Carl T. Schofer Diaries
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The Carl Schofer diaries consist of eighteen pocket style diaries dating between 1897 and 1918 that document the professional work of the mural painter, decorator, and stenciler, Carl Theodore Schofer. His projects included work in residential, commercial, and public buildings. Commercial work includes banks, restaurants, theaters, hotels, fraternal and union clubs, libraries, opera houses, concert halls and billiard rooms. Some of his projects included preparations in Buffalo, NY the 1901 Pan American Expo World's Fair. One volume entitled "Europe Trip" documents his travel back to his native Germany. Artistic techniques mentioned in the diaries include cutting stencils, tapestry patterns for walls, painting ceilings, sketches and designs, and flower painting. Schofer's projects were located in Buffalo (NY), Chicago (IL), Dearborn (MI), Moline (IL), Pittsburgh (PA), Lawton (OK), Newark (OH), Sonora (PA), Scottdale (PA), and Williamsburg (VA).
About Carl T. Schofer
Carl Theodore Schofer (1860-1920) was a mural and fresco artist who worked as a decorator in Buffalo, Chicago, and Pittsburgh.
Schofer was born in Pforzheim, Baden, (now Germany) on May 15, 1860 to August Schofer and Katherina Morlock Schofer. After completing trade school in Stuttgart, Baden-Wurttemberg. He immigrated to the United States and resided in Brooklyn, NY in 1881 where he began designing sketches for structure paintings. He relocated to Buffalo, NY and Chicago, IL for work and eventually settled in Pittsburgh, PA in 1902, where he lived and worked the remainder of his life.
Known for his fresco work, art panels, stenciling, lettering, linoleum, and other interior architectural decoration, Schofer earned a living painting and decorating residential, commercial and public buildings. He was a member of the Associated Artists of Pittsburgh and is referenced in many period art journals including: the American Art Directory, American Art Annual and International Studio. He was a member of The Brotherhood of Painters, Decorators and Paperhangers of America, Local Union # 84. In 1914, Schofer was among more than 60 artists to exhibit at the Frederick Galleries in Pittsburgh in the Spring Show.
His work on residential properties represents several high-profile homes throughout Pennsylvania, Illinois, and Michigan. In Pittsburgh, his residential projects included the Eberhardts, Childs, Shields, Kaufmann and Mellon homes. He spent five months working in Dearborn, Michigan on Fairlane, the estate of Henry and Clara Ford (Clara is mentioned often in the 1915 diary) and in Moline, Illinois he worked on the home of John Deere.
Commercial and public projects that Schofer worked on includes: the William Penn Hotel, Fort Pitt Hotel, Carnegie Libraries, City-County Buildings, Union Trust Building, Jenkins Arcade, and buildings at the new Carnegie Tech School (later Carnegie Mellon University). He also worked on projects at what would become Colonial Williamsburg (Va.).
While in Chicago, Schofer married Clara Linhorl in 1884. The Schofer's were the parents of three children: Clara (1884), Erwin (1886), and Martha (1888). Erwin appears to have followed his father in the business of decorating and mural painting. After moving to Pittsburgh, they resided in the Mount Washington neighborhood of Pittsburgh and later in the Borough of Crafton.
Carl T. Schofer died at the age of 60 years on December 4, 1920 of Pneumonia at Mercy Hospital in Pittsburgh. The Schofer's are buried at the Mount Lebanon Cemetery, located in Mount Lebanon, Allegheny County, Pennsylvania.