Born in 1921 in Quincy, Illinois, Hagerbaumer grew up during the Great Depression and began duck hunting, trapping, and fishing at the age of 8 in order to help support his family. After serving in the Marines in World War II, he returned home and began working as a taxidermist in a decoy factory. Hagerbaumer worked as a preparator in the Nevada State Museum and then became a staff artist at the Santa Barbara Museum in 1957. He painted at night and sold his work at shows each weekend. It was at this point that he switched from oils to watercolor because he needed a medium that would dry faster. Soon, he realized that he could make a living selling his paintings and became a full-time artist. His commercial success as an artist began when he connected with Ralph Terrill of Crossroads of Sport in New York City. Their 1956 catalogue offered the first Hagerbaumer watercolors for sale — four prints published by Frost & Reed in England. During his lifetime, Hagerbaumer showed great versatility in his art, mostly stylistic variations reflecting changes in attitudes and goals. Many earlier paintings are minimalist works — serene, contemplative and marked by oriental simplicity, with birds portrayed against the sky in austere brevity and elegance. With the viewer kept at a distance, they are of a more formal nature without the inviting drama and intimacy of later works. Whatever the mood — quiet and reflective or vigorous and dynamic — by consensus it is generally acknowledged that Hagerbaumer’s watercolors of waterfowl are without peer. They are distinctive and immediately identifiable, and while others have tried to imitate his style, none have succeeded. Hagerbaumer’s fame rests mostly on his watercolors, but his black-and-white work — etchings, drypoints and drawings — are an important part of his overall work. Along with his paintings, they reflect a grand odyssey, a great adventurous exploration of all the places hunted, the waterfowl pursued, and the varied upland birds brought to hand.