John Fery (1859-1934)

John Fery was born as Johann Nepomuk Levy in Austria to a wealthy and aristocratic family. His father urged him to study art and literature so he went on to attend the Vienna Academy of Art as well as other academies in Germany. The American Panorama recruited him in 1886 for the Battle of Atlanta so he moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Upon living in Milwaukee, he legally changed his name to John Fery. He returned to Europe to marry Mary Rose Kraemer. Returning to the United States with his new bride, he lived in New York, New Jersey, and Ohio, painting wilderness and hunting scenes. Fery went on to organize hunting trips out west for wealthy Europeans.

The frequent travel caused strain on his marriage so he and his wife moved to Wyoming. Fery lived there until 1900, when he moved to Duluth, Minnesota and worked alongside Feodor van Luerzer to create a mural for Fitzger Brewery. After the mural concluded Fery was hired by Louis Hill of the Great Northern Railroad Company to create art for the “See America First,” tourist campaign. He lived in St. Paul, Minnesota during this time, creating several hundred artworks with a focus on Yellowstone National Park and Glacier National Park. These artworks were sold to prospective travelers and were used to market travel to the American West. Fery went on to live in Utah, Wisconsin, and Washington as he created wonderful paintings for the duration of his lifetime.

Hiro Fine Art is interested in artwork by John Fery.

• 1859 – Born in Austria
• Attended Vienna Academy of Art
• 1886 – Moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin
• Lived in Duluth, Minnesota and created a mural for Fitzger Brewery
• Painted scenes of the west for Great Northern Railroad Company