Louis Grell (1887-1960) Collection, 1918-2014

Louis Grell (1887-1960) was born in Council Bluffs, Iowa. He studied at the School of Applied Arts in Hamburg, Germany, and at the Royal Academy of Fine Arts in Munich. Upon his return from Europe, Grell lived in New York before moving to Chicago when he was offered a job at the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts. He worked as an instructor at the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts for five years and at The Art Institute of Chicago for fifteen years upon being appointed instructor of commercial art in 1922. Grell was primarily known for his murals and portraits. His work was exhibited in Berlin, Munich, New York, Philadelphia and Chicago. He won the Chicago Municipal Art League's prize for portraiture and the Harry Frank prize from The Art Institute of Chicago. He was a member of both the Chicago Association of Painters and Sculptors and the Chicago Galleries Association.

The collection includes correspondence, newspaper and magazine clippings, photographs of paintings and murals, brochures for Daprato Statuary Company, New York, and a rendering of the Stations of the Cross, ranging in date from 1918 to 1957.

SERIES I: PAPERS. Papers, includes small collection of correspondence and articles.

SERIES II: PHOTOGRAPHS. Illustrative materials, includes photographs, drawings and illustrations. Murals are listed by city location, then by building, in alphabetical order; murals in unknown locations listed at the end of this grouping. Miscellaneous materials are listed in alphabetical order by supplied title at the end of this series.

SERIES III: AUDIO/VIDEO. Biographical documentary.

• Names
  • Grell, Louis, 1887-1960.
  • Grell, Louis, 1887-1960--Correspondence.
  • Daprato Statuary Company.
• Subject
  • Mural painting and decoration, American--20th century--Sources.
  • Painters--Illinois--Chicago--Archives.

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Louis Grell Collection, Ryerson and Burnham Art and Architecture Archives, The Art Institute of Chicago.

The collection was donated by Mr. Heim to the Ryerson and Burnham Archives in 1996. Additional materials were donated by Richard Grell in 2013 and 2014.

The collection was processed by staff of the Ryerson and Burnham Archives in 1997. This finding aid was revised and expanded by Annemarie van Roessel in 2003, Aaron Rutt in 2014 and Jessica Heim in 2015.