1959 - Eva Leo, German metal artist, creates two sets of doors for Wartburg Seminary and the plaques on the steeple of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church

Eva Leo, born in Germany in 1901 became the first German woman to earn a master’s degree in metal art. She later fled nazi Germany in 1939 and married Paul Leo. The couple settled in Dubuque, IA in 1950, where Paul taught at Wartburg Seminary. Eva not only took over Paul’s teaching duties when he died suddenly in 1958, but also created two sets of doors for Wartburg as well as the plaques on the steeple of Holy Trinity Lutheran Church. She also created the headstone on her late husband’s grave.

A short excerpt about Eva can be found in a memoir by T. C. Abel titled Once Upon a Monk: Memoir Essays.

“Another very important visitor was Ms. Eva Leo, the wife of a Scripture scholar who taught at Wartburg Seminary in Dubuque. Eva was an exceptional copper relief artist whose works are actually all over the world in churches and synagogues. We collaborated on a processional cross years ago which is still in the Abbey. She was particularly encouraging in reference to The Grance we founded in Mississippi and would even travel down for short visits. As a native of Germany, she was acutely aware of the racial injustices that continued to exist in our country. All in all, I as honored to have this very wise and gifted lady as a friend.”