Friedrich Adler (artist)

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Friedrich Adler
Friedrich Adler in the 1930s
Born(1878-04-29)April 29, 1878
Laupheim, Germany
Diedc. 11 July 1942
Auschwitz, German-occupied Poland
Alma materAcademy of Fine Arts, Munich
Known forPrroduct design
MovementArt Nouveau, Art Deco
Spouses
  • Bertha Haymann
  • Erika Fabisch
Children7
Birthplace of Friedrich Adler in Laupheim, Germany
Art deco lamp

Friedrich Adler (29 April 1878 – c. 11 July 1942)[1][2] was a Jewish-German artist, designer and academic.[3] He was renowned for his accomplishments in designing metalwork in the Art Nouveau and Art deco styles; he was also the first designer to use bakelite. He designed using a wide variety of objects and materials.[4]

Biography[edit]

Adler was born on 29 April 1878 in Laupheim, Germany to parents Karoline Frieda Sommer and pastry shop owner Isidor Adler.[5][4] His birthplace is now the Café Hermes, an Art nouveau building in the style of the late Italian Renaissance.[6] From 1894 to 1898 he studied at the Munich School of Applied Arts (now known as Academy of Fine Arts, Munich).[4] In 1902, Adler decided to undertake a second degree at the new teaching and research institute for applied and free art called Debschitz School studying under Wilhelm von Debschitz and the sculptor Hermann Obrist.[3][4] By 1903, he was teaching stucco technology at the same Debschitz School.[4]

From 1907 to 1914, and again from 1918 to 1933, he taught at the School for Applied Art in Hamburg (with a break in between for his military service during World War I).[5][7]

He drew closer to the Jewish religion as well as Jewish iconography and art, as Nazism grew.[4] He designed two stained glass windows for the synagogue in his hometown.[4] In 1914, for the Cologne Werkbund exhibition he designed the interior of a Jewish house of worship.[4]

After serving in World War I from 1914 until 1918, changes in Adler's design work occurred and he stopped working in the Art Nouveau style.[7] In his later life he focused on batik and fabric printing, opening the, Adler Textildruckgesellschaft Hamburg (Adler Textile Printing Company Hamburg).[7][8] In between, he also directed the mastery lessons in Nuremberg, and was busy designing pieces in applied art for over fifty clients.

Death and legacy[edit]

On 11 July 1942, Adler, who was Jewish, was deported to the extermination camp Auschwitz,[5][9] where, judged too old to work, he was murdered soon afterwards. There is a stolperstein in his memory at his last place of employment in Hamburg.

In 1994, he was honored with a retrospective exhibition at Munich Stadtmuseum (Munich City Museum).[4] Alder's work is included in the museum collection at the Metropolitan Museum of Art.[10]

Personal life[edit]

In 1907, Adler married Bertha Haymann, who died of Spanish flu in 1918.[11] With Bertha he had five children, one of which was artist Paul "Pollo" Wilhelm Adler (1915–1944) who was murdered at Auschwitz.[11]

In 1920, Adler married a former student, Erika Fabisch, and together they had two children.[11] In 1934, Erika Fabisch left with the children to Cyprus.[11]

References[edit]

  1. ^ ABM. Vol. 11. Santa Barbara, Calif. 1980. p. 7.
  2. ^ "Friedrich Adler". Deutsche Digitale Bibliothek. Retrieved 2021-02-09.
  3. ^ a b Bayer, Udo. "Friedrich Adler". Gesellschaft für Geschichte und Gedenken e.V. Laupheim. Retrieved 2021-02-09.
  4. ^ a b c d e f g h i "Adler, Friedrich - Detailseite". Landesarchiv Baden-Württemberg (State Archive Baden-Württemberg). Retrieved 2021-02-09.
  5. ^ a b c "Friedrich Adler". Laupheimer Museum, Museum of the History of Christians and Jews (in German). Retrieved 2021-02-09.
  6. ^ "The Jewish Past of Laupheim: The Adler Family". Retrieved 2010-03-28.
  7. ^ a b c "JÜDISCHE KÜNSTLER" [JEWISH ARTISTS]. Spurensuche - Jüdische Friedhöfe in Deutschland, Steinheim Institut. Retrieved 2021-02-09.
  8. ^ Schiff, Hajo (1994-09-27). "Bis zur Plaste". Die Tageszeitung: taz (in German). p. 19. ISSN 0931-9085. Retrieved 2021-02-09.
  9. ^ "The German style of Jugendstil on exhibition at the Art Museum". Newspapers.com. The Philadelphia Inquirer from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. September 25, 1988. p. 82 (6F). Retrieved 2021-02-09. several-small pieces of jewelry by Friedrich Adler (1878-1942), a Jew who died in Auschwitz is generally exemplary.
  10. ^ "Wine jug, ca. 1903". The Metropolitan Museum of Art. Retrieved 2021-02-09.
  11. ^ a b c d "Paul W. Adler". Stolpersteine in Berlin | Orte & Biografien der Stolpersteine in Berlin. Retrieved 2021-02-09.

Further reading[edit]

  • Leonhardt, Brigitte; Dieter Zühlsdorff; Norbert Götz (1994). Friedrich Adler - Zwischen Jugendstil und Art Déco (in German). Stuttgart: Arnoldsche Art Publishers. ISBN 978-3-925369-34-6.
  • Schäll, Ernst (2004). Friedrich Adler. Leben und Werk (in German). Bad Buchau: Federsee-Verlag. ISBN 3-925171-58-4.
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