Painter

Biography

1893 Born in Berlin

1908 Expelled from grammar school

1909 Enrolled in Konigliche Kunstakademie, Dresden; became associated with the German Expressionist group, 'Die Brucke'

1910 First caricature published in 'Ulk'

1912 Returned to Berlin to study at the Art School; First visit to Paris

1912-17 Attended classes as the School of Arts and Crafts, Berlin

1914 Joined the army voluntarily; became influenced by Futurism

1915 Discharged from the army as unsuitable for military service

1916 Achieved some fame for publication of an essay in 'Weissen Blatter'

1917 Founder member of Berlin Dada Movement; his art became increasingly radical, left-wing and anti-war

Recalled to army on 4 January, admitted to army hospital on 5 January and transferred to mental home in February. Released from all military services in May

1918 Worked with John Heartfield on animated film

1919 Founder of journal 'Die Pleite' with Wieland Herzfelde, 'Jederman Sein Eigener Fussball' with Franz Jung, and 'Der Blutige Ernst' by Carl Einstein; Joined Club Dada

1919-20 Dadaist Theatre performances with group 'Die Neue Jugend'; Joined the communists and used his artwork for political purposes

1920 Married Eva Peter, who often appears in his work as the figure of Maud or Daum; Stage design with Heartfield for Bernard Shaw's 'Caesar and Cleopatra', directed by Max Reinhardt; Taken to court for attacking the Reichswehr (the army) in his series of graphics called 'Gott mit uns'; he is now being recognized as a great satirist and an active dadaist

1921 Tried for slandering Reichswer, fined 300 marks

1922 Journey to Soviet Union with Martin Anderson, where he became disillusioned by communism; his work takes on a milder and looser character

1923 Tried for obscenity, fined 500 marks

1924 Summoned to court for his series 'ecce home' and accused of offending public morals

1924-25 Journey to Paris

1927 Stay in the South of France

1928 Prosecution for blasphemy for his series 'hintergrund' (the sentence was later withdrawn, but the graphics were confiscated)

1932 Left Germany 11 days before Hitler rose to power to teach at the Art Student's League, New York; took to drawing street and café scenes, nudes and landscapes

1935 Excursions to France, Holland and Denmark

1937 Guggenheim Fellowship

Works by Grosz were taken out of museums in Germany

1938 Officially exiled from Germany by the Nazis, became American citizen

1941-42 Teacher at the school of art at Columbia University, New York

1951 First return visit to Germany

1954-55 Extended stay in Germany; did costume design for 'Bilderbogen aus Amerika' for Berliner Komodie

1959 Returned to Germany, where he died

Bibliography

1946 George Grosz, Ein kleines Ja und ein GroBes Nein

1974 Hans Hess, George Grosz

1975 Uwe M. Schneede, George Grosz: Der Kunstler in seiner

1979 Alexander Dückers, George Grosz: Das druckgraphische Werk

1988 M. Kay Flavell, George Grosz: A Biography

1993 Rosamunde Gräfin Neugebauer, George Grosz: Macht und Ohnmacht

Selected Solo Exhibitions

1920 First one man exhibition at Hans Goltz, Munich

1927 Flechtheim Gallery, Berlin

1932 Art Institute of Milwaukee, WI

1938 Art Institute of Chicago, IL

1939 Walker Gallery, New York

1941 Associated American Artists, New York; Museum of Modern Art, New York, travelling retrospective

1943 Associated American Artists, New York; Museum of Art, Baltimore

1944 Denver Art Museum

1945 Associated American Artists

1946 A Piece of My World in a World Without Piece, Associated American Artists, New York

1948 The Stickmen, Associated American Artists, New York

1950 The Institute of Art, Cleveland, OH

1952 Dallas Museum of Fine Art, TX

1954 Whitney Museum of American Art, New York, Retrospective Exhibition

1959 Hecksher Museum, Huntington, VT

1962 Retrospective exhibition at Akademie der Kunste, Berlin

1973-74 Theatrical Drawings and Watercolours by George Grosz, traveling exhibition, catalogue published by Harvard University

1975 George Grosz: Leben und Werk, Kunstverein, Hamburg

1977 A Portfolio of Ten PhotographsMikkel/Cohn Gallery, New York, an exhibition and portfolio of Grosz's photographs from his first visit to New York in 1932

1985 George Grosz, Soufer Gallery, New York

1988 George Grosz, Watercolours and Drawings, Gillian Jason Gallery, London

1997 The Berlin of George Grosz: Drawings, Watercolours and Prints 1912-1930, Royal Academy of Arts, London, England

1998 George Grosz - Elfriede Lohse-Wachtler, Galerie St. Etienne, New York

Selected Group Exhibitions

1920 Organized and participated in International Dada Fair, Berlin

1925 Neue Sachlichkeit, Stadische Kunsthalle, Mannheim

1930 Venice Biennale; Kunsthaus, Zurich

1937 Degenerate Art, Munich Germany

1978 Cityscape 1910-1939: Urban Themes in American, German and British Art, Royal Academy of Arts, London

1980 Expressionism: A German Intuition, S.R. Guggenheim Museum, New York

1985 German Art of the Twentieth Century, Royal Academy of Art, London

1986 German Realist Drawings of the 1920's, S.R.Guggenheim Museum, New York

1993 Art and Politics in Weimar Germany, Galerie St. Etienne, New York

1997 The New Objectivity, Galerie St. Etienne, New York

Collections

Works in all mediums are found in museums and private collections across the United States, Europe and Japan

Awards

1958 Became an 'extraordinary member' of the Akademie der Kunst

1959 Gold Medal from the National Institute of Arts and Letters