From the time she was a little girl, Minerva Teichert wanted to be an artist. She grew up on a ranch in Idaho and saved up to go to art school, first at the Art Institute of Chicago, and later at the Art Students League of New York. Eventually, she returned West for good, settling in Cokeville, Wyoming, with her husband Herman. When she returned from school, she painted portraits to pay back her debts. Teichert often celebrates the power of women in her art, highlighting their examples of strength, courage, and heroism. Her own self-portrait immortalizes a poise and gentle sincerity that she exhibited in her relationships.
On multiple occasions, Minerva said or wrote, “There are only two excuses for bringing a painting into being. It must be either ‘a thing of beauty’ or it must tell a wonderful story. When it does neither—cull it out.” Today we celebrate Minerva Teichert’s birthday.
