Carl Scheffler

THE SONG OF ROLAND, A MUSIC MURAL CARL SCHEFFLER, WPA ARTIST

Carl Scheffler, who retired in 1948 after 18 years as an art supervisor in Evanston public schools, did the fairy- tale murals which decorate Haven Junior High School. His work also hangs in other Evanston schools. A native Chicagoan, he received his art education at the old Smith Academy and the Chicago Art Institute and in 1911 and 1912 studied at two academies in Europe. Returning to Chicago, he was a teacher for 14 years at the Chicago Academy of Fine Arts and then established the Evanston Academy of Fine Arts in the Carlson Building. He operated the academy for 18 years before becoming associated with the public schools. In 1948, he and his son, Harlan C., established an art studio in Chicago, specializing in scratchboard drawings for advertising agencies. As a young man, Mr. Scheffler traveled to the Holy Land, where he met and became friends with Abdu'i-Baha, son of the founder of the Baha'i faith. A member of the Evanston Assembly of that faith, Mr. Scheffler was elected to the national assembly's board for 10 years and also served for several years as its treasurer. He was in the forefront in the movement to build the national temple of the faith in Wilmette, and a drawing he did for the temple was featured on the cover of the Evanston Review.

~The above is attributed to an obituary from the Evanston Review in 1962 for Carl Scheffler. The Song of Roland WPA murals at Oakton Elementary School are attributed to him.