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Brothers of Mark Shafer plan book about his art
FAIRFIELD – The brothers of Fairfield historian and art teacher Mark Shafer are creating a book that will tell his life story through his artwork.
Shafer, who died in December 2022 at the age of 73, was well known in the community for teaching art in the Fairfield Community School District for 34 years, and later in life assumed the role of curator at the Carnegie Historical Museum. In addition, Shafer was a prolific artist who created portraits of the city’s historical figures, paintings that appeared in the Fairfield History Series documentaries, and a book he published in 1976 called “Fairfield at the Turn of the Century” which was a collection of his drawings of famous landmarks.
Mark was the oldest of four boys, followed by Herb, Lynn and Allen. His three brothers want to publish Mark’s art in a book to help the public better understand him.
“His art is his memoir,” said Lynn. “There were several different stages of his life, and his artwork was so different in those stages. The art from his young life was quite different from his commissioned portraits. Mark was also whimsical and quirky, so some of his artwork has humor in it. He was a very funny guy.”
Lynn has lived most of his adult life in Maine, but he always enjoyed connecting with his brothers over the phone. Mark loved to call him to talk about the intricate details of his latest painting.
“One time he was doing a painting, and it included a rooster. He was so excited about the rooster’s eye and its coloring,” Lynn said. “That was true for all his work. The detail is extraordinary, and the more you look, the more you find.”
Lynn said Mark’s artwork always had a message, sometimes obvious and sometimes subliminal. In his religious pieces, which Mark did more of later in life, the messages were often subtle.
Mark enjoyed doing portraits for his immediate family and his nieces and nephews. Lynn recalled the portrait Mark did depicting Lynn’s son Will and his dog.
“The whole picture was outlined as a puzzle with one puzzle piece yet to put in, which was a joke because Will and I had a competition to see who could get the last puzzle piece,” Lynn said. “That was his interpretation of our relationship.”
The Shafer brothers hope to connect with anyone who owns a piece of art from Mark, because they know he created art that has since been passed to other friends and relatives, or gone out of state. When Lynn visited Fairfield in late April, he saw pieces of Mark’s art he had never seen before, some recent ones and some from Mark’s college days.
Lynn said the brothers hope to have a basic layout for the book within a year. He said the book will be a collection of Mark’s art plus stories from his closest friends.
“I’ve been trying to meet with people who knew him, and it’s been wonderful to hear their stories about their relationship with Mark,” Lynn said. “I’ve been asking people what they want to see in a book about Mark. I’m thinking about when and how to include his polio story, which affected his entire life and how he operated. At the same time, it’s not necessarily the most important thing about his life. I want the book to be about who he was.”
Both Lynn and Mark contracted polio when they were little boys, Lynn as an 18-month-old and Mark as a 5-year-old. Mark’s case was severe, so severe that he spent six months in the hospital, including part of that time in an iron lung. Lynn and Mark suffered post-polio symptoms, which affected their strength and how they walked. Mark told The Union in 2020 that he had to be careful when he ran because he tripped easily. Lynn said he feels the lingering effects of polio still today through weakened leg muscles, which has forced him to use a cane.
Lynn said Mark’s bout with polio inspired some of his paintings.
“Some of his pieces are about coming to terms with polio, and his gratefulness,” Lynn said. “He was on the short end of the stick for a while. He was on life support, and he became very grateful for his talent and his friendships. Mark was grateful for his life, even though it wasn’t what he requested.”
Call Andy Hallman at 641-575-0135 or email him at andy.hallman@southeastiowaunion.com
