Ignaz Marcel Gaugengigl "The Loafer" Etching (1888)

"The Loafer" was etched by Ignaz Marcel Michael Martin Joseph Gaugengigl (IMGGG) in 1888s. Gaugengigl was a Bavarian American artist who emigrated from Germany to the U.S. in the 1880's.

Ignaz Gaugengigl was born in Passau, Bavaria on 16 January 1855. His father (also named Ignaz) was a teacher who wrote several books on linguistics and related subjects. After finishing school, he attended the Academy of Fine Arts Munich, where he studied under Johann Leonhard Raab and Wilhelm von Diez.

In 1880, he visited his sister in Boston and decided to settle there himself. He quickly assimilated into the city's cultural life and became a friend of Sylvester Koehler, the first curator of prints at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. He was known as the "Meissonier of Boston", because of his many portraits of the "Boston Brahmins" and their families, and was one of the founders of the Guild of Boston Artists. Most of his works are in private collections.

He died at his studio in Boston on 3 August 1932. In a letter we found quoted on the Internet, he states "My full name is Ignaz, Marcel, Michael, Martin Joseph Gaugengigl, my works, that is my Paintings I sign [signatures above] Yours with best good wishes."

Ignaz M. Gaugengigl (1855-1932) is best known for his portraits and interiors. Gaugengigl died in Boston in 1932 and his works are increasing in popularity and value.

Gaugengigl's works are found in The Smithsonian Museum, the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Renwick Gallery and many other collections, public and private.

This etching of a pre-Napoleonic Era dandy with a tricorn hat is titled "The Loafer." Tricorn hats were in style until about 1800. It measures about 12 inches by 14 inches high and is framed in an antique frame dating from about 1880's.