Born April 4, 1903, Fritz Gerlach was raised in Menomonee Falls and Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Gerlach studied art at the State Teachers College at Milwaukee and at the Art Institute of Chicago. After working at advertising agencies and as a freelance artist in the 1930s through the 1950s, Gerlach and his wife Phyllis Koeppen started a popular local history program in Milwaukee that offered tours, luncheons, and lectures for adult students. Gerlach illustrated these programs with his watercolors, sketches, and drawings.
