Ehmsen, Heinrich

PAINTER (GERMANY)
BORN 9 Aug 1886, Kiel, Schleswig-Holstein - DIED 6 May 1964, Berlin
GRAVE LOCATION Berlin: Dorotheenstädtischen Friedhof, Chausseestrasse (CAL-2R-63/64 (Ehrengrab))

The expressionist painter Heinrich Ehmsen studied from 1906 to 1909 at the Kunstgewerbeschule Düsseldorf under Peter Behrens and others. From 1910 to 1911 he stayed in Paris where he knew Ernesto de Fiori, Jules Pascin and Alfred Flechtheim. He served in the German army from 1914 to 1918 in France, Romania and Flanders.

In 1929 he moved to Berlin where he supported the KPD. From 1932 to 1933 he was in Moscow where his work was exhibited and bought by museums. Back in Germany he was arrested by the Gestapo in October, 1933. His works were removed from museums in Germany and he was imprisoned at the Columbiahaus in Berlin.

In 1937 eight of his works were shown at the Entartete Kunst exhibition, but in 1939 he became a member of the Reichskulturkammer. From 1940 to 1944 he served with the Wehrmacht where he worked at the propaganda department.

In 1945 he was among the founders of the Hochschule für bildende Künste at Berlin-Charlottenburg. In 1949 he was fired after he signed a statement of support for the World Peace Movement. In 1950 he was appointed as a teacher at the Academy of Arts inEast Berlin.

Images

The grave of Heinrich Ehmsen at the Dorotheenstädtischen Friedhof, Berlin.
Picture by Androom (21 Jan 2004)

 

Sources
Berlin Dorotheenstädtischen Friedhof, Berlin
Schilderkunst van A tot Z, REBO, Lisse, 1990
Heinrich Ehmsen – Wikipedia


Ehn, Leonore

Published: 23 Feb 2013
Last update: 25 Dec 2021