Elsa E. Ulbricht

A graduate of New York’s Pratt Institute (1911), Ulbricht was influenced by fellow Wisconsin artists and in turn became a noteworthy influence as both artist and educator. As a director of the Milwaukee Art Institute during the Depression Era, she developed the WPA Handicraft Project (1935 – 43) to benefit unskilled women. She pioneered and chaired the Art Department at the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee. She also taught at Alexander Mueller's School of Fine and Applied Arts. She became Michigan’s Ox-Bow Summer School of Art director. Diverse in her skills, the artist taught clay modeling, teaching methods, weaving, mechanical drawing, basketry and bookbinding. Ulbricht received a Wisconsin Visual Art Lifetime Achievement award in 2004. In addition to these achievements, she always maintained a studio and continued her own work.