Who is Les Kouba?
Leslie Carl Kouba was a legendary Minnesota artist, author, outdoorsman, and businessman. He specialized in waterfowl paintings but is also known for his early sculpture of Dakota chief Little Crow, which was commissioned by the city of Hutchinson, Minnesota and installed in 1937 at a site overlooking the Crow River. In 1947, he invented the Art-O-Graph, a projector used to transfer a photo to layout. In 1982 he helped produce a new statue for this site, as the first had become weather beaten. Kouba is credited as being among the artists in the 1970s who popularized wildlife art. The Kouba Gallery is in honor of his achievements in innovative creativity.
Creative Ambitions from the Start
Les Kouba started drawing and painting as a boy. He sold his first painting to a wealthy German farmer for $8. Three years later, Kouba received his only formal art training through a Minneapolis-based correspondence course called the Federal School of Applied Cartooning .
Upon graduation, Kouba traveled the country, painting Coca-Cola logos on commercial signs, before the popularization of decals. Kouba not only painted but improved the logo, sloping and shading the flattened letter. When the Coca-Cola company learned of Kouba’s redesign, it gave him a sizable commission for his efforts.
As a young man, Kouba was commissioned by the city of Hutchinson, Minnesota to create a sculpture of Chief Little Crow, a Dakota leader. The statue was placed in 1937 near the Main Street bridge overlooking the Crow River. In 1982 Kouba participated in making a new version, as the old one had become weather beaten. In 1990 he collaborated with Scott D. Anderson to illustrate Anderson’s canoe adventure book Distant Fires: From Duluth to Hudson Bay, which went on to win the 1991 ALA Best Book for Young Adults Award.
Kouba opened his own commercial art firm called Kouba Advertising Art. He produced the following in his Minneapolis-based studio: The Old Dutch windmill on potato chips bags and boxes, Schmidt beer wildlife scenes, and the Red Owl grocery store’s logo.
Wildlife Was His Calling
Although Kouba had his hands full with his new advertising business, successful inventions and a growing family, he still found time to pursue his lifelong goal of becoming a wildlife artist. He worked commercial jobs by day, and at night, he would stay up late painting great flocks of canvasbacks lifting off from a mist-shrouded marsh; diving bluebills in an early winter snowstorm or a white tail deer feeding in a farmer’s cornfield. Kouba painted what he knew best – the day-to-day rural scenes he grew up with.
Kouba exhibited some of his early works at Zesbaugh’s Picture Store in downtown Minneapolis. One day, Clare Fry, art director at Brown and Bigelow, a major calendar firm, noticed a couple of his paintings at Zesbaugh’s. Fry called Les for an appointment, and the budding wildlife artist had launched his career.
The Later Years
In 1952 Kouba founded and became the Director of The American Wildlife Art Gallery in Minneapolis. The gallery boasted one of the largest collections of original wildlife art,exhibiting paintings by famous American wildlife and western artists. Kouba loved being in public and would often do live painting demonstrations at banquets and other venues.
Leslie C. Kouba died on September 13, 1998 at the age of 81. He was living at the Mt. Olivet Nursing Home in Minneapolis at the time of his death. An unfinished painting remained in his room, as he continued to paint until the end. As if predestined, Les passed away on the 13th, as his trademark was the number 13. From his first painting to his very last, each and every one of them reflected a part of his life. Each one tells a story based on his experiences. The art and legacy of this truly unique and original man will live on.
The Kouba Legacy
The Kouba Gallery at the Minnesota Valley Chapter of the Izaak Walton League in Bloomington is named after this legendary artist. In honor of his creative genius and dedicated environmentalism, the Kouba Gallery continues his legacy by showcasing emerging and established artists that are inspired by the wonder of nature.
Each month The Kouba Gallery is proud to exhibit the work of a Minnesota artist. Whether it be painting, photography, sculpture, textiles, ceramics, mixed media or something entirely new, the Kouba has a show you’re bound to love.