Anton Otto Fischer
| Anton Otto Fischer | |
|---|---|
 |
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| Born |
Anton Otto Fischer February 23, 1882 Regensburg, Germany |
| Died | March 26, 1962 (aged 80) |
| Resting place | Montrepose Cemetery, Kingston, New York |
| Nationality | American |
| Known for | Illustration, painting |
Anton Otto Fischer (February 23, 1882 - March 26, 1962) was an illustrator for the Saturday Evening Post.
Born in Germany and orphaned at any early age, he ran away at the age of 15 to escape being forced into priesthood. He came to America as a deck hand on a German vessel. He sacrificed two months’ pay to obtain his freedom and then went on to sail on American ships for three years. For a fourteen-month period in 1905-1906, he worked as a model and general handyman for artist Arthur Burdette Frost. He went to Paris in October 1906 and studied for two years with Jean Paul Laurens at the Academie Julian, spending summers painting landscapes in Normandy. Fischer returned to New York City in January 1908. After being influenced by Howard Pyle, he moved to Wilmington, Delaware where he established a studio at 1110 Franklin Street. Pyle helped him transform his firsthand knowledge into pictorial drama, but had little success in enlivening his lead-colored palette. He freelanced in “subject pictures,” or illustrations telling a human interest story that were in popular magazines of the day. During World War II he was made the artist laureate of the United States Coast Guard.
Fischer married Mary Ellen ("May") Sigsbee (1877-1960) following her divorce from fellow artist William Balfour Ker (1877-1918). Mary Ellen Sigsbee, William Balfour Ker and Fischer were all artist and former students of Howard Pyle. After marriage, he adopted his wife's son from her first marriage, David (1906-1922). They first lived in Bushnellsville, New York before moving to a house near the intersection of Elmendorf Street and Ten Broeck Avenue in nearby Kingston. The house still stands today and has a large north facing window that gave Fischer the light he needed to paint. In 1914, the couple had a child of their own, Katrina Sigsbee Fischer (1914-1998). The family eventually settled into a house off Glasco Turnpike in just prior to World War II.
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