St. Louis-born artist Martyl Schweig Langsdorf’s obituary appeared recently in the London Times, The New York Times, Chicago Tribune, St. Louis Post-Dispatch, and St. Louis Beacon, but none of those publications enjoyed the privilege of viewing the wonderful collection of her work hanging in the home of her brother, CWE photographer Martin Schweig. An example of the many paintings in Martin and his wife Teri’s collection is shown above. The charming oil painting depicting a scene from a town in Greece hangs over the fireplace.
Martyl and Martin Schweig grew up in an artistic family in a house just east of Skinker. Their mother, Aimee Goldstone Schweig, was a painter who established the Ste. Genevieve (MO) Art Colony and Art School which attracted artists such as Thomas Hart Benton, Fred Conway, and Joe Jones. Martyl was a young girl at the time and painted alongside her mother. Martin followed in the footsteps of his father and grandfather who were portrait photographers (read posts about Martin and the paternal side of the family here).
Martyl married St. Louis physicist Alexander Langsdorf who designed the
cyclotron at the Malinckrodt Institute of Radiology at W.U. The couple moved to Chicago where Langsdorf worked on the Manhattan Project developing the atomic bomb. He was part of a group of 70 scientists who formed the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists and later petitioned President Harry Truman not to use the bomb.
You may wonder how it is that an artist, prolific though she was, would manage to have newspapers such as the London Times and New York Times take notice of her death last month at the age of 96. The answer follows: In 1947 Martyl was commissioned to design the June issue of the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists mentioned previously. She drew the Doomsday Clock, which is adjusted annually by the Bulletin’s board as they assess threats to humanity. In 2012 it was set to 11:55 p.m. For a deeper explanation of the reasoning behind the most recent setting by the Bulletin”s board read the obituary in The New York Times here.
Martyl’s oil and acryllic paintings above are scenes of England. Examples of her work can be found in the collection of the St. Louis Art Museum, the Kansas City Art Institute, the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, the Art Institute of Chicago and the American Institute of Architects.
Martyl’s black and white print above is a Montana landscape.
The watercolor above shows the backyard of Martyl’s property in Schaumberg, Il. At the time of her death she was preparing for an exhibition, Works on Paper and Mylar 1957-2012, at the Printworks Gallery in Chicago. The exhibition will open as scheduled on May 3.
Read Gloria S. Ross’s excellent obituary on Martyl Schweig Langsdorf in the St. Louis Beacon here.
Believe I have an un-catalogued painting of hers. One of my all time favorite paintings.
Jim Y.