Robert von Neumann immigrated to the United States from Germany in 1926 after receiving his art education, working as a designer and illustrator and serving the German infantry during WWI. He and his family settled in Milwaukee he began a career in teaching at the Milwaukee State Teacher's College, the Layton School of Art and the Art Institute of Chicago. Neumann embraced the Regionalist style during the 1930’s and was particularly known for his paintings and lithographs of fisherman on the Great Lakes. His works are in the collections of the Bibliotheque Nationale in Paris; The Chicago Art Institute; the Library of Congress, Washington D.C.; and the Milwaukee Art Museum to name a few.