Omaha is busy forgetting. Widely regarded as being ignorant of its history, the business and government leaders in Omaha routinely neglect, deny and forget important elements and facets of its history. One of those are its historic figures who were a blip on the cultural radar. This is a biography of Omaha artist Frank J. Sapousek.

Adam’s Note: Sapousek is regarded as a South Omaha figure. However, keeping with my tradition of honoring the entire city’s forgotten history, I’m sharing his unknown biography here.

Frank J. Sapousek (1902-1993) was a noted muralist, landscape painter and art teacher in Omaha, Nebraska.

Born in Vienna, Austria, he moved to South Omaha as an eight-year-old child in 1911. Starting work for the South Omaha Terminal Railway Company in 1924, he worked for them for 43 years before retiring in 1967.

Marrying his wife Olive in 1927, he grew interested in art after seeing her paintings. He took a painting and drawing class at the Omaha YMCA as part of the Works Progress Administration Art program in art education in the 1930s. Sapousek became passionate about creating art. His works were displayed at the Joslyn Art Museum, the former Duchesne College and other galleries in Omaha. He created interior landscape murals at the Livestock Exchange Building and for other landmarks in Omaha, as well as for private owners including architect Frank Latenser. Sapousek taught landscape painting at the Joslyn Museum for twenty years.

Some of Sapousek’s noted paintings include…

• “Alley View” (nd)
• “Abandoned Farm Motif” (c1962)
• “Yosemite Valley (1960)
• “El Capitan, Northern Arizona Monument Valley”
• “Winter – Childs Point”
• “High Country Retreat”
• “Winter Stream”
• “Gray Day I,” “Gray Day II,” “Gray Day III,” “Gray Day IV,”
• “Sandpit (Nebraska)”
• “Indian Summer”
• “Desert Rain, New Mexico”
• “Early Evening, Fall (Nebraska)”

He was married to Olive C. Sapousek (1902-1991). They had one son, Oliver, who Frank lived with in Bishop, California, when he died. In an interview afterwards, his son said Sapousek was an only child, and that father had outlived most of his friends and didn’t want a church service.

Oliver reported that ten people attended a graveside service, and Oliver read 50 verses from “The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam.” Sapousek said: “The Rubaiyat was my father’s favorite. I can remember him reciting it. There were a couple of times at the cemetery when I could almost hear his voice.” Sapousek was buried in Omaha’s Westlawn-Hillcrest Memorial Park next to his wife.

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Elsewhere Online

• “Frank Sapousek: MONA collection artwork,” Museum of Nebraska Art