Limited information is found on the artist Hugo Bantau. He was born in Breslau, Germany, in 1890, and he attended the Royal School of Arts and Crafts in Wroclaw, studying under Carl Ernst Morgenstern and Arnold Busch. Bantau was known for his portrait and landscape paintings as well as his bookplate designs. His deathdate has not been confirmed but is listed by various sources as ca. 1945.