Born in Chicago, Illinois September 7, 1910. By twenty years old he was exhibiting his artwork in national art exhibitions including the Art Institute of Chicago’s International Watercolor Show and began being published in national magazines. From 1938 to 1941 he taught painting at the Art Institute of Chicago and at the American Academy of Art. In 1939 his first story illustration appeared in the Saturday Evening Post, the first of over 750 future story illustrations for SEP and many other national magazines. In 1945 he was a co-founder and first president of The Westport Artists and three years later co-founder and founding faculty member of the Famous Artists Schools International.
In 1959 Stahl was commissioned by the U.S. Air Force given a temporary rank of brigadier general to tour the Far East and paint the activities of the Air Force. In 1965 he wrote and illustrated the book “Blackbeard’s Ghost” published by Houghton Mifflin Co. which was made into a movie by Walt Disney in 1967. This book won the Sequoyah Award for literature and was translated into Spanish and French. In 1969 the Museum of the Cross robbery of 15 6x9-foot paintings valued at $10 million today. (See history). 1971 Stahl wrote a sequel to “Blackbeard’s Ghost” also published by Houghton Mifflin, illustrations for Margaret Mitchell’s Gone With the Wind (illustrations now hang in the Atlanta Library) and in 1976 he created a 26-half hour instructional series on painting with the South Carolina Educational Television Network. Stahl’s artwork is found in many major art museums such as the Museum of Modern Art and others. Awards include the Saltus Gold Medal from the National Academy, Illustrator’s Hall of Fame plus 50 others.