Wanda Gág, Part 1

Summary

Summary of "Wanda Gág, Part 1" – Stuff You Missed in History Class

Release Date: April 21, 2025
Hosts: Holly Fry & Tracy V. Wilson
Produced by: iHeartPodcasts

---

Introduction

In the inaugural part of their two-part series on Wanda Gág, Holly Fry and Tracy V. Wilson delve deep into the life of this remarkable artist and author. They explore Gág's early years, her artistic development, and the personal and professional challenges she faced. Drawing from Wanda's prolific diaries, the hosts provide listeners with an intimate look into her journey towards independence and artistic recognition.

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Early Life and Family Dynamics [02:09 – 07:52]

Wanda Hazel Gág's story begins on March 11, 1893, in New Ulm, Minnesota. As the eldest of seven children, Wanda was born into a family that cherished creativity. Her father, Anton Gog, an artist from Bohemia, envisioned a life steeped in the arts, even as he worked as a photographer, painter, and decorator to provide for his family.

• Quote:
  Tracy V. Wilson [04:13]: "Anton stayed in New Ulm, which had a large Austrian German population... Anton incorporated creativity into his work as best he could."

Wanda's mother, Elizabeth (Lissy), was equally supportive, fostering an environment where all seven children engaged in art projects from a young age. This early immersion in creativity planted the seeds for Wanda's future endeavors.

Tragedy Strikes:
In May 1908, Anton's untimely death from tuberculosis left the Gog family in financial distress. At just 15 years old, Wanda stepped into the role of the family's breadwinner, balancing school with the responsibility of supporting her six younger siblings.

• Quote:
  Tracy V. Wilson [07:52]: "Wanda's diaries from her adolescence offer some insight into her drive to make money and also her feelings about her own artistic integrity."

---

Pursuit of Art Amidst Hardship [08:52 – 19:22]

Despite the financial strain, Wanda's commitment to art never wavered. Her diaries reveal a young woman determined to maintain her artistic integrity while meeting the practical needs of her family.

• Quote:
  Holly Fry [10:11]: "Wanda very clearly admired her father and deeply appreciated the artistic encouragement that their household offered to everyone in the family."

At 16, Wanda achieved her first professional break when the Minneapolis Journal published her 10-part series, "Robbie, Bobby and Mother Goose Land," rewarding her with $50. This success was a beacon of hope, illustrating her potential to balance art and responsibility.

Art Education and Patronage:
Wanda's talents did not go unnoticed. Tyler McWhorter of the St. Paul School of Art offered her a scholarship, recognizing her artistic prowess. Although initially hesitant due to financial constraints, a generous donation from Charles Weske enabled her to pursue formal art education.

• Quote:
  Holly Fry [17:58]: "He knows just how I feel about things, simply taking words out of my mouth."

This support was crucial, allowing Wanda to attend art school without the immediate pressure of earning an income, though the burden of supporting her family still weighed heavily on her.

---

Navigating the Commercial Art World [19:22 – 34:02]

Upon completing her first year at art school, Wanda began an internship at Buckbee Mirrors. Unbeknownst to her, this was an unpaid position, which posed significant financial challenges. Fortunately, Charles Weske intervened, ensuring that Wanda received a salary, a fact she only learned years later.

• Quote:
  Tracy V. Wilson [19:22]: "Wanda's internship... was not really tenable, and she didn't tell her family initially because she didn't want to worry them."

Balancing multiple roles, Wanda continued to support her family while nurturing her artistic voice. Her internal struggle between commercial success and personal artistic fulfillment is a recurring theme in her diaries.

• Quote:
  Holly Fry [21:14]: "Wanda envisioned herself like a perpetual starving artist."

---

Personal Relationships and Artistic Growth [34:02 – 37:18]

During her time in Minneapolis and later at the Art Students League of New York, Wanda formed significant relationships that influenced her artistic and personal development. Her friendship with Edgar Herman, later Armand Emrod, introduced her to broader cultural experiences, including opera and literature.

However, it was her relationship with fellow art student Adolphe Den that profoundly impacted her worldview. Engaging in intense debates about art, socialism, and feminism, Adolphe challenged Wanda to reconsider her beliefs about artistic responsibility and social engagement.

• Quote:
  Tracy V. Wilson [30:12]: "Their ongoing debates really formed the backbone of their relationship."

This intellectual partnership pushed Wanda to explore deeper themes in her work, reflecting both personal and societal struggles.

---

Artistic Achievements and Recognition [36:14 – 40:58]

The early 1920s marked a period of significant artistic achievement for Wanda. Her illustrations, characterized by high contrast black and white imagery and influenced by German Expressionism and Vincent van Gogh, began to gain international attention.

• Quote:
  Holly Fry [36:14]: "Much of Gog's work during this time was in printmaking... It shows the strong influences of German Expressionism and the work of Vincent van Gogh."

Her solo exhibitions, including one at the New York Public Library's 96th Street branch and later at the Weah Gallery, received critical acclaim. Notably, industrial designer Norman Bel Geddes praised her originality, further cementing her reputation in the art world.

• Quote:
  Holly Fry [38:32]: "The New York Post called it, 'an alluring exhibition that is hard to leave.'"

These successes were bittersweet, as Wanda grappled with the demands of the commercial art scene and her longing for creative autonomy.

---

Conclusion and Transition to Part 2

As Wanda's artistic career flourished, so did the complexities of her personal life and professional aspirations. The first part of this series sets the stage for an exploration of her later successes and the lasting impact she would have on the art and literary worlds.

---

Notable Quotes

• Tracy V. Wilson [04:13]: "Anton stayed in New Ulm, which had a large Austrian German population... Anton incorporated creativity into his work as best he could."
• Tracy V. Wilson [07:52]: "Wanda's diaries from her adolescence offer some insight into her drive to make money and also her feelings about her own artistic integrity."
• Holly Fry [10:11]: "Wanda very clearly admired her father and deeply appreciated the artistic encouragement that their household offered to everyone in the family."
• Holly Fry [17:58]: "He knows just how I feel about things, simply taking words out of my mouth."
• Tracy V. Wilson [19:22]: "Wanda's internship... was not really tenable, and she didn't tell her family initially because she didn't want to worry them."
• Holly Fry [21:14]: "Wanda envisioned herself like a perpetual starving artist."
• Tracy V. Wilson [30:12]: "Their ongoing debates really formed the backbone of their relationship."
• Holly Fry [36:14]: "Much of Gog's work during this time was in printmaking... It shows the strong influences of German Expressionism and the work of Vincent van Gogh."

---

Final Thoughts

Wanda Gág's early life was a tapestry of creativity, responsibility, and resilience. Holly and Tracy's meticulous recounting of her journey offers listeners a nuanced understanding of how personal hardships can coexist with artistic triumphs. As the series progresses to Part 2, we anticipate an even deeper exploration of Wanda's legacy and the enduring relevance of her work.

Transcript

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Makers in world history.

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[Holly Fry]

Welcome to Stuff youf Missed in History Class, a production of iHeartRadio. Hello and welcome to the podcast. I'm Holly Fry.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

And I'm Tracy V. Wilson.

[Holly Fry]

So, artist Wanda Gog is another that has been on my list for quite a while. If you look at her art, it's pretty natural to want to know who the person behind it is. Alice Gregory, writing for the New Yorker in 2014, described Gog's work this way, which I thought was quite beautiful. Fairy tale familiar but also strange and unforgettably specific. GOG's work is high contrast. It's mostly black and white and it runs the gamut from illustrations for children's books which she also wrote, to intriguing still life that look anything but still. And her personality and her life story is equally enthralling, from her very unusual childhood to her quest for independence as an artist. We also have the benefit with Gog of covering a subject that was a prolific diarist, so we do know a lot about her inner thoughts and the details of her day to day life. And because of this wealth of information and because I just find her wildly intriguing, she is a two parter. So today we're going to talk about her early life, life up through art school and her early professional career. And then on Wednesday's episode we will talk about the fame and success that she had starting in the late 1920s.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Wanda Hazel Gog was born on March 11, 1893. She was the first child of Anton and Elizabeth Beeblegog. Elizabeth went by Lissy. Anton had moved to the US in 1872 from Bohemia, which at the time was part of Austria. He was 13 and had moved to the town of New Ulm, Minnesota. Lissy, who was 10 years younger than he was, moved there just a year after he did from her birthplace of Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Her parents, like Anton's, were from Bohemia.

[Holly Fry]

Anton stayed in New Ulm, which had a large Austrian German population. As an adult, he had always envisioned a life as an artist for himself, but that wasn't an avenue that was really going to offer him a dependable L in New Ulm. Still, he incorporated creativity into his work as best he could, working as a photographer, a painter and a decorator. One of his most prominent works was a mural that he painted on commission for the World's Fair the year Wanda was born that was showing the Dakota attacking New Ulm in 1862. This was commissioned as the Sioux attacking New Ulm. Just to point out how things have changed and how they kind of made up their own versions of what had happened. After that fair, the mural was moved to the Minnesota State Capitol. Wanda later wrote of this work, which was of course somewhat controversial, quote, I have often wondered with what mixed emotions Papa must have made these pictures. Naturally he sympathized with the pioneers who through no fault of their own had been so brutally attacked. And yet I know that he loved the Indians also and felt they had.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Been wronged still, it made money and Anton needed that money as he was starting a family. Thanks to that income, he was able to build a Queen Anne style house in New Ulm at 226 N. Washington St. But practicality never dampened his or Lissy's love of the arts. And they strongly encouraged their children's creativity in every way. Anton and Lissy had six more children after Wanda, Stella, Deli, Howard, Asta, the Snelda who went by Tessie and Flavia. The early years of the Gog family sound quite beautiful and lively. Despite money being tight, the kids always had art projects, both at home and when visiting their nearby relatives. Apparently when the kids found out that not everyone drew as part of their day to day life, they were taken aback and really a little confused. Wanda mentioned in her diary how odd it was that other families didn't think of, quote, drawing and painting as essential activities. As eating and sleeping.

[Holly Fry]

Wanda very clearly admired her father and deeply appreciated the artistic encouragement that their household offered to everyone in the family. She wrote, quote, in our home, artistic expression of all kinds was taken for granted. Our father, Anton Gog, was an artist, and in our mother's family, the creative urge took the form of painting, modeling and fine cabinet work. We children, six girls and a boy, all drew and most of us wrote stories and poems. Anton Gog, though always in delicate health, worked hard and kept his large family in modest comfort during the week. For his livelihood, he decorated houses and churches. But on Sundays, for his inner satisfaction, he painted pictures in his attic studio. We children had learned early how to behave when someone was making something. And were sometimes allowed in his studio while he painted there. I liked this. There was a silent, serious happiness in the air which, although I had no words for it then, I recognized as the ineffable joy of creation. I had already experienced this exaltation myself at times. So I knew that on Sundays my father was happy in his soul. But unfortunately, that happy home filled with the joy of creativity did not last forever. In May 1908, Anton died of tuberculosis, plunging the family into a period of grief and financial uncertainty.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Wanda's diaries from her adolescence offer some insight into her drive to make money and also her feelings about her own artistic integrity. Her published diaries began on August 12, 1908, when she would have been 15. So that was just six months or so after her father's death. The first entry makes her mindset pretty clear. Quote, I sent one of my pictures to the journal. Junior Tottis hanged our doll and forgot to put my address on it. So I sent another envelope with my address on it. The same day I sent a story, Lou's Soap Bubble Party and a picture to illustrate it to McCall's. Some time ago I sent these three articles to the youth's companion story Golden Brooch Picture Great Grandmother's Chest Poem Great Grandmother's Chest. I wonder how the whole thing will turn out. A few days ago Margaret Kelly told me that Martha Schmid didn't believe I drew freehand. She thinks I traced trace. Indeed, when I don't even care much for copying.

[Holly Fry]

I love how indignant she is at 15 that she's like, how dare.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Yes.

[Holly Fry]

On a more serious note, she also notes very carefully in the early entries any money that she makes from her writing and any cash prizes she and her siblings win in competitions like at the county fair. She was very keenly aware of the loss of her father as a breadwinner as well, of course, as a beloved family member. She mentions at one point that the money she has collected from various winnings will pay for shoes because she has outgrown hers and she cannot wear them any longer without pain. And this concern over finances may be linked to something that she took directly from her last moments with her father. His last words were what Papa was unable to accomplish, Wanda will have to finish. So whether he meant that in terms of artistic expression or in taking care of the family has been interpreted differently by different historians. But either way, that's a lot to put on a 15 year old's shoulders. And to make matters worse, her mother Lissy was not in good health. So Wanda truly emerged at that point as the family's breadwinner when she was still a high school age teenager.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

We'll talk about Wanda's daily life and the struggles of the Gog family after Anton's death after we pause for a.

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[Laura Carrenti]

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[Jorge Cham]

Have you ever wondered, if your pet is lying to you, why is my.

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And she's eating my lunch?

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The way that we understand the universe.

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It's not just a faster computer. It performs in a fundamentally different way.

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It's not really a safety issue.

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[Clayton English]

I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Lodd and this is season two of the War on Drugs podcast. Sir, we are back in a big way. In a very big way. Real people, real perspectives. This kind of starts that it a little bit, man. We got Ricky Williams, NFL player, Heisman Trophy winner.

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It's just the compassionate choice to allow players all reasonable means to care for themselves.

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[Tracy V. Wilson]

Brothers Osborne we have this misunderstanding of.

[Holly Fry]

What this quote unquote drug thing is.

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Isn'T working and we need to change things.

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Stories matter and it brings a face to them.

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It makes it real. It really does.

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It makes it real.

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Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast Season 2 on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts or wherever you get your podcasts and to hear episodes one week early and ad free with exclusive content. Subscribe to Lava for Good plus on Apple Podcast.

[Holly Fry]

When Wanda wasn't drawing or writing material that she hoped to sell to bring money in, she was taking care of her six siblings. In one diary entry she writes about a rumor that a classmate shared with her quote, fern Fisher was here yesterday and she said that somebody told her that I don't do anything but read and draw. I guess so. I wonder if washing dishes, sweeping about six times a day, picking up things the baby and Howard throw around are reading. And I've never heard of taking care of babies, combing little sisters, cleaning bedrooms and attics as being classed as drawing. I wonder what else people will say about me.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

She also talks about making dinner when her mother, who had recently given birth to the last child of the family, needed to sleep. These entries about meal making are really saddening. She describes not having much food to cook with and having to figure out how to stretch what ingredients they could afford and how to divide the food among all the kids so everyone got some. But there are also delighted mentions of books she read, art her siblings made, gifts from relatives, etc. But always, always the careful accounting of the money she makes through her magazine submissions and odd jobs, place cards on commission and how much she is able to give her mother to keep the family afloat. In 1909, 16 year old Wanda had a professional break. The Minneapolis Journal published a 10 part series titled Robbie, Bobby and Mother Goose Land and paid her $50 for it.

[Holly Fry]

As Wanda neared the end of high school and plotted a potential make do job as a teacher, she also dreamed, as anyone would, of a life where she might not have to take such employment, noting in her D. Mary quote, if I ever marry next to marrying for love, I shall marry so that I won't have to bother myself with financial matters. At least I think so. Now she did get a teaching job in 1912 after graduating from high school, but her eye was still on an art career.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

And there were some fortuitous events that made that dream possible. She had never stopped entering her artwork in competitions, and she won a fair number of them, enough to be mentioned in the papers on several occasions. And those mentions got in front of the right eyes. Tyler McWhorter, the head of the St. Paul School of Art, had told Wanda that she could attend on a scholarship and that she only had to pay for living expenses. But that was way out of the realm of possibility financially, as Wanda put it, quote, which is certainly dandy, but the school experiment goes first. So, Mr. McWhorter, great deal of thanks and a pile of regrets to you. But then in 1913, a businessman from St. Paul named Charles Weske visited the family home. Wanda knew he was coming to talk to her about art school and wrote in her diary, quote, the martyr like act for me to play would be to teach school and deny myself everything until I had the family properly settled. Then I could begin my career in life, however small it might be. But, oh, I'm only human and I do want to go to the university or to art school. Weschke, who knew McWhorter and had been in touch with him about Wanda's situation, told Wanda that he had been a fan of her father Anton's work, and he had seen her art in the paper and wanted to help her family. He pledged his own financial support to cover her room and board and whatever art supplies she needed. So she was off to art school.

[Holly Fry]

Wanda's diary entry about this whole thing happening is very charming. Quote, well, it's over. Mr. Weschke's visit, I mean, and I'm to go to art school and such charming arrangements. I don't even have to work for my board. I shall probably stay at the YWCA and be independent, have a definite amount of money to put in the bank by someone or a number of someones and not do anything but do the things I was meant to do. As he expresses it, he impressed it fully upon us that his was no charity work, but that he was predestined, so to speak, to do what he was doing. He is doing it for art's sake and for humanity's sake. He thinks, oh, how can he, that I will repay humanity a thousandfold for what is being done for me. He knows just how I feel about things, simply taking words out of my mouth.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

We should mention, though, that while this was obviously a piece of good fortune. For Wanda, it meant that another member of her family would have to take on the burden of bringing in money for the family. That person was her sister, Stella, who, like Wanda, got a teaching job after high school while money was in short supply. Education was prioritized enough that none of the Gog children left school to work before graduating. So it was good timing that Stella was joining the workforce as this opportunity came to Wanda.

[Holly Fry]

After a year at art school, Wanda started working at a commercial art studio called Buckbee Mirrors, which was something that the school had arranged like a little internship. But it seems like there was a miscommunication here, because Wanda had not realized that this was an unpaid internship. This wasn't really tenable, and she didn't tell her family initially because she didn't want to worry them. But then, before long, she was informed that she would be collecting a salary. And she didn't know it at the time, but her benefactor, Charles Weschke, had stepped in again. The firm was not paying her salary. He was, because he believed the experience she was gaining was valuable enough that she needed to stay. She didn't find out about this arrangement until years later.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

God clearly grappled with what people expected of her, as any young person in her position might. She wrote in the autumn that she was working in her internship. Quote they People have been in a most terrible suspense all the time for fear that I wouldn't get to the point where I would earn money. Paula reminded me of the time she had told me to draw magazine covers and said that was the result of hearing some remarks. They expect me to make a great deal of money and sort of along the side to become famous. And when I want neither fame nor money. Ding it, ding it, ding it. I wish I had iron to bite or wood to gnaw or logs to chop. I know I need the money, but I can't sit here serenely listening while they lose the sight of the thing. I am afraid I shall have to disappoint them. If I were to become a popular magazine illustrator, they would undoubtedly say, Wanda has made good. Whereas if I turn my art over to life and win no fame, they will say she had talent, but she didn't use it in the right way.

[Holly Fry]

I like that she envisions herself like a perpetual starving artist. In a moment, we're going to talk about another patron who saw Wanda Gog's potential and encouraged her career. But first we will hear from the sponsors who contribute to our careers by supporting the show.

[T Mobile Advertiser]

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[Laura Carrenti]

This is Courtside with Laura Carrenti, the podcast that's changing the game and breaking down the business of women's sports like never before. I'm Laura, the founder and CEO of Deep Blue Sports and Entertainment, your inside source on the biggest deals, power moves and game changers Writing the playbook on all things women's sports, from the heavy hitters in the front office to the powerhouse women on the pitch. We're talking to commissioners, team owners, influential athletes and the investors betting big on women's sports. We'll break down the numbers, get under the hood and go deep on what's next. Women's sports are the moment, so if you're not paying attention, you're already behind. Join me Courtside for a front row seat into the making of the business of women's sports. Courtside with Laura Carenti is an iHeart women's sports production in partnership with Deep Blue Sports and Entertainment. Listen to Courtside with Laura Carenti Starting April 3rd on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Brought to you by Novartis, founding partner.

[Holly Fry]

Of iHeart Women's Sports Network.

[Jorge Cham]

Have you ever wondered, if your pet is lying to you?

[George M. Johnson]

Why is my cat not here and.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

I go in and she's eating my lunch?

[Jorge Cham]

Or if hypnotism is real, you will use the suggest in order to enhance your cognitive control. But what's inside a black hole?

[Holly Fry]

Black holes could be a consequence of.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

The way that we understand the universe.

[Jorge Cham]

Well, we have answers for you in the new I Heart original podcast Science Stuff. Join me Jorge Cham as we tackle questions you've always wanted to know the answer to about animals, space, our brains and our bodies. Questions like can you survive being cryogenically frozen?

[Clayton English]

This is experimental. This may never work for you.

[Jorge Cham]

What's a quantum computer?

[Holly Fry]

It's not just a faster computer, it performs in a fundamentally different way.

[Jorge Cham]

Do you really have to wait 30 minutes after eating before you can go swimming.

[Holly Fry]

It's not really a safety issue, it's.

[Jorge Cham]

More of a comfort issue. We'll talk to experts, break it down, and give you easy to understand explanations to fascinating scientific questions. So give yourself permission to be a science geek and listen to science stuff on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Clayton English]

I'm Clayton English. I'm Greg Lod, and this is season two of the War on Drugs podcast. Sir, we are back in a big way. In a very big way. Real people, real perspectives. This kind of star studded a little bit, man. We got Ricky Williams, NFL player, Heisman Trophy winner.

[Jorge Cham]

It's just the compassionate choice to allow players all reasonable means to care for themselves.

[Clayton English]

Music stars Marcus King, John Osborne for Brothers Osborne.

[Laura Carrenti]

We have this misunderstanding of what this.

[Jorge Cham]

Quote unquote drug thing is.

[Clayton English]

Benny the Butcher Brent Smith from Shinedown got be real from Cypress Hill, NHL enforcer Riley Cote, Marine Corvette MMA fighter Liz Karamouche.

[Laura Carrenti]

What we're doing now isn't working and.

[Holly Fry]

We need to change things. Stories matter and it brings a face to them.

[Clayton English]

It makes it real. It really does.

[Holly Fry]

It makes it real.

[Clayton English]

Listen to new episodes of the War on Drugs podcast season two on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcast and to hear episodes one week early and ad free with exclusive content. Subscribe to Lava for Good plus on Apple Podcasts.

[Holly Fry]

After a few months of her internship, Wanda actually managed to get another patron. That was Herschel V. Jones, who was the managing editor at the Minneapolis Journal. Jones took Wanda under his wing and he paid for her to enroll at the Minneapolis School of Art. She commented on the main difference that she noticed at the new school as compared to her prior art school, and also manages to be very self confident in doing so. Quote in the Minneapolis school they go at things more methodically than in St. Paul, especially our teacher Mr. Phoenix. I don't know but that he is a trifle too methodical. However, I don't think I am in danger. I believe too sincerely in what I am fighting for, and I fight no less sincerely for that which I believe to be drawn dangerously far from the myself track. For half artists, his method may be good. I mean for people who can never hope to go beyond a certain limit in art and people who have not enough good sound originality to lead them into the right paths.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

During this time she also ruminated on what it meant to her to have ambition. In the winter of her first year in Minneapolis, she wrote, quote, it's cowardly to be overly modest. In fact, I think many artists are modest for just that reason. For instance, a man would be afraid to say, if I want, I can make people sit up and notice my work. He's afraid he can't live up to it. He's afraid of facing ignominious defeat. Ding. What if you don't succeed? You at least don't have to be ashamed of your aim. My aim is limitless. That I will never reach it. I know. But I'm going to get as near there as I can. That will keep me running all the rest of my life, believe me.

[Holly Fry]

Throughout all of these ups and downs. Gog had a close friend that she had met when he was a medical student who visited her high school during what was called University Week. So that was a week that was sponsored by the University of Minnesota. And it offered lectures for anyone to attend. And his name was Edgar Herman. Though when her diary was published later in her life, she changed his name to Armand Emrod. She always insisted that their relationship was entirely innocent and platonic. But there are entries in her diary that suggest that she initially had a crush on him and then eventually developed more serious feelings. The two of them met when Edgar saw her drawing during one of the University Week events. And he managed to sit near her to watch her her work. Edgar opened Wanda's world up to a great deal of culture that she had not had access to in her life in New Ulm. He introduced her to things like opera and to literature. And their relationship was quite long, although it seemed as though they often were in different places in terms of what each of them wanted out of it. So she, like I said, obviously at some points, had feelings for him. But after one of their early outings, which kind of seems like a date, but it was unclear, I think, to both of them. And Wanda recorded in her diary, quote, just before I went into the door at the yw, I warned him not to get too romantic. I just love for some reason. Still, Edgar became a cornerstone in her life for a while. And when she left New Ulm for St. Paul, and particularly after she went to Minneapolis School of Art, where he was not at the school, but in the city, he introduced her also to his circle of friends. And this kind of gave her a whole new cosmopolitan life. And Wanda really did seem to fall in love with Edgar, genuinely in love. But by the time she realized it, he had come to see her exclusively as a friend. And then by 1915, they had largely.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Stopped socializing after her Friendship with Edgar had essentially ended. Wanda found a new, similarly intense friendship in another art student, Adolphe. Den Den also expanded her worldview, but in a very different way from Edgar. The two of them had met in a group called the John Ruskin Society, which met for weekly salon style discussions where group members hashed out a lot of social issues. Wanda did not back down from arguments in the group and Adolf was a ready debate partner who would challenge her and help her work through her own ideas. He was also much more politically active and anti establishment than Wanda, and over the course of their relationship, she became more involved in that world, eventually embracing socialism and feminism. This was harder than it may sound. We might think of artists as inherently liberal, and Wanda had certainly grown up in a home where artistic expression was valued. But it was also a very small town and Gog's positions on various social issues were sometimes described as Victorian.

[Holly Fry]

She didn't believe in sex before marriage, for example, although that would change. And she was not interested in intoxicants. That's actually something I want to talk about on Friday. But it was really her thoughts on art and specifically artistic talent that she and Adolphe debated. Early on, Gog thought that talent was something that you were simply born with and that it would carry true artists through to recognition regardless of where they came from or what trends shifted the tastes of the art world. She also thought that artists didn't have a responsibility to anything or anyone but their gift in terms of how they use that natural skill. There is also some conceit at play in her position. She felt very clearly that she was better than other artists. And she also thought people who were not artistically gifted should just defer to people who were. Adolphe introduced the argument that some people get better opportunities than others and some of that was due to social standing. And that artists that did get a platform had a responsibility to use it in ways that educated viewers and helped them understand new ideas. And these differences of opinion, which seem to be conversations and debates that went on for months and years with the two of them, did not sour Wanda Gog on Adolf Ben. Their ongoing debates really formed the backbone of their relationship.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

During art school, Gog also managed to make money with design commissions. And she sent money home to supplement Stella's income and help the the third GoG daughter, Tussie, had also graduated and took a teaching job to help out as well. In 1917, another huge blow came to the Gog family, which is that Elizabeth died. This was not entirely unexpected. During the Christmas of 1916, it was apparent to Wanda that Lissy was not well. She returned to school in January, but almost immediately turned around and went home again after receiving a message from her sisters that Lissy was rapidly declining. While Wanda was a young adult of 24 at the time, a lot of the kids were not. Flavia was only nine years old. It fell to Wanda and also to Stella and Tussie to just figure out what the future would be for the family.

[Holly Fry]

And while that was being figured out, Wanda returned to art school so she could finish her program in Minneapolis. Once school was finished, she, her sisters and her friend Adolf Dennis worked on the Gog house in New Ulm to get it ready for sale. Stella and Tessie didn't want to stay. They wanted to move to Minneapolis. And the younger four kids spent another autumn and winter in New Ulm because the house had not sold at that point. The oldest among those four was kind of at an age where they could take care of the other kids. And also when you have grown up in a house where a 15 year old is the head of the family, financially, I think some of those concepts of aging are a little skewed. But Tussie and Stella did move to Minneapolis, and they got jobs there with Wanda's help.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Wanda didn't stay in Minneapolis, though. She had been accepted into the Art Students League of New York for the 1917-1918 school year, as had Adolf. And she was able to go thanks to the generosity of Herschel V. Jones in financially supporting her. She really loved being in New York. She learned a lot of new art techniques and enjoyed the city's many museums. But things back in New Ulm were troubling for her. The four younger Gogs were really struggling, so Wanda took side jobs to get money to send to them for food and clothes and heat. When her school year in New York ended, she and her two oldest sisters worked out a plan. The New Ulm house finally sold and all the God kids moved to Minneapolis.

[Holly Fry]

Wanda's scholarship at the Art Students League was renewed for another year. And she was excited about it and felt more at peace going into the second year, knowing that her siblings were all together and that the younger ones had the oldest ones there to look after them. But New York wasn't as enjoyable as she had hoped this time around. Money was tight and the need to constantly grind to find commercial jobs. Dragging a big portfolio around left her feeling, as she wrote in a journal quote, there is not much time to appreciate what we came to appreciate. She got a job Lamp shading, literally designing lampshades. And she found that that job completely zapped her creative energy.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

This second year in New York was also pivotal for Wanda in terms of her relationship with Adolph Den. The two of them had many times professed their love for one another, but they also agreed that their art should always come first. At 26, Wanda had never had a sexual experience with anyone, and she made a decision that she and Adolf should finally have sex. The two of them were really communicative and methodical about planning this step, talking through what it would mean for their relationship. She also went to a doctor for birth control. And then they finally had sex. And after all of that planning and thinking about it, Wanda found the whole experience ultimately a letdown.

[Holly Fry]

In 1921, Adolf went on a trip to Europe. And during that time, Wanda started seeing his roommate, Earl Humphries. So initially it sounds like this was intended to be a strictly friends with benefits situation while Adolph Den was away. But then he met someone else in Europe and he ended up staying there. For years, Wanda and Earl continued to see one another, and she was adamant that a regular sex life had become crucial for her art. Wanda didn't really believe in monogamy, and though her relationship with Earl did evolve into something more like a serious monogamous relationship, and she was committed to him, she sometimes wrote in her journal about how she really always wished for the thrill of a new relationship.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

In the early 1920s, Wanda had some of her illustrations published in art magazines in the US And European. Much of Gog's work during this time was in printmaking, and a lot of the imagery feels quite lonely. It reveals a New York that isn't necessarily the vibrant, bustling place many saw it to be, but instead shows the quiet interiors of people's lives, often depicting the life of a person who lives alone, such as Supper Laid for One, which was printed in the Marxist magazine new masses in 1926. This illustration features a corner of a solo apartment. Despite the title, it's not really focused on a table, although one is partially in the scene on the right side of the frame. It's a high contrast black and white image that conveys a stark, simple abode. It does not feel in any way joyous. It shows the strong influences of German Expressionism and the work of Vincent van Gogh, combining with Gog's own vision to create what would become her trademark style.

[Holly Fry]

She was a huge Vincent van Gogh fan, borderline fangirl. Several years before that art Supper Laid for One was Pub was printed. Wanda had Already shown a good deal of disillusionment with New York and with the commercial art world that she felt compelled to participate in to continue to support the Gog family. She wrote in her journal, quote, I do not want to live in the restless, hectic, busy, busy life for which Americans are noted. I want to sort of ramble through life not lazily, for I must be active to be happy. I want to read and study and work hard and live. But I do not want to always feel myself rushing along in pursuit of money.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

In 1923, Wanda had a solo show, her first at the New York Public Library's branch on 96th Street. It ran from February 15th to April 1st and featured a mix of drawings for adults and children, totaling 40 pieces. It got really positive attention. One of the attendees was well known theatrical and industrial designer Norman Bel Geddes, who liked that Gog's work was original and not derivative.

[Holly Fry]

Yeah. He apparently gave her some words of encouragement at the show. After the New York show, Wanda reassessed her situation. She was worn out with living in New York and she really wanted a solace. And fortunately, she had kept the family afloat long enough that her siblings had aged up to the point where they could all work and take care of themselves. So she took advantage of the breathing room that shift afforded her and she moved to Connecticut for a reset, living out in the country for almost a year, except for going back to New York for the winter. Throughout her art career up to this point, she had been frustrated anytime she had to draw what someone else directed, whether that was in school or for her commercial work. And in Connecticut, she drew and painted for herself, producing a large volume of work in a relatively short time.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

One of the innovative things she tried during this time was drawing on sandpaper using a lithographic crayon. The resulting drawing could be used to make prints, sort of the way you'd make prints from a lithography stone. She experimented with this technique throughout her career. After this, moving on from the lithography crayon to a brush and ink, noting that she had to be careful when using the brush because, quote, it is easy to get a mussy drawing. She had a second show at the 96th Street New York Public Library branch in the spring of 1924, which showed work she had done with this technique. Then she went back to the Connecticut countryside.

[Holly Fry]

The following year, she had 19 pieces selected to be shown at the Weah Gallery. I'm not sure if that's how you pronounce it. I can't seem to find a good pronunciation, and it is a defunct gallery, so we'll never know unless somebody in the audience knows, and you can tell me, but it'll be too late too, for this show that was curated by gallery director Carl Zigroser. Zigroser was able to very quickly sell several of the pieces, and Wanda, elated to have sold art that she had created strictly through her own inspiration, wrote of the sales quote, it made me happy to think that I had been able to get money for the things I really like to do. That doesn't happen often enough. In 1926, Zigroser gave her a solo show at the gallery. The reviews of that 1926 show were largely very positive, with the New York Post calling it, quote, an alluring exhibition that is hard to leave.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

In 1927, Wanda published an essay titled A Hotbed of Feminists. Possibly because of that essay, Wanda had put into motion something that would really shift her life in a significant way. We will talk about that shift in.

[Holly Fry]

Part two in Listener Mail today we have an email about the Boxcar Children. We have a few. I'm gonna get through them, I swear. This is from our listener Anne, who writes Dear Holly and Tracy, I just had to write in about the Boxcar Children. I appreciated learning about the author on the Friday behind the Scenes episode you were wondering about whether they might not have been popular in the South. I can confirm that in the mid-80s my elementary school in a metro Atlanta suburb had quite a few of the Boxcar Children books. My second grade teacher read the Boxcar Children aloud to our class and I loved it. As a kid who always enjoyed playing house, the idea of kids playing house in a boxcar in the woods but for real, with no adults or anything, was captivating to me. I later checked one or two of the other books out of the school library, but since they didn't live on their own in the Boxcar anymore, it just wasn't the same. So I didn't continue the series despite the fact that I loved mystery stories and it would have been around the same time I was making my way through the entire Nancy Drew series. Thanks as always for the excellent podcast, Anne. This reminded me to talk about two things. One, I didn't mention it's a spoiler if nobody's if somebody hasn't read the Boxcar Children but at the end of the first book. So if you haven't read it and you don't wanna be spoiled, jump out now. It's fine. But at the end of the first book, they get the boxcar back. They get to keep it in the backyard and use it as a playhouse so it stays part of their lives, but it's not where they live anymore. The other thing that is funny is that, like Anne I feel like there's a magical window that some people hit where you're simultaneously reading like the Boxcar Children, Nancy Drew, the Hardy Boys and Trixie Belden. I was blazing through all of those at the same time. So when she mentioned she was also reading Nancy Drew, it was a lovely memory of youth. So thank you, Ann. If you would like to write to us, you can do [e-mail] you can also subscribe to the show on the iHeartRadio app or anywhere you listen to your favorite shows.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

Stuff youf Missed in History Class is a production of iHeartRadio. For more podcasts from iHeartRadio, visit the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcast, or wherever you listen to your favorite shows.

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[Tracy V. Wilson]

A crime makes headlines, people talk about it for a few days, then it disappears. Disappears. But for the people left behind, their story is just beginning.

[George M. Johnson]

But at night we hear the garage opening and my son hears it, we freak out. Honestly, I didn't tell my son this.

[Holly Fry]

But I felt that was it.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

From the exactly right network this is the Knife. Real stories of crime's ripple effects told by those who lived them. New episodes every Thursday. Listen to the knife on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

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[George M. Johnson]

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You know, we are the greatest culture.

[Holly Fry]

Makers in world history.

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Listen to fighting Words on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.

[Laura Carrenti]

Are your ears bored?

[Holly Fry]

Yeah. Are you looking for a new podcast.

[Tracy V. Wilson]

That will make you laugh, learn and say que? Yeah.

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Then tune in to locatora radio season 10 today.

[Holly Fry]

Okay. Now that's what I call a podcast.

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I'm Theosa.

[Holly Fry]

I'm Mala, the host of Locatora Radio, a radiophonic novella, which is just a very extra way of saying a podcast. Listen to Locatora Radio Season 10 on the iHeartRadio app, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you get your podcasts.