Bob Kleinschmidt

Artist Biography

Robert Kleinschmidt, “Bob”, was born in St Louis, Missouri. After graduating from Beaumont High School, Bob did some undergraduate work in art at Washington University, St. Louis until he was drafted into the Army.  He spent 14 months in Japan as part of the Army of Occupation following World War II. After discharge, Bob enrolled in Central College, Fayette, Missouri, graduating in 1952 with an English major. Thereafter, he commenced teaching high school art and English in Higginsville, Missouri.  Two years later he met his future wife, Mary Jo.

Following their marriage in 1956, Bob worked as an elementary art consultant in St Louis County for a year before he enrolled in a General Studies in the Humanities program at the University of Chicago. This program was rigorous and challenging, but Bob finally concluded that identifying small shards of Pre-Attic Black Greek pottery was not the career he wanted. A chance meeting with Warrington Colescott (Printmaking professor, University of Wisconsin, Madison) at a Chicago street fair motivated Bob to enroll in the summer program at Madison, while he continued his work as elementary art consultant in Illinois.  He subsequently enrolled in the M.A. program, completing his M.A. in Printmaking in 1967.  That fall, Bob, Mary Jo and their son, Tom, moved to Madison where Bob pursued an M.F.A., which was conferred in 1969.

In September of 1969, Bob began what was to be a 30 year tenure teaching Printmaking at the University of Utah. Following his retirement in 1999 as Professor Emeritus, Bob continued producing prints in his studio until Macular Degeneration progressed to the point where he could no longer produce work that met his own standards. Alzheimer’s dementia, initially diagnosed several years earlier, continued to take its toll, but never robbed him of his droll humor and love of life.  Bob died peacefully at home on August 2, 2019, with his family by his side.