Albert Zahn

1864 - 1953

“BIRDMAN OF DOWN COUNTY”

Albert Zahn was born in the Prussian province of Pomerania (Germany) and immigrated to Wisconsin as a young man.  Zahn believed in family and he had nine children with his wife Louise.  Together they built a house in 1924.  It is in this house he became an artist.  Zahn was a deeply religious man and believed in biblical philosophies and with these beliefs was an afterlife that included birds, angels, and trees.  These birds and people (often represented as birds) are the carvings that he is most remembered for.  His home in Bailey’s Harbor, Wisconsin was placed on the National Register of Historic places in 2000.  The John Michael Kohler Arts Center in Sheboygan, Wisconsin has the largest collection of Zahn’s work. – Source: Albert Zahn “I’ll Fly Away” (2003)