Emil Weddige

Born in Ontario, Canada, Weddige first became interested in print making while studying at Michigan State Normal College (now Eastern Michigan University) with Orlo Gill. After receiving a B.A. (1934), Weddige studied at the Art Students League in New York City with Morris Kantor and Emil Ganso before returning to Ann Arbor. He received an M.S. in design from the University of Michigan in 1937 and then joined the faculty, remaining there until his retirement in 1974. Although he began as a painter, he concentrated primarily on print making since the early 1950s. He helped develop the printmaking program at the University of Michigan and in 1952 founded the Michigan Printmakers Society. From 1955 to 1959 he maintained a studio in Paris where he met Fernand Leger and worked with Edmond Desjobert. In 1962 Weddige received a Ford Foundation grant to work at the Tamarind Lithography Workshop in Los Angeles, California. A pioneer in the renaissance of color lithography, Weddige is the author of a widely used text, "Lithography" (Scranton, Pa.: International Textbook Co., 1966). He completed commissions for Dow Chemical Corporation (on the history of paper) and the University of Michigan (a history of the University, in honor of its sesquicentennial). Weddige was also a founder and the first president of the Michigan Water Color Society and was instrumental in the development of Michigan's Artrain.