Theodore Wildanger was born May 25, 1905 in Aumetz in northeastern France. He was the youngest male child in a working- class family; there were twelve more mouths to feed. As World War I got underway, Theo had to fend for himself at a very early age. He was out in the field, herding a farmer’s cows for his evening meal. As a youngster, he was employed in the iron ore mine where his father labored. When a tram accident claimed part of his right hand, the young man decided that he would never go down a mine shaft again.
He married his one and only love Anne-Marie Thekes, the daughter of wine growers along the Moselle River in Luxembourg. Anna’s family was not exactly thrilled by this union. The young couple decided that Paris offered a better chance for their aspirations. Anna longed to be an actress, and Theo wanted to learn all about art and artists. He found employ in an Italian count’s art gallery. Those years were most likely the happiest of their lives.
The advent of World War II, and the threat of being drafted, caused the young couple to return to Luxembourg where they became successful shop owners. When the Allies moved in to push the Germans back across the Moselle River, Theo and Anna, plus their young children, were evacuated to Luxembourg City. There Theo made a living in the antiques trade. Theo was instrumental in developing his elder son Mathis’s artistic talent. Mathis Wildanger attended various European academies and received at the young age of 21 the “Medaille Officielle de la Ville de Paris,” a distinction usually reserved for more well-known artists.
It was after Anna died that Theo himself started to paint. He left Luxembourg for Brussels, Belgium. Living with the cat “Bolleke” in his little antique shop around the corner from the magnificent Grand’Place, he met and befriended many artists, among them Rene Magritte.
In the mid-1970s, Theo joined his daughter Catherine in America, where he produced the majority of his paintings. He now had the freedom from daily worries he so much needed. His happiest time, since Paris with Anna, was spent in Elam, Virginia. Theo died 1989 in Norfolk, Virginia.
