Tom Lidtke, “As part of the massive influx of German speaking people to Wisconsin during the last quarter of the nineteenth century, these Euro-Wisconsin artists trained the first generation of Wisconsin born artists in the stylistic tradition established in Europe and they greatly enhanced the cultural environment of Wisconsin, particularly in Milwaukee. As a direct result of this massive influx of German culture, Milwaukee became one of only a small handful of American cities that produced enormous panorama canvases that covered 20,000 square feet. This era of academic art lasted a quarter of a century in Wisconsin but its impact lasted much longer. The chronology of Wisconsin art continues shortly after World War I with the waning academic realism style yielding to the rich and charming American regionalism style.”