(1864-1924)
Born: Abony, Hungary
Sandor Landeau was a noted oil painter, muralist, stained glass designer, and teacher who is most widely recognized for his religious works, landscapes, marine scenes, portraits, and scenic views. Landeau was born in 1864 in Hungary; his family moved to the United States around 1879, settling in Cincinnati, Ohio. Landeau, showing artistic promise, was sent to La Crosse, Wisconsin, where he took drawing and painting lessons. He later moved to Paris, continuing his studies at the Académie Julian. He began exhibiting with the Paris Salon in 1896 and met several prominent artists, including Alexis Jean Fournier.
From 1898-1899, Landeau participated in an artistic pilgrimage to Jerusalem (traveling with the famous African American artists Henry Ossawa Tanner) and spent time in Palestine. During this trip, he met his future wife, and in 1899, the pair married in New York. The couple maintained residency in both New York and Paris over the next several years. Landeau continued to exhibit in various group shows at the Paris Salon and exhibited in a group show at the Pan-American Exposition of 1901 in Buffalo. He won several prizes for his works, including honorable mention at the Pan-American Exposition and the Gold Medal at the 1907 Paris Salon. He was also a member of the American Art Association of Paris and the Old American Art Club.
In 1915, Landeau moved back to the United States to join the Roycroft Community in East Aurora, New York at the suggestion of close friend Alexis Jean Fournier. Landeau continued to exhibit throughout the United States, with work featured in galleries in Toledo, Boston, Chicago, and New York, among others. He gradually lost interest in exhibiting later in his life and remained settled in East Aurora until his death in 1924. Landeau’s works are included in several collections, including the Smithsonian Archives of American Art and the Buffalo AKG Art Museum.