Eustace Paul Ziegler

Eustace Paul Ziegler was the son of an Episcopal priest and harbored a desire to be an artist. He received formal training in his hometown at the Detroit School of Fine Arts and the Detroit Museum of Art before he traveled to Alaska in 1909 to work at the Episcopal Mission in Cordova. Though his main purpose in the territory was to serve as missionary, he also continued painting, starting with religious scenes but soon moving to images of the landscape and of Native Alaskans, fishermen, miners, and construction workers. Affectionately known as “Zieg,” he became known for his depictions of life on the Alaskan frontier. He moved to New Haven briefly in 1920 and studied with William Sergeant Kendall at Yale before returning to Cordova. Ziegler and his family moved to Seattle in 1924 after he accepted a commission to paint murals in the offices of the Alaska Steamship Company. He remained in Seattle for the rest of his life and helped found the Puget Sound Group of Northwest Artists.