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Eugen Neuhaus

Barmen, Germany, 1879 - 1963, Berkeley, California

Biographyhttp://id.loc.gov/authorities/names/n83022732
Eugen Neuhaus was born on August 18, 1879, at Barmen, Rhine Province, Germany, the son of Emil and Julie Bertha (Müser) Neuhaus. He attended Realgymnasium in Elberfeld, near Barmen, graduated from the Royal Art School, Kassel, in 1899, and graduated from the Royal Institute for Applied Arts, Berlin, in 1903. During the year 1903-1904, he was instructor in historic ornament in the Municipal Art School, Charlottenburg, Berlin. He emigrated from Germany to the United States in 1904 and was naturalized in 1911.

Neuhaus became associated with the University of California when the Regents on October 8, 1907, approved his appointment, by the Directors of the San Francisco Art Association, as assistant professor of decorative design, School of Design, San Francisco Institute of Art, affiliated with the University of California. The following year he began teaching in Berkeley as assistant in drawing, Department of Drawing. He severed his connection with the San Francisco Institute of Art in 1909, and in 1910 he became instructor in drawing. He was advanced to assistant professor of decorative design in 1915, and upon the formation of the Department of Drawing and Art in 1920, he became assistant professor of art appreciation. In 1922 he became chairman of the department. When the Department of Art was established in 1923, Neuhaus became associate professor of art and first chairman of the department. He served as chairman from 1923 to 1925, when he was succeeded by the late Professor Washburn. Neuhaus became professor of art in 1927. He also taught as lecturer on history, theory and practice of art in Mills College, Oakland, 1918-1928. From 1928 to 1931 he was also lecturer in art history at Dominican College, San Rafael. In November 1933 he gave by invitation three lectures on American art at the University of Marburg, Germany, and received from the university the honorary degree of doctor of philosophy. He was visiting professor at the University of Hawaii during the summer session of 1937. Professor Neuhaus retired from the University of California at age 70 on August 18, 1949.

During his long career, Professor Neuhaus worked as a practicing painter, as an art historian and critic, and as a teacher of art appreciation to University students and to the community. As a painter, his favorite subjects were landscapes and still life. Many of his works were exhibited in museums throughout the United States. Even after retirement, he maintained a studio in which he continued to practice his art. A notable contribution to the work of the artist in America was his translation from the German into English of the book by Max Doerner: The Materials of the Artist and Their Use in Painting, 1934. As art historian and critic, he is represented by a book, The History and Ideals of American Art, 1931; by a monograph, “Charles Christian Nahl, the Painter of California Pioneer Life,” 1936; by a book, William Keith, The Man and the Artist, 1938. He contributed to the appreciation of art by students of the University by virtue of his famous course, Art 19. This course was the basis of a book, The Appreciation of Art, 1924, which appeared in a revised form, The World of Art, 1936. Professor Neuhaus contributed greatly to the Panama-Pacific International Exposition, San Francisco, 1915. He was chairman of the Advisory Committee of the Department of Art for the Exposition and was a member of the International Jury of Awards. He gave lectures for the public which were embodied in his books, The Art of the Exposition, 1915, and Galleries of the Exposition, 1915. The great community interest in his lectures and writings on the art of the exposition in San Francisco was responsible eventually for the recognition of art and the establishment of the Department of Art in the University of California. As an aid to appreciation of the Panama-California International Exposition, San Diego, 1915-1916, he wrote The San Diego Garden Fair, 1916. Another book in this period of his career is Painters, Pictures and People, 1918. Beginning in 1910, he was also University of California Extension lecturer on art appreciation, civic art, and art history. He served the community also as member of the City Planning Commission, Berkeley, 1920-1924 (chairman, 1924). His contribution for the Golden Gate International Exposition, San Francisco, 1939-1940, is represented by The Art of Treasure Island, 1939. He secured the approval of an abandoned power house as the University Art Gallery.

Professor Neuhaus represented the University of California at the 12th International Congress of Art History, Stockholm, 1933; at the 14th Congress, Zurich, 1936; at the Tercentenary of the University of Utrecht, 1936; and at the formal opening of the National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., April 1941. He conducted tours from the United States to the art galleries of Europe, and in 1947 he became Pacific Coast representative of the Bureau of University Travel, Newton, Massachusetts.

Professor Neuhaus was a member of the San Francisco Art Association, the American Society for Aesthetics, Delta Upsilon Art Honor Society, the Sierra Ski Club, the Kosmos Club of the University of California, and the Faculty Club. His genial and jovial personality contributed greatly to the sociability of the Faculty Club which he served a year as president.

Professor Neuhaus, after a long life filled with manifold activities, died at the age of 84 on October 29, 1963, in Berkeley. He is survived by his wife Leona Fassett Neuhaus, whom he married on October 14, 1944; by Dr. Robert Neuhaus, a son of Professor Neuhaus and the late Louise Anne Yoerk Neuhaus; and by two grandchildren.

V. F. Lenzen J. H. Hildebrand W. W. Horn G. A. Wessels
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Last Updated8/7/24

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