Alonzo "Lonnie" Hauser

BORN: Jan. 30, 1909 in LaCrosse, WI

DIED: Nov. 29, 1988 in Minneapolis, MN

Alonzo Hauser was a prominent and prolific sculptor, artist, and educator for over five decades. 

Born in LaCrosse, Wisconsin, the Wisconsin native drew inspiration at an early age by drawing from cartoons of the early 20th century.  Alonzo graduated from LaCrosse Central High School in 1926 and began an earnest study of art after high school at the Layton School of Art in Milwaukee which he attended from 1927-1929.There he developed an interest in sculpture under Walter Quirt and Girilamo Piccoli. From 1929 - 1930 Hauser attended the University of Wisconsin in Madison studying Art History.

Driven to pursue his new found passion in sculpture, he moved to New York in 1930 and apprenticed as a stone carver under Amedio Merli. Hauser maintained a stone mason license throughout his life, which often provided a vehicle for steady income when commissions were lean. Alonzo Hauser garnered scholarships for independent studies in France 1931 and again in 1933 at the Art Student's League of New York, under the famous 20th century sculptor, William Zorach. Hauser exhibited extensively in N.Y.C., Washington D.C. and from 1936-1939 created numerous projects and commissions under government programs like the Works Progress Administration (W.P.A.), Resettlement Administration and Farm Securities Administrations.

In Milwaukee from 1943-44, he worked commercially as a Foreman and Art Director and exhibited at the Milwaukee Art Institute. He moved to Minnesota and taught sculpture and drawing from 1943-44 at Carleton College. In 1945 he was the Founder and chairman of the Art department at Macalester College and St. Paul Gallery of Art (Minnesota Museum of American Art).

In 1948 he taught at the Layton School of Art in Milwaukee, and later at Carton College and the University of Minnesota School of Architecture. 

In 1970 he moved to Prescott, Wisconsin and opened a studio, gallery and loft apartments. He continued to travel, create, exhibit, produce commissions, and teach extensively all around the country. Alonzo Hauser continued to create throughout his entire life. A man of immense talent, energy and enthusiasm, he was a mentor to many young artists, students and writers. His public sculpture dots the landscape of the Twin Cities of Minnesota, and his work is in the collection of the Walker Art Museum, the Minnesota Museum of American Art, and the Minnesota Historical Society, the Wustum Museum in Racine, Wisconsin, and in many galleries and private collections throughout the country.

Hauser  found interpretation in the intrinsic medium of marble, stone and wood. The artist found energy and artistic freedom in relationship to the material and brought the art into closer relationship with the material than it had been in the 19th century. According to Hauser in an interview in the mid 1950's, "one thing is certain to me, the artist does not live to ornament existence, to decorate life. My drawings and sculpture are done for the purpose of providing me with clarification as well as emotional expression of my world".

BIOGRAPHICAL SOURCE AND PHOTO CREDIT: 
Alonzo Hauser: The Alonzo Hauser Collection," Website www.AlonzoHauser.com, Sep. 2017

Copyright (c) 2007 by Michael Hauser, Tony Hauser, & Heidi Hauser Jasmin. All rights reserved. 

TO LEARN MORE ABOUT ALONZO HAUSER AND TO VIEW A LARGE COLLECTION OF HIS ARTWORK, VISIT: www.alonzohauser.com