August Werner, born in Bergen, Norway, in 1893 and graduated from the Masters School of Music in New York in 1924. He was a professor at the University of Washington School of Music from 1931 to 1965. He taught voice, gave recitals, and made appearances in operas at the university. He also directed other Chorus groups He performed as a baritone in the United States and Europe. He was also an artist, painting landscapes, and a sculptor. He created a bust of Beethoven, on display on the U of W campus, and a cast-bronze 1962 statue of Leif Eriksson which overlooks Shilshole Bay in Seattle. Werner was decorated by the King of Norway with the Order of St. Olav and as a Knight of St. Olav by the King of Sweden. He spent much of his life in Seattle. One of his paintings to the left was consigned to us by a neighbor of Werner to whom he gifted the work.
