For the last 35 years, I’ve been honored to be one of Karl Stuecklen’s friends. I suspect that, if asked, Karl would define his life primarily through his art, and his decision to leave us a legacy of the beauty he has created, much of which is here today. But Karl Stuecklen’s life has also been marked by great courage and self-reliance.

Karl was born in wartime Germany, and his childhood was one of privation, with his family struggling to survive and suffering near-starvation amidst the ruins of the Third Reich. Much like the hero of Franz Kafka’s novel Amerika, Karl left his homeland when he was only 17, and he came to New York City alone and penniless, without family or friends or any kind of support system. He studied art while working to support himself and living in a cold-water flat on the lower east side. He became prominent in New York’s avant-garde art world, and it’s likely that he would have become famous and financially secure had he stayed in The City.

But Karl saw that by climbing the greasy pole of the art world, and by chasing the bitch-Goddess of success, he would lose his soul in a plastic wilderness of self-promotion. So in 1969, he made another courageous decision: to forsake New York, to turn his back on fame, and to live modestly among us here in Sandgate. Working exclusively as an artist, and thereby remaining true to his artistic vision. When others in the counter-culture of the day were only talking about going back to the land, or babbling on about the genius of Buckminster Fuller, Karl took a bold risk: he moved his family to Swearing Hill, and built a small geodesic dome-dwelling with his own hands. Then he got down to the hard, hard work of being an Artist in America.

This was a difficult and lonely life that Karl chose. He managed to survive, though he was sometimes hungry, sometimes cold, sometimes alone, and almost always broke. He has never, ever complained about the path he took. He touched us with his hospitality and his gourmet cooking, often using wild plants he gathered from the woods. He led us on walks and taught us about nature, naming and helping us to appreciate the flowers and birds and mushrooms around us. He taught our children how to draw. He became an American citizen, and served as Town Zoning Administrator and Health Officer, on the Conservation Commission, and as founder of the Lothar Wuerslin Scholarship Fund. But most of all, he made our lives more beautiful with his astounding art. He has immortalized our beloved town of Sandgate with his landscapes. Many of us who have visited his studio have seen the passages in our own lives and the changes in the tone and fabric of our community, simply by looking at Karl’s series of annual self-portraits.

Karl still has his indomitable spirit and his courage, and fortunately he also has the support and devotion of his dear wife Jayne. But Karl can no longer be self-reliant. And that’s where we must come in. We have an opportunity today to help Karl, to show our love for him, and at the same time to enrich our lives permanently by taking home pieces of his life’s work.

So welcome, one and all, and let’s make this a great day for Karl!
Steve Saltonstall

Click to view the invitation

Tribute by Paul Pines

Tribute by Steve Lerner

Letter by Jayne Stuecklen