Background
Anton Gag was born in Walk (now Valcha) a hamlet of 15 homes in the county of Tachau (Tachov), in Bohemia, then a province of the Austro-Hungarian Empire, now in the Czechoslovakian Republic.
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Anton Gag
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He spent most of his working life in Minnesota. Indeed, his life and art were formed by the liberal humanist values of the German-Bohemian culture. Their infant daughter died a month later.
In 1894, Anton built a Queen-Anne style family home that he decorated with murals, and which was used as a photographic studio.
He also painted canvases and decorated homes and churches throughout Southern Minnesota. His 1904 painting depicting one of the Battles of New Ulm is displayed in the Minnesota State Capitol.
Anton died in New Ulm in 1908 from tuberculosis at the age of 49. His most famous child, Wanda Gág (who added the accent to her name) became a celebrated author and artist.
The house where the Gag family lived is now dedicated to the story of this family, showing examples of their art and the way of life in those years.
The exterior of the house has been painted in the original colors used when the Gags lived there. The interior is also being restored to that time period. The process has uncovered detailed, decorative hand-painting done by the Gags, on walls throughout the home.
The Wanda Gág House, located at 226 North. Washington, New Ulm, Minnesota, is listed on the National Register of Historic Places and is open for public tours.
