Haupers, Clement (1900–1982)

Black and white photograph of Clement Haupers in his studio, c.1930.
Clement Haupers in his studio, c.1930.

Clement Bernard Haupers was a painter, printmaker, arts administrator, and arts educator active from the 1920s to the 1980s. He is best known for his directorship of the Minnesota Works Progress Administration Federal Art Project and for his influence in the Minnesota art community.

Haupers was born in St. Paul in 1900. In 1918, he began taking courses at the Minneapolis School of Art and joined the Art League of St. Paul, organized by the artist Clara Mairs. Haupers and Mairs started an unconventional relationship, which lasted until her death in 1963. For more than forty years they traveled, exhibited, and lived together as life partners. At the same time, Haupers pursued relationships with other women and men.

Because of the difference in their ages and the ambiguity of their relationship, Mairs and Haupers remained always a bit of a Twin Cities scandal. In 1929, they established a home and studio in St. Paul’s Ramsey Hill neighborhood, a local artists’ enclave. The house itself belonged to Haupers while the land belonged to Mairs, so he had it moved from its original location on Randolph Avenue to Ramsey Hill.

In 1923, with Mairs, Haupers traveled to Paris. The 1920s in Paris were known as Les Années Folles, the Crazy Years. It was a time and place of social and artistic experimentation. This was true especially in the studios, cafés, and nightclubs of the Montparnasse district, the center of Paris’s bohemian culture. Mairs and Haupers stayed in France for two years, attending classes held by notable artists such as the sculptor Émile-Antoine Bourdelle and the Cubist painter André Lhote. A photograph taken at the Académie Montparnasse in 1923 shows Haupers, seated on the floor, with a white tie. Mairs sits on the floor to his left.

Haupers brought some of the style of Montparnasse to his work back in Minnesota. The 1926 work Two Girls, One Sailor shows the influence of Cubism and Jazz Age aesthetics in the angular faces and bodies and the strong shadows of the dancers, the violinist, and the sailor. The formal use of color and composition that Haupers developed in Paris can be seen throughout his works, from the angular red roofs of Provencale Landscape to the softer colors and trail of bright lights of View of Kellogg Boulevard From My Window. France also had an influence on other aspects of Haupers’ style. Works such as the drypoint print Three Graces show a decidedly French treatment of nudity and the body—slightly shocking to mid-century Minnesotan eyes.

Haupers became the superintendent of the Fine Arts Department of the Minnesota State Fair in 1931, a position he held until 1942. Under the previous superintendent, these exhibitions featured works brought in from galleries in New York and Chicago. In 1931, a group of local artists protested this lack of local representation in one of Minnesota’s most important art exhibitions. During a meeting with Fair officials at St. Paul’s Lowry Hotel, Haupers was, in his words, “shoved” by fellow artist Cameron Booth into leading the department. Exhibitions under Haupers stressed the importance of the growing Minnesota art scene. Juried prize shows were reinstated, as were special exhibitions representing well-known and up-and-coming local artists.

In 1935, the WPA Federal Art Project began supporting the visual arts, with Haupers as the director of the Minnesota division. Eighteen months later he became the regional director, overseeing the project in seven Midwestern states. In 1941, he moved to Washington, D.C., as the assistant to the national director, Holger Cahill. As the director of the Minnesota FAP, Haupers promoted public patronage of the visual arts and directed a program that sent art, artists, and art education all around Minnesota. He was a successful and indefatigable director and his devotion to securing projects and supporting young and established artists greatly influenced the growth of the arts in Minnesota.

In addition to his work with the State Fair and the FAP, Haupers was well known as an art educator. He began teaching in 1930s at the St. Paul Arts and Crafts Center and the St. Paul Gallery and School of Art and continued teaching until his death. His influence on decades of young artists was as instrumental in developing the visual arts in Minnesota as his administrative roles.

Haupers died on December 1, 1982, three months after his last solo exhibition.

Cite
Goertz, Katherine. "Haupers, Clement (1900–1982)." MNopedia, Minnesota Historical Society. https://www3.mnhs.org/mnopedia/search/index/person/haupers-clement-1900-1982
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First Published: March 16, 2016
Last Modified: April 15, 2025

Bibliography

Crump, Robert L. Minnesota Prints and Printmakers, 1900–1945. St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2009.

Hancock, Jane H. Clement Haupers: Six Decades of Art in Minnesota. St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 1979.

Harris, Moira, Brian Szott, and Ben Gessner. Minnesota Modern: Four Artists of the Twentieth Century. Afton, MN: Afton Historical Society Press, 2015.

Hendrickson, Jr., Kenneth E. "The WPA Federal Art Projects in Minnesota, 1935–1943." Minnesota History 53, no. 5 (Spring 1993): 170–183.
http://collections.mnhs.org/MNHistoryMagazine/articles/53/v53i05p170-183.pdf

O’Sullivan, Thomas. "A Job and a Movement: The WPA Federal Art Program in Minnesota." Minnesota History 53, no. 5 (Spring 1993): 184–195.
http://collections.mnhs.org/MNHistoryMagazine/articles/53/v53i05p184-195.pdf

OH1.4
Oral history interview with Clement Haupers, June 27, 1977
Minnesota Artists Oral History Project, Oral History Collection, Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul
Description: Haupers discusses the inception and development of FAP and his own involvement therein. He lists as long range contributions of the FAP in Minnesota and in the country at large; the preservation of a generation of artists; the creation of a substantial body of public art; and the development of a greater sense of art/beauty in the broader community. He also tells about opposition to the FAP by various (politically conservative) patrons of the arts.

OH1.5
Oral history interview with Clement Haupers, December 9, 1977
Minnesota Artists Oral History Project, Oral History Collection, Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul
Description: Haupers discusses murals executed under the FAP in several locations in Minnesota and a number of artists and artisans, most of whom worked in FAP. He also describes his own career as an artist and administrator and refers to his dealings with other administrators of state and federal arts programs during the 1920s and 1930s. There is some repetition from the Haupers interview of June 27, 1977.

OH1.6
Oral history interview with Clement Haupers, April 3, 1981
Minnesota Artists Oral History Project. Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul
Description: Haupers, director of the Federal Art Project in Minnesota, 1935-1942, discusses prints made by his artist colleagues and added to the collection of the Minnesota Historical Society in 1981.

P1615; M526
Clement B. Haupers and Clara Gardner Mairs papers, 1918–1985
Manuscript Collection, Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul
Description: Correspondence and other papers of St. Paul artists Clement Haupers and Clara Gardner Mairs. Haupers was the Minnesota state director of the Federal Art Project of the Work Projects Administration (1933–1943).

Related Resources

Related Images

Black and white photograph of Clement Haupers in his studio, c.1930.
Clement Haupers in his studio, c.1930.
Black and white photograph of Clement Haupers and Clara Mairs in Andre L’hote’s art class, Paris, 1923.
Clement Haupers and Clara Mairs in Andre L’hote’s art class, Paris, 1923.
Two Girls, One Sailor, 1926. Oil on canvas by Clement Haupers.

Two Girls, One Sailor, 1926. Oil on canvas by Clement Haupers.

Three Graces, 1928. Drypoint etching on paper by Clement Haupers.

Three Graces, 1928. Drypoint etching on paper by Clement Haupers.

Rue Vavin, 1928. Drypoint etching on paper by Clement Haupers.

Rue Vavin, 1928. Drypoint etching on paper by Clement Haupers.

Clara and Clem, c.1930. Oil on canvas painting by Clara Mairs.

Clara and Clem, c.1930. Oil on canvas painting by Clara Mairs.

Provencale Landscape, c.1933. Oil on board by Clement Haupers.

Provencale Landscape, c.1933. Oil on board by Clement Haupers.

Black and white photograph of Clement Haupers painting at Rutledge, c.1934.
Clement Haupers painting at Rutledge, c.1934.
Black and white photograph of paintings by Clement Haupers on exhibit, c.1940.
Paintings by Clement Haupers on exhibit, c.1940.
Carroll Simmons, c.1940. Oil on masonite by Clement Haupers.

Carroll Simmons, c.1940. Oil on masonite by Clement Haupers.

View of Kellogg Blvd. From My Window, 1956. Oil on board by Clement Haupers.

View of Kellogg Blvd. From My Window, 1956. Oil on board by Clement Haupers.

Memorial Heights Park Red Wing, 1960. Oil on board by Clement Haupers.

Memorial Heights Park Red Wing, 1960. Oil on board by Clement Haupers.

Black and white photograph of Clement Haupers clowning around, c.1931.
Clement Haupers clowning around, c.1931.
Black and white photograph of Clement Haupers giving a lecture on the St. Croix river, c.1969.
Clement Haupers giving a lecture on the St. Croix river and displaying his paintings of the St. Croix area in the Livingston-Griggs Amusement Room, c.1969.
Black and white photograph of Clement Haupers in his studio, 1975.
Clement Haupers in his studio, 1975.
Black and white photograph of Clement Haupers, 1979. Photographed by Elizabeth M. Hall.
Clement Haupers, 1979. Photographed by Elizabeth M. Hall.
Clement Haupers and Muriel Oliver at Ah Gwah Ching nursing home, September 1982.
Clement Haupers and Muriel Oliver at Ah Gwah Ching nursing home, September 1982.
Etching by Clement Haupers

Etching on paper by Clement Haupers depicting an induction examination at Fort Snelling ca. 1940; created in 1981.

Black and white photograph of Clement Haupers in his studio, c.1930.

Clement Haupers in his studio

Clement Haupers in his studio, c.1930.

Holding Location

Minnesota Historical Society
Black and white photograph of Clement Haupers and Clara Mairs in Andre L’hote’s art class, Paris, 1923.

Clement Haupers and Clara Mairs in Andre L’hote’s art class, Paris

Clement Haupers and Clara Mairs in Andre L’hote’s art class, Paris, 1923.

Holding Location

Minnesota Historical Society
Two Girls, One Sailor, 1926. Oil on canvas by Clement Haupers.

"Two Girls, One Sailor"

Two Girls, One Sailor, 1926. Oil on canvas by Clement Haupers.

Holding Location

Minnesota Historical Society
Three Graces, 1928. Drypoint etching on paper by Clement Haupers.

"Three Graces"

Three Graces, 1928. Drypoint etching on paper by Clement Haupers.

Holding Location

Minnesota Historical Society
Rue Vavin, 1928. Drypoint etching on paper by Clement Haupers.

"Rue Vavin"

Rue Vavin, 1928. Drypoint etching on paper by Clement Haupers.

Holding Location

Minnesota Historical Society
Clara and Clem, c.1930. Oil on canvas painting by Clara Mairs.

"Clara and Clem"

Clara and Clem, c.1930. Oil on canvas painting by Clara Mairs.

Holding Location

Minnesota Historical Society
Provencale Landscape, c.1933. Oil on board by Clement Haupers.

"Provencale Landscape"

Provencale Landscape, c.1933. Oil on board by Clement Haupers.

Holding Location

Minnesota Historical Society
Black and white photograph of Clement Haupers painting at Rutledge, c.1934.

Clement Haupers painting at Rutledge

Clement Haupers painting at Rutledge, c.1934.

Holding Location

Minnesota Historical Society
Black and white photograph of paintings by Clement Haupers on exhibit, c.1940.

Paintings by Clement Haupers on exhibit

Paintings by Clement Haupers on exhibit, c.1940.

Holding Location

Minnesota Historical Society
Carroll Simmons, c.1940. Oil on masonite by Clement Haupers.

"Carroll Simmons"

Carroll Simmons, c.1940. Oil on masonite by Clement Haupers.

Holding Location

Minnesota Historical Society
View of Kellogg Blvd. From My Window, 1956. Oil on board by Clement Haupers.

"View of Kellogg Blvd. From My Window"

View of Kellogg Blvd. From My Window, 1956. Oil on board by Clement Haupers.

Holding Location

Minnesota Historical Society
Memorial Heights Park Red Wing, 1960. Oil on board by Clement Haupers.

"Memorial Heights Park Red Wing"

Memorial Heights Park Red Wing, 1960. Oil on board by Clement Haupers.

Holding Location

Minnesota Historical Society
Black and white photograph of Clement Haupers clowning around, c.1931.

Clement Haupers clowning around

Clement Haupers clowning around, c.1931.

Holding Location

Minnesota Historical Society
Black and white photograph of Clement Haupers giving a lecture on the St. Croix river, c.1969.

Clement Haupers giving a lecture on the St. Croix river

Clement Haupers giving a lecture on the St. Croix river and displaying his paintings of the St. Croix area in the Livingston-Griggs Amusement Room, c.1969.

Holding Location

Minnesota Historical Society
Black and white photograph of Clement Haupers in his studio, 1975.

Clement Haupers in his studio, 1975

Clement Haupers in his studio, 1975.

Holding Location

Minnesota Historical Society
Black and white photograph of Clement Haupers, 1979. Photographed by Elizabeth M. Hall.

Clement Haupers

Clement Haupers, 1979. Photographed by Elizabeth M. Hall.

Holding Location

Minnesota Historical Society
Clement Haupers and Muriel Oliver at Ah Gwah Ching nursing home, September 1982.

Clement Haupers with Muriel Oliver

Clement Haupers and Muriel Oliver at Ah Gwah Ching nursing home, September 1982.

Holding Location

Minnesota Historical Society
Etching by Clement Haupers

"Induction"

Etching on paper by Clement Haupers depicting an induction examination at Fort Snelling ca. 1940; created in 1981.

Holding Location

Minnesota Historical Society

Turning Point

In 1935, Haupers becomes the director of the Minnesota WPA Federal Art Project.

Chronology

1900
Clement Bernard Haupers is born in St. Paul on March 1.
1918
Haupers begins attending the Art League gatherings organized by Clara Mairs. The two begin a long-term professional and personal relationship.
1921
After three years taking night courses, Haupers enrolls at the Minneapolis School of Art as a full-time student.
1921
In February, Haupers is named to his first administrative position as the secretary of the Minnesota State Arts Society.
1923
Haupers begins his studies in Paris at the Académie Colarossi (with Antoine Bourdelle) and the Académie Montparnasse (with André Lhote).
1925
Haupers returns to Minnesota. He wins first prize for landscape painting in the State Fair Fine Arts Exhibition with the painting The Fig Tree.
1928
Haupers returns to Paris to study with the etcher Georges Gorvel.
1931
Haupers becomes the superintendent of the Fine Arts Department of the Minnesota State Fair.
1935
Haupers becomes the director of the Minnesota division of the WPA Federal Art Project.
1942
Haupers is appointed assistant to Holger Cahill, the national director of the WPA Federal Art Project. He moves to Washington, D.C.
1943
The WPA FAP ends. After closing the project with Cahill, Haupers returns to Minnesota.
1949
Haupers organizes the Minnesota Territorial Centennial Fine Arts Exhibition at the State Fair.
1970
A career retrospective of works by Haupers and Mairs, Encounter with Artists/3: Clara Mairs, Clement Haupers, is held at the Minnesota Museum of Art.
1979
A career retrospective of Haupers’ works, Clement Haupers: Six Decades of Art in Minnesota, is held at the Minnesota Historical Society.
1982
Clement Haupers dies on December 1.

Bibliography

Crump, Robert L. Minnesota Prints and Printmakers, 1900–1945. St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 2009.

Hancock, Jane H. Clement Haupers: Six Decades of Art in Minnesota. St. Paul: Minnesota Historical Society Press, 1979.

Harris, Moira, Brian Szott, and Ben Gessner. Minnesota Modern: Four Artists of the Twentieth Century. Afton, MN: Afton Historical Society Press, 2015.

Hendrickson, Jr., Kenneth E. "The WPA Federal Art Projects in Minnesota, 1935–1943." Minnesota History 53, no. 5 (Spring 1993): 170–183.
http://collections.mnhs.org/MNHistoryMagazine/articles/53/v53i05p170-183.pdf

O’Sullivan, Thomas. "A Job and a Movement: The WPA Federal Art Program in Minnesota." Minnesota History 53, no. 5 (Spring 1993): 184–195.
http://collections.mnhs.org/MNHistoryMagazine/articles/53/v53i05p184-195.pdf

OH1.4
Oral history interview with Clement Haupers, June 27, 1977
Minnesota Artists Oral History Project, Oral History Collection, Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul
Description: Haupers discusses the inception and development of FAP and his own involvement therein. He lists as long range contributions of the FAP in Minnesota and in the country at large; the preservation of a generation of artists; the creation of a substantial body of public art; and the development of a greater sense of art/beauty in the broader community. He also tells about opposition to the FAP by various (politically conservative) patrons of the arts.

OH1.5
Oral history interview with Clement Haupers, December 9, 1977
Minnesota Artists Oral History Project, Oral History Collection, Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul
Description: Haupers discusses murals executed under the FAP in several locations in Minnesota and a number of artists and artisans, most of whom worked in FAP. He also describes his own career as an artist and administrator and refers to his dealings with other administrators of state and federal arts programs during the 1920s and 1930s. There is some repetition from the Haupers interview of June 27, 1977.

OH1.6
Oral history interview with Clement Haupers, April 3, 1981
Minnesota Artists Oral History Project. Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul
Description: Haupers, director of the Federal Art Project in Minnesota, 1935-1942, discusses prints made by his artist colleagues and added to the collection of the Minnesota Historical Society in 1981.

P1615; M526
Clement B. Haupers and Clara Gardner Mairs papers, 1918–1985
Manuscript Collection, Minnesota Historical Society, St. Paul
Description: Correspondence and other papers of St. Paul artists Clement Haupers and Clara Gardner Mairs. Haupers was the Minnesota state director of the Federal Art Project of the Work Projects Administration (1933–1943).

Related Resources