. He's afraid he 292 00:17:05,920 --> 00:17:09,600 Speaker 2: can't live up to it. He's afraid of facing ignominious defeat. 293 00:17:10,280 --> 00:17:13,840 Speaker 2: Ding What if you don't succeed, you at least don't 294 00:17:13,840 --> 00:17:17,080 Speaker 2: have to be ashamed of your aim. My aim is limitless. 295 00:17:17,440 --> 00:17:19,920 Speaker 2: That I will never reach it, I know, but I'm 296 00:17:19,960 --> 00:17:22,919 Speaker 2: going to get as near there as I can. That 297 00:17:23,000 --> 00:17:25,280 Speaker 2: will keep me running all the rest of my life, 298 00:17:25,320 --> 00:17:29,480 Speaker 2: believe me. Throughout all of these ups and downs, gog 299 00:17:29,560 --> 00:17:32,120 Speaker 2: had a close friend that she had met when he 300 00:17:32,160 --> 00:17:35,320 Speaker 2: was a medical student who visited her high school during 301 00:17:35,320 --> 00:17:37,880 Speaker 2: what was called University Week. So that was a week 302 00:17:37,920 --> 00:17:40,960 Speaker 2: that was sponsored by the University of Minnesota, and it 303 00:17:41,040 --> 00:17:44,720 Speaker 2: offered lectures for anyone to attend. And his name was 304 00:17:44,880 --> 00:17:48,520 Speaker 2: Edgar Herman. Though when her diary was published. Later in 305 00:17:48,520 --> 00:17:52,840 Speaker 2: her life, she changed his name to armand Mrod. She 306 00:17:52,920 --> 00:17:57,040 Speaker 2: always insisted that their relationship was entirely innocent and platonic, 307 00:17:57,200 --> 00:18:00,159 Speaker 2: but there are entries in her diary that suggest that 308 00:18:00,560 --> 00:18:03,480 Speaker 2: she initially had a crush on him and then eventually 309 00:18:03,560 --> 00:18:07,840 Speaker 2: developed more serious feelings. The two of them met when 310 00:18:07,960 --> 00:18:10,680 Speaker 2: Edgar saw her drawing during one of the university week 311 00:18:10,760 --> 00:18:13,480 Speaker 2: events and he managed to sit near her to watch 312 00:18:13,480 --> 00:18:17,760 Speaker 2: her work. Edgar opened Wanda's world up to a great 313 00:18:17,800 --> 00:18:20,000 Speaker 2: deal of culture that she had not had access to 314 00:18:20,240 --> 00:18:23,439 Speaker 2: in her life in New Ulm. He introduced her to 315 00:18:23,560 --> 00:18:27,200 Speaker 2: things like opera and to literature, and their relationship was 316 00:18:27,280 --> 00:18:30,520 Speaker 2: quite long, although it seemed as though they often were 317 00:18:30,520 --> 00:18:32,840 Speaker 2: in different places in terms of what each of them 318 00:18:32,880 --> 00:18:35,919 Speaker 2: wanted out of it. So she, like I said, obviously 319 00:18:36,000 --> 00:18:38,440 Speaker 2: at some points had feelings for him. But after one 320 00:18:38,440 --> 00:18:40,680 Speaker 2: of their early outings, which kind of seems like a 321 00:18:40,800 --> 00:18:43,280 Speaker 2: date but it was unclear, I think to both of them, 322 00:18:43,600 --> 00:18:46,639 Speaker 2: and Wanda recorded in her diary quote just before I 323 00:18:46,680 --> 00:18:49,080 Speaker 2: went into the door at the YW I warned him 324 00:18:49,080 --> 00:18:53,120 Speaker 2: not to get too romantic love. 325 00:18:53,119 --> 00:18:57,520 Speaker 1: For some reason, still, Edgar became a cornerstone in her 326 00:18:57,520 --> 00:18:59,640 Speaker 1: life for a while, and when she left New Olm 327 00:18:59,680 --> 00:19:02,879 Speaker 1: for Sane Paul, and particularly after she went to Minneapolis 328 00:19:02,960 --> 00:19:06,520 Speaker 1: School of Art, where he was not at the school 329 00:19:06,520 --> 00:19:09,199 Speaker 1: but in the city. He introduced her also to his 330 00:19:09,240 --> 00:19:12,240 Speaker 1: circle of friends, and this kind of gave her a 331 00:19:12,280 --> 00:19:16,000 Speaker 1: whole new cosmopolitan life, and Wanda really did seem to 332 00:19:16,040 --> 00:19:19,359 Speaker 1: fall in love with Edgar, genuinely in love, but by 333 00:19:19,400 --> 00:19:22,280 Speaker 1: the time she realized it, he had come to see 334 00:19:22,280 --> 00:19:25,680 Speaker 1: her exclusively as a friend, and then by nineteen fifteen 335 00:19:25,760 --> 00:19:30,240 Speaker 1: they had largely stopped socializing. After her friendship with Edgar 336 00:19:30,320 --> 00:19:34,720 Speaker 1: had essentially ended, Wanda found a new, similarly intense friendship 337 00:19:34,800 --> 00:19:39,679 Speaker 1: in another art student, Adolf Den. Den also expanded her worldview, 338 00:19:39,680 --> 00:19:42,440 Speaker 1: but in a very different way from Edgar. The two 339 00:19:42,480 --> 00:19:44,400 Speaker 1: of them had met in a group called the John 340 00:19:44,480 --> 00:19:48,600 Speaker 1: Ruskin Society, which met for weekly salon style discussions where 341 00:19:48,680 --> 00:19:53,199 Speaker 1: group members hashed out a lot of social issues. Wanda 342 00:19:53,240 --> 00:19:55,600 Speaker 1: did not back down from arguments in the group, and 343 00:19:55,720 --> 00:19:59,040 Speaker 1: Adolf was a ready debate partner who would challenge her 344 00:19:59,359 --> 00:20:03,000 Speaker 1: and help her work through her own ideas. He was 345 00:20:03,000 --> 00:20:07,120 Speaker 1: also much more politically active and anti establishment than Wanda, 346 00:20:07,560 --> 00:20:10,040 Speaker 1: and over the course of their relationship, she became more 347 00:20:10,080 --> 00:20:15,639 Speaker 1: involved in that world, eventually embracing socialism and feminism. This 348 00:20:15,840 --> 00:20:18,359 Speaker 1: was harder than it may sound. We might think of 349 00:20:18,480 --> 00:20:22,040 Speaker 1: artists as inherently liberal, and Wanda had certainly grown up 350 00:20:22,080 --> 00:20:25,440 Speaker 1: in a home where artistic expression was valued. But it 351 00:20:25,520 --> 00:20:29,159 Speaker 1: was also a very small town, and Gog's positions on 352 00:20:29,240 --> 00:20:34,080 Speaker 1: various social issues were sometimes described as Victorian. She didn't 353 00:20:34,080 --> 00:20:37,600 Speaker 1: believe in sex before marriage, for example, although that would change, 354 00:20:37,960 --> 00:20:41,560 Speaker 1: and she was not interested in intoxicants. That's actually something 355 00:20:41,600 --> 00:20:44,199 Speaker 1: I want to talk about on Friday. But it was 356 00:20:44,240 --> 00:20:48,560 Speaker 1: really her thoughts on art and specifically artistic talent that 357 00:20:48,680 --> 00:20:53,040 Speaker 1: she and Adolf debated early on. Gog thought that talent 358 00:20:53,200 --> 00:20:55,439 Speaker 1: was something that you were simply born with and that 359 00:20:55,520 --> 00:20:59,240 Speaker 1: it would carry true artists through to recognition, regardless of 360 00:20:59,280 --> 00:21:02,240 Speaker 1: where they came from or what trends shifted the tastes 361 00:21:02,320 --> 00:21:05,720 Speaker 1: of the art world. She also thought that artists didn't 362 00:21:05,720 --> 00:21:08,520 Speaker 1: have a responsibility to anything or any one but their 363 00:21:08,600 --> 00:21:11,679 Speaker 1: gift in terms of how they used that natural skill. 364 00:21:12,800 --> 00:21:15,480 Speaker 1: There is also some conceit at play in her position. 365 00:21:16,240 --> 00:21:19,640 Speaker 1: She felt very clearly that she was better than other artists, 366 00:21:19,920 --> 00:21:22,840 Speaker 1: and she also thought people who were not artistically gifted 367 00:21:23,240 --> 00:21:27,040 Speaker 1: should just defer to people who were Adolf introduced the 368 00:21:27,119 --> 00:21:30,320 Speaker 1: argument that some people get better opportunities than others, and 369 00:21:30,400 --> 00:21:32,919 Speaker 1: some of that was due to social standing, and that 370 00:21:33,080 --> 00:21:36,439 Speaker 1: artists that did get a platform had a responsibility to 371 00:21:36,600 --> 00:21:39,359 Speaker 1: use it in ways that educated viewers and help them 372 00:21:39,440 --> 00:21:43,639 Speaker 1: understand new ideas. And these differences of opinion, which seemed 373 00:21:43,640 --> 00:21:47,040 Speaker 1: to be conversations and debates that went on for months 374 00:21:47,040 --> 00:21:49,399 Speaker 1: and years with the two of them, did not sour 375 00:21:49,560 --> 00:21:53,399 Speaker 1: Wandagog on Adolph Ben. Their ongoing debates really formed the 376 00:21:53,440 --> 00:21:55,040 Speaker 1: backbone of their relationship. 377 00:21:55,920 --> 00:21:59,080 Speaker 2: During art school, Gog also managed to make money with 378 00:21:59,200 --> 00:22:02,639 Speaker 2: design Commision, and she sent money home to supplement Stella's 379 00:22:02,640 --> 00:22:06,720 Speaker 2: income and help the family. The third Gog daughter, Tussy, 380 00:22:06,800 --> 00:22:09,440 Speaker 2: had also graduated and took a teaching job to help 381 00:22:09,440 --> 00:22:13,840 Speaker 2: out as well. In nineteen seventeen, another huge blow came 382 00:22:13,880 --> 00:22:17,199 Speaker 2: to the Gog family, which is that Elizabeth died. This 383 00:22:17,359 --> 00:22:21,480 Speaker 2: is not entirely unexpected. During the Christmas of nineteen sixteen, 384 00:22:21,600 --> 00:22:24,959 Speaker 2: it was apparent to Wanda that Lissie was not well. 385 00:22:25,560 --> 00:22:29,240 Speaker 2: She returned to school in January, but almost immediately turned 386 00:22:29,280 --> 00:22:32,160 Speaker 2: around and went home again after receiving a message from 387 00:22:32,200 --> 00:22:36,720 Speaker 2: her sisters that Lissie was rapidly declining. While Wanda was 388 00:22:36,760 --> 00:22:39,199 Speaker 2: a young adult of twenty four at the time, a 389 00:22:39,280 --> 00:22:42,000 Speaker 2: lot of the kids were not. Flavia was only nine 390 00:22:42,040 --> 00:22:45,320 Speaker 2: years old. It fell to Wanda, and also to Stella 391 00:22:45,359 --> 00:22:48,200 Speaker 2: and Tussy to just figure out what the future would 392 00:22:48,240 --> 00:22:52,240 Speaker 2: be for the family. And while that was being figured out, 393 00:22:52,520 --> 00:22:55,080 Speaker 2: Wanda returned to art school so she could finish her 394 00:22:55,119 --> 00:22:59,840 Speaker 2: program in Minneapolis. Once school was finished, she her sister, 395 00:23:00,200 --> 00:23:03,040 Speaker 2: and her friend Adolph Den worked on the Gog House 396 00:23:03,080 --> 00:23:06,560 Speaker 2: in New Olm to get it ready for sale. Stella 397 00:23:06,600 --> 00:23:10,440 Speaker 2: and Tessie didn't want to stay. They wanted to move 398 00:23:10,480 --> 00:23:14,159 Speaker 2: to Minneapolis, and the younger four kids spent another autumn 399 00:23:14,200 --> 00:23:16,639 Speaker 2: and winter in Newolm because the house had not sold. 400 00:23:16,920 --> 00:23:20,080 Speaker 2: At that point, the oldest among those four was kind 401 00:23:20,119 --> 00:23:21,560 Speaker 2: of at an age where they could take care of 402 00:23:21,560 --> 00:23:24,159 Speaker 2: the other kids. And also, when you have grown up 403 00:23:24,160 --> 00:23:25,720 Speaker 2: in a house where a fifteen year old is the 404 00:23:25,720 --> 00:23:28,360 Speaker 2: head of the family financially, I think some of those 405 00:23:28,400 --> 00:23:32,040 Speaker 2: concepts of aging are a little skewed. But Tussy and 406 00:23:32,080 --> 00:23:35,080 Speaker 2: Stella did move to Minneapolis and they got jobs there 407 00:23:35,160 --> 00:23:39,359 Speaker 2: with Wanda's help. Wanda didn't stay in Minneapolis, though she 408 00:23:39,440 --> 00:23:42,239 Speaker 2: had been accepted into the Art Students League of New 409 00:23:42,320 --> 00:23:45,480 Speaker 2: York for the nineteen seventeen to nineteen eighteen school year, 410 00:23:46,080 --> 00:23:48,760 Speaker 2: as had Adolph, and she was able to go thanks 411 00:23:48,760 --> 00:23:52,720 Speaker 2: to the generosity of herschel v Jones and financially supporting her. 412 00:23:53,359 --> 00:23:55,840 Speaker 2: She really loved being in New York. She learned a 413 00:23:55,880 --> 00:24:00,159 Speaker 2: lot of new art techniques and enjoyed the city's many museums. 414 00:24:00,200 --> 00:24:03,720 Speaker 2: Back in New Olm were troubling for her. The four 415 00:24:03,800 --> 00:24:07,719 Speaker 2: younger Gogs were really struggling, so Wanda took side jobs 416 00:24:07,760 --> 00:24:09,720 Speaker 2: to get money to send to them for food and 417 00:24:09,840 --> 00:24:14,359 Speaker 2: clothes and heat. When her school year in New York ended, 418 00:24:14,480 --> 00:24:17,080 Speaker 2: she had her two oldest sisters worked out a plan. 419 00:24:17,560 --> 00:24:21,000 Speaker 2: The new almhouse finally sold, and all the god Kids 420 00:24:21,080 --> 00:24:25,320 Speaker 2: moved to Minneapolis. Wanda's scholarship at the Art Students League 421 00:24:25,440 --> 00:24:28,480 Speaker 2: was renewed for another year, and she was excited about 422 00:24:28,480 --> 00:24:31,160 Speaker 2: it and felt more at peace going into the second year, 423 00:24:31,640 --> 00:24:34,000 Speaker 2: knowing that her siblings were all together and that the 424 00:24:34,040 --> 00:24:37,320 Speaker 2: younger ones had the oldest ones there to look after them. 425 00:24:37,720 --> 00:24:40,320 Speaker 2: But New York wasn't as enjoyable as she had hoped 426 00:24:40,359 --> 00:24:43,520 Speaker 2: this time around. Money was tight and the need to 427 00:24:43,600 --> 00:24:47,879 Speaker 2: constantly grind to find commercial jobs dragging a big portfolio 428 00:24:47,920 --> 00:24:50,800 Speaker 2: around left her feeling, as she wrote in a journal quote, 429 00:24:51,240 --> 00:24:54,080 Speaker 2: there is not much time to appreciate what we came 430 00:24:54,160 --> 00:24:59,880 Speaker 2: to appreciate. She got a job lampshading, literally designing lampshades, 431 00:25:00,080 --> 00:25:03,639 Speaker 2: and she found that that job completely zapped her creative energy. 432 00:25:04,520 --> 00:25:07,520 Speaker 2: This second year in New York was also pivotal for 433 00:25:07,640 --> 00:25:11,960 Speaker 2: Wanda in terms of her relationship with Adolph Den. The 434 00:25:12,040 --> 00:25:14,919 Speaker 2: two of them had many times professed their love for 435 00:25:14,960 --> 00:25:17,600 Speaker 2: one another, but they also agreed that their art should 436 00:25:17,640 --> 00:25:21,600 Speaker 2: always come first. At twenty six, Wanda had never had 437 00:25:21,680 --> 00:25:24,680 Speaker 2: a sexual experience with anyone, and she made a decision 438 00:25:25,000 --> 00:25:27,439 Speaker 2: that she and Adolf should finally have sex. 439 00:25:28,080 --> 00:25:28,640 Speaker 1: The two of. 440 00:25:28,600 --> 00:25:32,840 Speaker 2: Them were really communicative and methodical about planning this step, 441 00:25:33,640 --> 00:25:36,800 Speaker 2: talking through what it would mean for their relationship. She 442 00:25:36,920 --> 00:25:39,879 Speaker 2: also went to a doctor for birth control, and then 443 00:25:39,920 --> 00:25:42,400 Speaker 2: they finally had sex, and after all of that planning 444 00:25:42,400 --> 00:25:45,560 Speaker 2: and thinking about it, Wanda found the whole experience ultimately 445 00:25:45,560 --> 00:25:46,160 Speaker 2: a letdown. 446 00:25:47,000 --> 00:25:50,119 Speaker 1: In nineteen twenty one, Adolph went on a trip to Europe, 447 00:25:50,240 --> 00:25:54,960 Speaker 1: and during that time, Wanda started seeing his roommate Earl Humphries, 448 00:25:55,920 --> 00:25:58,720 Speaker 1: so initially it sounds like this was intended to be 449 00:25:58,880 --> 00:26:03,399 Speaker 1: a strictly friends with benefits situation while Adolf Dan was away, 450 00:26:04,480 --> 00:26:06,560 Speaker 1: but then he met someone else in Europe and he 451 00:26:06,640 --> 00:26:10,600 Speaker 1: ended up staying there for years. Wanda and Earle continued 452 00:26:10,640 --> 00:26:13,560 Speaker 1: to see one another, and she was adamant that a 453 00:26:13,600 --> 00:26:17,600 Speaker 1: regular sex life had become crucial for her art. Wanda 454 00:26:17,600 --> 00:26:21,320 Speaker 1: didn't really believe in monogamy, and though her relationship with 455 00:26:21,359 --> 00:26:25,400 Speaker 1: Earle did evolve into something more like a serious monogamous 456 00:26:25,480 --> 00:26:29,440 Speaker 1: relationship and she was committed to him, she sometimes wrote 457 00:26:29,480 --> 00:26:32,119 Speaker 1: in her journal about how she really always wished for 458 00:26:32,160 --> 00:26:36,440 Speaker 1: the thrill of a new relationship. In the early nineteen twenties, 459 00:26:36,520 --> 00:26:39,960 Speaker 1: Wanda had some of her illustrations published in art magazines 460 00:26:40,080 --> 00:26:43,320 Speaker 1: in the US and Europe. Much of Gog's work during 461 00:26:43,359 --> 00:26:45,960 Speaker 1: this time was in printmaking, and a lot of the 462 00:26:46,040 --> 00:26:49,679 Speaker 1: imagery feels quite lonely. It reveals in New York that 463 00:26:49,800 --> 00:26:53,639 Speaker 1: isn't necessarily the vibrant, bustling place many saw it to be, 464 00:26:53,840 --> 00:26:58,280 Speaker 1: but instead shows the quiet interiors of people's lives, often 465 00:26:58,320 --> 00:27:01,480 Speaker 1: depicting the life of a person who lives alone, such 466 00:27:01,480 --> 00:27:04,199 Speaker 1: as supper laid for one, which was printed in the 467 00:27:04,280 --> 00:27:09,560 Speaker 1: Marxist magazine New Masses in nineteen twenty six. This illustration 468 00:27:09,680 --> 00:27:13,840 Speaker 1: features a corner of a solo apartment. Despite the title, 469 00:27:13,880 --> 00:27:16,800 Speaker 1: it's not really focused on a table, although one is 470 00:27:16,960 --> 00:27:19,840 Speaker 1: partially in the scene on the right side of the frame. 471 00:27:20,520 --> 00:27:23,560 Speaker 1: It's a high contrast black and white image that conveys 472 00:27:23,600 --> 00:27:26,840 Speaker 1: a stark, simple abode. It does not feel in any 473 00:27:26,920 --> 00:27:31,840 Speaker 1: way joyous. It shows the strong influences of German Expressionism 474 00:27:32,000 --> 00:27:34,920 Speaker 1: and the work of Vincent Van go Go, combining with Gog's 475 00:27:34,920 --> 00:27:38,480 Speaker 1: own vision to create what would become her trademark style. 476 00:27:39,560 --> 00:27:43,800 Speaker 1: She was a huge Vincent vanng Go fam borderline fangirl. 477 00:27:44,800 --> 00:27:50,040 Speaker 1: Several years before that art supper Laid for One pub 478 00:27:50,200 --> 00:27:53,639 Speaker 1: was printed, Wanda had already shown a good deal of 479 00:27:53,680 --> 00:27:57,080 Speaker 1: disillusionment with New York and with the commercial art world 480 00:27:57,080 --> 00:28:00,679 Speaker 1: that she felt compelled to participate in to continue to 481 00:28:00,720 --> 00:28:04,000 Speaker 1: support the Gog family. She wrote in her journal quote, 482 00:28:04,040 --> 00:28:07,320 Speaker 1: I do not want to live in the restless, hectic, busy, 483 00:28:07,359 --> 00:28:10,879 Speaker 1: busy life for which Americans are noted. I want to 484 00:28:10,880 --> 00:28:14,080 Speaker 1: sort of ramble through life, not lazily, for I must 485 00:28:14,080 --> 00:28:17,199 Speaker 1: be active to be happy. I want to read and 486 00:28:17,280 --> 00:28:19,879 Speaker 1: study and work hard and live, but I do not 487 00:28:20,200 --> 00:28:24,159 Speaker 1: want to always feel myself rushing along in pursuit of money. 488 00:28:24,800 --> 00:28:27,880 Speaker 2: In nineteen twenty three, Wanda had a solo show, her 489 00:28:27,920 --> 00:28:31,399 Speaker 2: first at the New York Public Libraries branch on ninety 490 00:28:31,440 --> 00:28:35,399 Speaker 2: sixth Street. It ran from February fifteenth to April first, 491 00:28:35,480 --> 00:28:38,240 Speaker 2: and featured a mix of drawings for adults and children, 492 00:28:38,400 --> 00:28:43,840 Speaker 2: totaling forty pieces. It got really positive attention. One of 493 00:28:43,880 --> 00:28:48,920 Speaker 2: the attendees was well known theatrical and industrial designer Norman Belgetti's, 494 00:28:48,960 --> 00:28:52,880 Speaker 2: who liked that Gog's work was original and not derivative. 495 00:28:53,600 --> 00:28:56,920 Speaker 1: Yeah, he apparently gave her some words of encouragement at 496 00:28:57,000 --> 00:29:01,320 Speaker 1: the show. After the New York show, Wanda reassessed her situation. 497 00:29:02,160 --> 00:29:04,160 Speaker 1: She was worn out with living in New York and 498 00:29:04,200 --> 00:29:07,560 Speaker 1: she really wanted a solace. And fortunately she had kept 499 00:29:07,560 --> 00:29:10,440 Speaker 1: the family afloat long enough that her siblings had aged 500 00:29:10,520 --> 00:29:12,520 Speaker 1: up to the point where they could all work and 501 00:29:12,560 --> 00:29:15,400 Speaker 1: take care of themselves. So she took advantage of the 502 00:29:15,440 --> 00:29:18,960 Speaker 1: breathing room that shift afforded her, and she moved to 503 00:29:19,000 --> 00:29:22,200 Speaker 1: Connecticut for a reset, living out in the country for 504 00:29:22,240 --> 00:29:24,520 Speaker 1: almost a year, except for going back to New York 505 00:29:24,560 --> 00:29:28,560 Speaker 1: for the winter. Throughout her art career up to this point, 506 00:29:28,640 --> 00:29:31,560 Speaker 1: she had been frustrated any time she had to draw 507 00:29:31,560 --> 00:29:34,960 Speaker 1: what someone else directed, whether that was in school or 508 00:29:34,960 --> 00:29:38,600 Speaker 1: for her commercial work. And in Connecticut she drew and 509 00:29:38,640 --> 00:29:42,400 Speaker 1: painted for herself, producing a large volume of work in 510 00:29:42,440 --> 00:29:46,200 Speaker 1: a relatively short time. One of the innovative things she 511 00:29:46,360 --> 00:29:50,000 Speaker 1: tried during this time was drawing on sandpaper using a 512 00:29:50,040 --> 00:29:54,640 Speaker 1: lithographic crayon. The resulting drawing could be used to make prints, 513 00:29:54,680 --> 00:29:58,120 Speaker 1: sort of the way you'd make prints from a lithography stone. 514 00:29:58,160 --> 00:30:01,320 Speaker 1: She experimented with this technique throughout her career, after this, 515 00:30:01,560 --> 00:30:05,280 Speaker 1: moving on from the lithography crayon to a brush and ink, 516 00:30:05,920 --> 00:30:08,239 Speaker 1: noting that she had to be careful when using the 517 00:30:08,240 --> 00:30:11,600 Speaker 1: brush because quote, it is easy to get a mussy drawing. 518 00:30:12,440 --> 00:30:14,720 Speaker 1: She had a second show at the ninety six Street 519 00:30:14,840 --> 00:30:17,880 Speaker 1: New York Public Library branch in the spring of nineteen 520 00:30:17,920 --> 00:30:21,400 Speaker 1: twenty four, which showed work she had done with this technique. 521 00:30:21,720 --> 00:30:25,400 Speaker 1: Then she went back to the Connecticut countryside. The following year. 522 00:30:25,520 --> 00:30:28,440 Speaker 1: She had nineteen pieces selected to be shown at the 523 00:30:28,440 --> 00:30:30,760 Speaker 1: Way A Gallery. I'm not sure if that's how you 524 00:30:30,800 --> 00:30:33,600 Speaker 1: pronounce it. I can't seem to find a good pronunciation, 525 00:30:33,760 --> 00:30:36,160 Speaker 1: and it is a defunct gallery, so we'll never know 526 00:30:37,120 --> 00:30:39,920 Speaker 1: unless somebody in the audience knows and you can tell me, 527 00:30:40,000 --> 00:30:42,920 Speaker 1: but it'll be too late too for this show that 528 00:30:43,080 --> 00:30:47,440 Speaker 1: was curated by gallery director Carl Zigrosser. Ziggrosser was able 529 00:30:47,480 --> 00:30:50,800 Speaker 1: to very quickly sell several of the pieces, and Wanda, 530 00:30:51,000 --> 00:30:54,440 Speaker 1: elated to have sold art that she had created strictly 531 00:30:54,480 --> 00:30:57,280 Speaker 1: through her own inspiration, wrote of the sales quote, it 532 00:30:57,360 --> 00:30:59,240 Speaker 1: made me happy to think that I had been able 533 00:30:59,320 --> 00:31:01,680 Speaker 1: to get money for the things I really like to 534 00:31:01,760 --> 00:31:06,520 Speaker 1: do that doesn't happen often enough. In nineteen twenty six, 535 00:31:06,760 --> 00:31:10,160 Speaker 1: Zigrosser gave her a solo show at the gallery. The 536 00:31:10,200 --> 00:31:13,920 Speaker 1: reviews of that nineteen twenty six show were largely very positive, 537 00:31:14,200 --> 00:31:16,800 Speaker 1: with The New York Post calling it quote an alluring 538 00:31:16,880 --> 00:31:19,000 Speaker 1: exhibition that is hard to leave. 539 00:31:19,800 --> 00:31:23,080 Speaker 2: In nineteen twenty seven, Wanda published an essay titled a 540 00:31:23,240 --> 00:31:28,120 Speaker 2: Hotbed of Feminists. Possibly because of that essay, Wanda had 541 00:31:28,120 --> 00:31:30,960 Speaker 2: put into motions something that would really shift her life 542 00:31:31,000 --> 00:31:34,080 Speaker 2: in a significant way. We will talk about that shift 543 00:31:34,400 --> 00:31:38,840 Speaker 2: in part two. In Listener Mail today, we have an 544 00:31:38,840 --> 00:31:41,040 Speaker 2: email about the box car Children. We have a few 545 00:31:41,080 --> 00:31:41,840 Speaker 2: I'm going to get through them. 546 00:31:41,880 --> 00:31:44,280 Speaker 1: I swear. This is from our listener, an who writes 547 00:31:44,320 --> 00:31:46,520 Speaker 1: Dear Holly and Tracy. I just had to write in 548 00:31:46,600 --> 00:31:49,800 Speaker 1: about The box Car Children. I appreciated learning about the 549 00:31:49,840 --> 00:31:52,520 Speaker 1: author on the Friday Behind the Scenes episode. You were 550 00:31:52,560 --> 00:31:55,040 Speaker 1: wondering about whether they might not have been popular in 551 00:31:55,120 --> 00:31:58,080 Speaker 1: the South. I can confirm that in the mid eighties, 552 00:31:58,160 --> 00:32:01,440 Speaker 1: by elementary school in a metro Atlanta suburb had quite 553 00:32:01,440 --> 00:32:04,080 Speaker 1: a few of The Box Car Children books. My second 554 00:32:04,120 --> 00:32:06,960 Speaker 1: grade teacher read The box Car Children aloud to our class, 555 00:32:07,000 --> 00:32:09,680 Speaker 1: and I loved it. As a kid who always enjoyed 556 00:32:09,720 --> 00:32:12,760 Speaker 1: playing house, the idea of kids playing house in a 557 00:32:12,800 --> 00:32:15,280 Speaker 1: box car in the woods, but for real, with no 558 00:32:15,360 --> 00:32:19,440 Speaker 1: adults or anything, was captivating to me. I later checked 559 00:32:19,480 --> 00:32:21,080 Speaker 1: one or two of the other books out of the 560 00:32:21,120 --> 00:32:23,680 Speaker 1: school library, but since they didn't live on their own 561 00:32:23,720 --> 00:32:26,320 Speaker 1: in the box car anymore, it just wasn't the same, 562 00:32:26,400 --> 00:32:29,200 Speaker 1: so I didn't continue the series, despite the fact that 563 00:32:29,280 --> 00:32:31,520 Speaker 1: I loved mystery stories and it would have been around 564 00:32:31,560 --> 00:32:33,560 Speaker 1: the same time I was making my way through the 565 00:32:33,760 --> 00:32:38,160 Speaker 1: entire Nancy Drew series. Thanks as always for the excellent podcast, 566 00:32:38,320 --> 00:32:45,120 Speaker 1: and this reminded me to talk about two things. One 567 00:32:45,280 --> 00:32:48,520 Speaker 1: I didn't mention it's a spoiler if nobody's if somebody 568 00:32:48,520 --> 00:32:52,320 Speaker 1: hasn't read The box Car Children. But at the end 569 00:32:52,320 --> 00:32:54,440 Speaker 1: of the first book, so if you haven't read it, 570 00:32:54,480 --> 00:32:56,200 Speaker 1: you know, want to be spoiled, jump out. Now it's fine. 571 00:32:57,160 --> 00:32:58,600 Speaker 1: But at the end of the first book, they get 572 00:32:58,640 --> 00:33:00,560 Speaker 1: the box car back, like they get to keep it 573 00:33:00,560 --> 00:33:03,080 Speaker 1: in the backyard and use it as a playhouse, so 574 00:33:03,120 --> 00:33:05,320 Speaker 1: it stays part of their lives, but it's not where 575 00:33:05,320 --> 00:33:08,960 Speaker 1: they live anymore. The other thing that is funny is that, 576 00:33:09,120 --> 00:33:12,160 Speaker 1: like Anne, I feel like there's some magical window that 577 00:33:12,280 --> 00:33:16,120 Speaker 1: some people hit where you're simultaneously reading like The box 578 00:33:16,200 --> 00:33:19,560 Speaker 1: Car Children, Nancy Drew, The Hardy Boys, and Trixie Buildin 579 00:33:20,000 --> 00:33:22,640 Speaker 1: and I was blazing through all of those at the 580 00:33:22,680 --> 00:33:23,160 Speaker 1: same time. 581 00:33:23,440 --> 00:33:25,600 Speaker 2: So when she mentioned she was also reading Nancy Drew, 582 00:33:25,640 --> 00:33:27,720 Speaker 2: it was a lovely memory of youth. 583 00:33:27,840 --> 00:33:29,800 Speaker 1: So thank you, Anne. If you would like to write 584 00:33:29,800 --> 00:33:32,040 Speaker 1: to us, you can do so at History Podcast at 585 00:33:32,040 --> 00:33:35,120 Speaker 1: iHeartRadio dot com. You can also subscribe to the show 586 00:33:35,280 --> 00:33:37,800 Speaker 1: on the iHeartRadio app or anywhere you listen to your 587 00:33:37,840 --> 00:33:40,200 Speaker 1: favorite shows. 588 00:33:44,160 --> 00:33:46,320 Speaker 2: Stuff You Missed in History Class is a production of 589 00:33:46,400 --> 00:33:51,080 Speaker 2: iHeartRadio for more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, 590 00:33:51,160 --> 00:33:54,360 Speaker 2: Apple podcasts, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.