Grosz, George (1893-1959)

Grosz, George

PAINTER, GRAPHICAL ARTIST (GERMANY)

BORN 26 Jul 1893, Berlin - DIED 6 Jul 1959, Berlin
BIRTH NAME Groß, Georg Ehrenfried
GRAVE LOCATION Berlin: Friedhof Heerstrasse, Trahkener Allee 1, Charlottenburg-Wilmersdorf (Feld 16-B-19 (Ehrengrab))

After George Grosz was expelled from Grammar School in 1908 he studied at the Royal Academy of Arts in Dresden. In 1912 he returned to Berlin to continue his studies at the Berlin Art School. He volunteered for military service during the First World War in 1914. In 1915 he was sent to a hospital. After being recalled to service in 1917 he was soon transferred to a mental home and soon the army discharged him permanently.

In 1919 he joined the Spartakus uprising. He was arrested but he escaped using false documents. Afterwards he became a member of the KPD, the German Communist Party. He met Lenin and Trotsky in Russia, but in 1922 he left the KPD because he was opposed to dictatorship. Grosz became well known for his satirical drawings of life in Germany. In 1920 he had married Eva Louise Peter. She was a former art student and gave birth to their first child in 1926.

In 1932 they left Germany because of the rising influence of the nazis. After they came to power his work was put on the blacklist immediately. Grosz obtained a teachership at the Art Students' League in New York (where he frequently taught until 1955) and in 1938 he became an American citizen. In 1954 he was elected a member of the American Academy of Arts and Letters. In 1959 he decided to return to Berlin. After a night of heavy drinking he died in the same year.

Related persons
• was teacher of Bellmer, Hans
• knew Ernst, Max
• cooperated with Griebel, Otto
• cooperated with Mehring, Walter
• was pupil of Müller, Richard
• met Padua, Paul Matthias

Images

The grave of George Grosz at Friedhof Heerstrasse, Berlin.
Picture by androom (25 Aug 2006)