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Ignaz Gaugengigl

German-American artist (1855-1932)

Correspondence, annotated notebooks and portrait silhouettes prepared for research
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Record originEnglish Wikipedia
Text licenseCC BY-SA 4.0
Source revisionJul 21, 2026
Entity authorityQ1500210
Source-derived summary

Ignaz Michael Marcel Gaugengigl (16 January 1855 – 3 August 1932) was a German-American painter and engraver who worked primarily in the United States. He specialized in portraits and historical paintings.

Biography

Ignaz Gaugengigl was born in Passau, Bavaria on 16 January 1855. His father (also named Ignaz) was a teacher who wrote several books on linguistics and related subjects. After finishing school, he attended the Academy of Fine Arts Munich, where he studied under Johann Leonhard Raab and Wilhelm von Diez.

In 1880, he visited his sister in Boston and decided to settle there himself. He quickly assimilated into the city's cultural life and became a friend of Sylvester Koehler, the first curator of prints at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. He was known as the "Meissonier of Boston", because of his many portraits of the "Boston Brahmins" and their families, and was one of the founders of the Guild of Boston Artists. Most of his works are in private collections.

He died at his studio in Boston on 3 August 1932.

Editorial summary

This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Ignaz Gaugengigl” as german-American artist (1855-1932). Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.

Editorial reviewA useful biographical orientation record, particularly for establishing names, roles and a first chronology. The current lead gives the account dated anchors—1855, 1932, 1880—that can be checked directly. The authority record carries competing date values—1853-07-29, 1855-01-16, 1855—which should remain separate until their references and qualifiers are resolved. The account is most persuasive where Ignaz, Gaugengigl and German-American can be independently traced.
Editorial analysis

Why this record matters

The subject matters to the people & ideas register because the source frames it as german-American artist (1855-1932). Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.

Evidence profile

Chronology provides the most reliable spine for this subject; interpretation should follow only after identities and dates are secure. The source revision retrieved here is dated Jul 21, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q1500210. VIAF identifies the subject as 5320035. The Library of Congress control number is no2016040111. 4 of 5 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 1 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1855, 1932 and 1880.

Critical limits

A concise life account rarely captures disputed attribution, private networks or the changing language used to describe a career. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.

How to read it

Read biographical claims against dates, named institutions and the cited references. Distinguish a subject’s later reputation from evidence produced during their lifetime.

Best used for
  • Establishing names and roles
  • Building a first chronology
  • Locating cited institutions
Verify next

Personal papers, civil or court records, institutional files and the scholarship cited by the source.

Three-step research path

  1. Establish the record: confirm the title “Ignaz Gaugengigl”, its source revision and the description used here.
  2. Expand the search: follow Ignaz Gaugengigl primary sources, Ignaz Gaugengigl archive and Ignaz research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
  3. Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.

Questions for further research

  1. Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Ignaz Gaugengigl”?
  2. Which primary records establish identity, chronology and institutional ties?
  3. How has the subject’s reputation changed across later accounts?
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Source & attribution

This entry incorporates text from Ignaz Gaugengigl” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.