Machetanz, Fred, 1908-2002

Fred Machetanz was born in Kenton, Ohio, on February 20, 1908. He received his bachelor's and master's degrees from Ohio State University. Machetanz first came to Alaska in 1935 when his uncle Charles Traeger, owner of a trading post in Unalakleet, offered him a free six week trip. He stayed for two years because he was interested in the landscape in Alaska. He next went to New York City with the idea of illustrating books about Alaska, and was told by publishers that he should write his own. The result was Panuck: Eskimo Sled Dog and On Arctic Ice, both of which were well received. During World War II, Machetanz served in the Navy in the Aleutians. He returned to Alaska in 1946 and married Sara Dunn, a writer from Tennessee, the following year. Together they produced at least eight books, with her writing and his illustrations. They also made a least two films. Fred and Sara Machetanz also traveled on the lecture circuit. Their son, Traeger, was born in 1959. Fred Machetanz's first one man show was in 1962. His honors include an honorary doctorate from the University of Alaska (1973), Alaskan of the Year (1977), and Artist of the Year (American Artist magazine, 1981).

Alaskan painter, wildlife artist and lecturer. Born in Kenton, Ohio in 1908, Mr. Machetanz was a graduate of The Ohio State University (B.A., M.F.A.). After receiving his master's degree in art in 1935 he went to Alaska for a vacation, visiting an uncle, Charles Traeger, who ran a trading post in Unalakleet, a tiny fishing village on the Bering Sea. He stayed on permanently. Many of his paintings in later years were portraits of native Alaskans or depictions of village life. In 1939 he wrote and illustrated a children's book based on his village experience, "Panuck, Eskimo Sled Dog." From 1942 to 1945 he was a lieutenant commander in the Navy, assigned as an intelligence officer to the North Pacific Command. After the war, he used his G.I. Bill benefits to study lithography at the Art Students League in New York. At his first solo show in 1962, 24 of 44 painting were sold in the first few hours, and he became a full-time painter. His technique involved painting the entire canvas blur before working on the rest of the picture; blue tones usually predominated in the final result. In 1947 he married Sara Dunn, and they became collaborators in film and publishing projects. He later became an art professor at the University of Alaska. He died on October 6, 2002 at age 94 at a hospital in Palmer, Alaska.

Alaskan painter, wildlife artist and lecturer. Graduate of The Ohio State University (B.A., M.F.A.); author and illustrator of Panuck, Eskimo sled dog and On Arctic ice; 1st one-man exhibition in 1962.