Sig Vogel

Siegfried Conrad “Sig” Vogel
(b. 1917)

Born April 29, 1917 in Greiz, Germany. His father, Conrad Vogel, was an artist and home decorator. His mother, Clara Roder Vogel, was a homemaker. A sister, Clara, was born January 3, 1921. Vogel Sr. moved to the U.S. in 1923 and found a job with the F. Sturm Ecclesiastical Art Studio, decorating Catholic Churches on the east coast. The family soon followed, emigrated in May 1925, and settling in Elmhurst, Queens, NY.

In 1935 Sig also started working for the F. Sturm Ecclesiastical Art Studio, creating watercolor proposal sketches of church interiors, designs and color schemes. The studio was in Yonkers, and he lived with friends in Queens while attending Cooper Union Art School at night for a number of years, focusing on Art and Architecture. In 1942, Sig married Irene Hansen and they had five sons. Sig then worked as a draftsman in a gear pump company, which caused him to develop an interest in Engineering. From August 1946 to June 1951 he worked for the Curtis-Wright Corporation in Caldwell, New Jersey, working on a design for a turbo-pump for rocket engines. The Sig Vogel family then relocated to Downey, California in June, 1951 with a Sig’s new job as Engineer with North American Aviation (later Rocketdyne).

Retiring from engineering in 1977, Sig became involved in taxidermy (opening his own Taxidermy Studio on his property in Simi Valley, CA, which ran for over 18 years) and a number of local art clubs, most notably the California Art Club. Sig became the 41st CAC President in October 1989 and briefly held the post until December 1989, after which he resigned. According to Sig, he took the post because nobody else wanted it. His resignation was due in part to the fact that the Treasurer would not provide a financial statement. Former CAC President Carol Rensen again presided as President Pro-Tem until the next regular elections (summer 1990); she was apparently re-elected, and served through December 1990.

Sig moved to Grover Beach, California in 1997, and lives there with his second wife, Jean.

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Sources:
CAC Bulletins, letters

Member:
California Art Club (President, October-December 1989)
San Gabriel Art Society
Scandanavian-American Art Association
Simi Valley Art Club
Hawaiian Steel Guitar Association