Fritz Müller (1913-1972) was born in the Tyrolean Alps of Germany, studied in München (Munich) and Vienna, before finding work as a beer barrel engineer.

Müller painted as a hobby, and would render portraits of his fellow workers and their wives. He painted with exceptional realism and detail, and demand for his paintings enabled him to become full time artist.

Müller was best known for his miniature portraits of his native Tyroleans, drinking beer or wine, or smoking elaborate pipes. He also produced a number of paintings of musicians, and soon his work caught the eye of collectors beyond the Bavarian borders.

A number of his original oils now hang in the Roger Yost Gallery, alongside the work of Austrian Otto Eichinger (1922-2004), another portrait painter renowned for realistic attention to detail.