Biografie von Henry ULKE (1821-1910)

Birth place: Frankenstein, Germany

Death place: Washington , DC

Addresses: NYC, 1852-53; Philadephia, PA, 1853-60; Washington, 1860-1910

Profession: Portrait painter, printmaker, photographer

Studied: Breslau & Berlin with Wilhelm Wach, Peter Cornelius; Weimar, 1868-70

Exhibited: NAD, 1854; Centennial Expo, Philadelphia, 1876; PAFA Ann., 1876

Member: Wash. AC

Work: White House; Depts. of Defense & Treasury; Nat. Mus. Am. Hist.; NMAA; NGP

Comments: He joined the revolutionary party in Germay, was wounded, captured and imprisoned during the 1848 uprising. He came to America after being released and worked in NYC as a designer and illustrator for Harper's and Leslie's. In 1860, after having lived in Phila. for several years, he moved to Washington where he opened a portrait and photography studio. Ulke painted many portraits of high government officials and civic leaders, including Lincoln's Cabinet and Pres. Grant. He was the first artist to convert photographs into india ink paintings.

Sources: G&W; Fairman, Art and Artists of the Capitol, 356; Art Annual, VIII, 401; NYBD 1854-57. More recently, see McMahan, Artists of Washington, DC; Falk, Exh. Record Series.