The Painted Forest - Ernest Hupeden

In 1897 German immigrant Ernest Hűpeden arrived in Valton, Wisconsin. At that time, the local chapter of the Modern Woodmen Association was nearing completion of their new meeting hall. While little is known today about Hűpeden, it is known that he was a man wrongly imprisoned and later exonerated by a deathbed confession by the real criminal. During his prison years, Hüpeden taught himself to paint. It is also known that he arrived in New York aboard a ship called The Herder and walked and painted his way west. In the spring of 1898, he was commissioned to decorate the stage curtain for the M.W.A. lodge in exchange for room and board at the local hotel. The work impressed the charter members to such an extent that they further commissioned Hupeden to continue his painting and adorn their walls with scenes depicting the M.W.A.'s initiation rites, fraternal activities, and shared ideals. In November of 1899 the work was finished. Hűpeden had literally covered every inch of wall space including the arched ceiling, window frames, wainscoting and curtains. The vivid imaginative scenes painted by Ernst Hüpeden recreate a remarkable vision of life, death, initiation rituals, and the aspirations of the Valton M.W.A camp members. Upon completing the murals, Hupeden left Valton on foot and continued his itinerant painter's career in western Wisconsin until his death. On December 8, 1911, the artist's died and it is believed that he was buried in a pauper's grave in Richland Center.