Marley Kaul

Marley Kaul was born in Good Thunder, Minnesota, in 1939. Growing up on a family farm, Kaul experienced the rhythms of agrarian life, which deeply influenced his artistic vision. His early interests and talents included drawing, singing in church choir, and playing basketball and baseball. In 1962 Kaul earned a Bachelor of Science in secondary art education at Mankato State University. While there, he met art student Sandra Staehle, and they married in fall 1962. That same year, Kaul began...See more

Marley Kaul was born in Good Thunder, Minnesota, in 1939. Growing up on a family farm, Kaul experienced the rhythms of agrarian life, which deeply influenced his artistic vision. His early interests and talents included drawing, singing in church choir, and playing basketball and baseball. In 1962 Kaul earned a Bachelor of Science in secondary art education at Mankato State University. While there, he met art student Sandra Staehle, and they married in fall 1962. That same year, Kaul began teaching high-school art in nearby Le Sueur. In 1964 Kaul completed a Master of Science in secondary art education at Mankato State University. He accepted a one-year teaching position at Bemidji State University, which turned into a 30-year tenure track role. He took a year's leave of absence to pursue a Master of Fine Arts in painting at the University of Oregon, Eugene. Returning to BSU in northern Minnesota, Professor Kaul inspired generations of students in painting and drawing. Continuing to create his own artworks in oil, watercolor, casein, gouache, and egg tempera, Professor Kaul was also a working artist and a role model for students. Kaul retired at age 57 to focus entirely on painting. In his prolific painting career, he produced more than 500 works and exhibited in galleries and museums in Minneapolis and throughout the Midwest. His art celebrates the beauty of everyday life, blending natural and domestic themes with spiritual and metaphoric depth. Kaul and his wife, Sandy, published three books of his paintings-Letters to Isabella, We Sit, and For Now. Marley Kaul passed away in 2021, just as he and Sandy were beginning work on their fourth book, a comprehensive hardcover of more than 300 images documenting his 60- year painting career, from 1961 to 2021. Along with Sandy, their son Stephen Kaul and daughter Allison Kaul DeLeone picked up the mantle to finish his last book. In this magnificent retrospective Marley Kaul Paintings and in his vibrant original works, Kaul's artistic legacy endures. See less