Ralph Krug

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(1917, Calvary, WI - )

Described as “profoundly rural” by writer, John Rector Barton, Ralph Krug was the essential rural painter, having only traveled outside of the state once and never by train.

Krug attended primary school and in the eighth grade, he received his first art instruction. While his artistic efforts were never encouraged by any teachers, Ralph took advantage of the pure opportunity to learn basic drawing and watercolor.

When Ralph’s uncle, Arnold Krug, who was an Arizonian painter, came to visit the family farm in 1931, he was gifted oil paint, brushes, a palette, and a book called “The Painter in Oil” by Daniel Burleigh. While he was given these tools early, it wasn’t until the early 1940s that he began to paint more seriously.

Ralph is known for his bucolic scenes, often featuring ideal farms and other pastoral imagery.

He exhibited with the Rural Artists in Madison, but never seemed to be too occupied with selling his artwork. For Ralph, painting was an enjoyable pastime.

Source: John Rector Barton, “Ploughman-Painter”, Rural Artists of Wisconsin (Madison: The University of Wisconsin Press, 1948), 79-82

Photo credit: Photo credit: John Rector Barton, Rural Artists of Wisconsin (Madison: The University of Wisconsin Press, 1948), 79.