Artist & Illustrator
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Hugh W.
Ditzler was born
about 1870-71 in Naperville, DuPage County, Illinois. A
lithograph of one
of his original drawings is featured in the book, "North Central
College,
A Century of Liberal Education, 1861-1961." According to the
caption,
the original of "Old Main" was drawn when Hugh Ditzler was only
15
years old! His obituary of October 5, 1949 in the New York Times gives a good account of his long and diverse career in art: HUGH DITZLER, 78
Artist, Who Made Decorative Pieces at Studio and Forge In Greenwich Village, Dies "Hugh Ditzler, artist and wrought-iron worker, died on Monday at his home, 113 Sullivan Street, at the age of 78. He maintained a forge and studio in the old Louisa May Alcott house at 134 MacDougal Street. "Mr. Ditzler became interested in working with iron while he was attending the Chicago Art Institute. He came to New York in 1889 to obtain work as an illustrator, and made annual visits to Paris for further study at the Julian Academy. " With the outbreak of the Spanish-American War, Mr. Ditzler was commissioned by McClure's, Scribner's and Colliers magazines to go to Santiago to record the conflict. At the conclusion of hostilities he returned here and opened a studio at 43 Washington Square. In 1915 he moved to Norwalk, Conn., where he worked as an illustrator and a designer of iron-work for clients, including Henry Tiffany. "In 1920 he decided to devote himself entirely to iron-work and opened a forge in Norwalk, where he worked for the late Wallace Nutting, authority on early Americana. One of his larger projects was ornamental iron-work for the Williamsburg, Va., restoration program. "Mr. Ditzler settled in Greenwich Village in 1939, opened a forge there and had been turning out small decorative pieces. Surviving besides his widow, Edna of Norwalk, are a brother and a sister." Many
thanks
to Julia Duncan for providing this obituary and
Hugh Ditzler was married first to Charlotte Tiedemann in DuPage County, Illinois, on June 24, 1903. She was the daughter of Frederick and Mary Tiedemann. According to the 1920 Census of Norwalk, CT, Hugh and Charlotte were still married and living together at the time the Census was taken. It is assumed that they divorced that year. On December 7, 1920, Charlotte Tiedemann Ditzler married Edward Gilbert Schermerhorn at St. Stephen's in New York City. In 1930, Hugh appears to be married to Edna. Hugh's paternal grandparents were Jonathan Ditzler and Esther Alspaugh, Pennsylvania Germans who migrated first to Ohio and then to northern Illinois. His maternal grandfather was Lyman Babcock and his first wife, Phoebe Ann Witter. Lyman Babcock's second wife was Emerancy Ellis Smith. Lyman and Emerancy Babcock are buried in the Naperville Cemetery. His parents were
Elias and Celia
Babcock Ditzler who married in West Lyons, Illinois (now LaGrange) on
June
22, 1869. Eli Ditzler served in the 8th Illinois Cavalry during
the
Civil War, and was present at the Battle of Gettysburg, and also
witnessed
the funeral procession of President Lincoln as it made its way through
Chicago. In the late 1880s the family moved to Hinsdale,
Illinois,
a prosperous bedroom community of Chicago where family member William
Day
Gates lived. Gates founded the American Terra Cotta Company and
Gates
Pottery of Crystal Lake, Illinois (offices in Chicago). W.D. Gates
created
TECO Pottery which is Aunt Hannah Ditzler Alpaugh, was a historian, writer, teacher, and artist in Naperville, Illinois. She lived a fascinating life and no doubt had considerable influence over her nephew's art. Her scrapbooks and diaries are at the Naper Settlement Museum, and excerpts of her diaries have been published. I have located only
one auction
record online, and it is for a 15.5" by 12.5" oil painting
called,
"Landscape With Confederate Soldiers". If anyone has any
additional
information, I would welcome it! Pat
Sabin. Charlotte Weber-Ditzler was an illustrator in the late 19th Century and early 20th Century, and I am investigating the possibility that she is connected to Hugh W. Ditzler...or IS she Hugh W. Ditzler using a "pen name"? Her style is softer - the more popular Victorian style of the day. I believe that many of Charlotte Weber-Ditzler's works may have been attributed to Hugh Ditzler, and have never found a biography for Charlotte Weber-Ditzler. I will add more information as I discover it! Curious? Go here. Have a bio for Chalotte? Please share! I do not hold
copyright on any
of the images shown on this site. I am including any source
information I have.
I do own the prints, "Mustering In The Troops,"
and, "Signing of the Treaty By The Dey of Algiers." I also own (at
least for now),
the historical novel, "Windsor Castle" by William H. Ainsworth,
featuring illustrations by Hugh Ditzler. Pat Sabin. |
Examples of
The Early Art of Hugh Ditzler
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