Vintage Tom Rost Jr. “Steam Shovel” (1933)

Set in a black wooden frame, “Steam Shovel” is an original print designed and produced by Wisconsin artist Tom Lee Rost Jr. (1909-2004) in 1933. The work is set against a white matte, and the total framed work measures 11.5” x 13.25” x approx 1”.

Rost was born in Richmond, Indiana, but his family moved to Milwaukee when he was young - and where he spent most of his life. He graduated from Shorewood high school and attended Milwaukee State Teachers College (later becoming UW-Milwaukee) from 1926-1930.

He was an artist/illustrator at a local Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) camp in the early 1930’s (Camp Honey Creek). Rost also worked at the Boerner Botanical Garden in Hales Corners, WI making drawings of their work projects. In 1937, two of his CCC watercolors were purchased by first lady Eleanor Roosevelt, as a Christmas gift to President Franklin D. Roosevelt.

He was also awarded various WPA mural projects in three Midwest post offices including Elkhorn, WI (1938), Lancaster, WI (1940), and Paoli, IN (1939) and produced a number of WPA prints. Robert von Neumann helped get him a job as an illustrator at the Milwaukee Journal which he did from 1936-1945. While there, Rost began the Journal's long tradition of detailed "opening day" cartoons for the hunting and fishing seasons - perfect for the avid fisherman and hunter!

His eyesight kept him from active duty, but he drew the silhouettes of U.S. aircraft for the government, used to help train civil defense workers on how to distinguish friendly aircraft from enemy aircraft. He also created military maps used to describe the progress of the War.

Following the war he moved to New York City to work as a commercial artist. After five years, he moved back to Milwaukee and cofounded an advertising and illustration firm. During this time Rost worked as a freelance commercial artist, creating a number of covers for magazines like “Field and Stream”.

He was a charter member of the Wisconsin Printmakers, with prints in the 1936 and 1937 Wisconsin Artist Calendars. He exhibited numerous times with the Wisconsin Painters and Sculptors and at the Wisconsin Salon in Madison in the 1930’s. He also exhibited at the Art Institute of Chicago and other institutions.

A longtime resident of Cedarburg, Rost served on the Plan Commission and the Design Review Board. When plans were proposed to demolish Cedarburg's prominent mill property for a filling station and convenience store - Rost was one of those who successfully fought the proposal. He was one of a handful of people who had a vision of what Cedarburg could be, and did
whatever he could to preserve and protect the existing architecture, and keep the historical nature of the community.