Anton Gag (1859-1908)

Born in Bohemia in 1859, Anton Gag emigrated to the United States and later married and settled in New Ulm, Minnesota.  Having received his training at art schools in Chicago and Milwaukee, Gag supported his family by painting signs and decorating churches.  Gag opened New Ulm's first photography studio in 1892.  In his spare time, Gag painted landscapes of the countryside around his home.  He encouraged his children to paint and draw as well.  One of his children, Wanda Gag, became a well known artist and children's book illustrator.  Anton Gag died of lung disease in 1908.

Information from Minnesota Impressionists, Rena Neumann Coen, 1996, Afton Historical Society Press