Frans Wildenhain
Encyclopedia
Frans Wildenhain (June 5, 1905 – January 25, 1980) was a Bauhaus-trained German potter and sculptor, who taught for many years at the School for American Craftsmen (now School for American Crafts) at the Rochester Institute of Technology
in Rochester, NY.
, Germany, Wildenhain’s early artistic training was in drawing
, design
and lithography
. In February 1924, he enrolled at the Bauhaus
in Weimar
, where he completed the foundations or preparatory course under Laszlo Moholy-Nagy
. He also studied with Paul Klee
, and, beginning in November 1924, with Gerhard Marcks
and Max Krehan
at the Bauhaus pottery workshop in Dornburg
. Among the other potters there was Marguerite Friedlaender, his future wife.
When the Bauhaus moved to Dessau
in 1925, pottery was dropped from its curriculum. Marcks moved to the State School of Applied Art at Burg Giebichenstein
, Halle
, where he soon became the director. The following year, when Friedlaender became the head of that school’s pottery workshop, Wildenhain moved with her to resume his student training there. He became a Master Potter in 1930, the same year in which they were married, after which she was professionally known as Marguerite Wildenhain
.
In 1933, when the Nazis took over Germany, Marguerite dismissed from her position, because of her Jewish ancestry. She and Frans then moved to Putten
, Holland, where they set up a pottery workshop called Het Kruikje (Little Jug). In March 1940, she was able to emigrate to the U.S. (just two months in advance of the German invasion of Holland), but he (a non-Jewish German citizen) was not allowed to follow her. In 1941, he moved to Amsterdam
, where he taught briefly at the Arts and Crafts School, and also studied sculpture with Jan Bronner at the Rijksacademie. By 1943, he had been drafted into the German Army, and in the following year took part in the Battle of Arnhem
. In April 1945, he became a deserter and was hidden from authorities by friends in Amsterdam.
, an artists’ colony near Geurneville, California, established by Gordon and Jane Herr, who had been in contact with the Wildenhains in Holland in 1939.
After a separation of about seven years, Frans and Marguerite Wildenhain were finally reunited in 1947, when at last he was granted a visa. He too joined the community at Pond Farm, where he worked as an artist and teacher with his wife, fiber artist Trude Guermonprez, jewelry designer Victor Ries, and the Herrs.
(1958). He was also a Fellow of the American Crafts Council. His work is in the collections of the Stedelijk Museum
(Amsterdam), Smithsonian Institution
(Washington, DC), Everson Museum (Syracuse, NY), Seattle Art Museum
, the Art Institute of Chicago
, and Luther College
(Decorah, IA).
The largest collection of his work (comprising over 300 works) is at Rochester Institute of Technology
(Rochester, NY). An exhibition principally featuring Wildenhain ceramics from the collection will be on view from August 20, 2012 to October 2, 2012 at Rochester Institute of Technology. The exhibition simultaneously will be held on campus at both Bevier Gallery and Dyer Arts Center. There will be an exhibition catalogue.
Rochester Institute of Technology
The Rochester Institute of Technology is a private university, located within the town of Henrietta in metropolitan Rochester, New York, United States...
in Rochester, NY.
Bauhaus and after
Born in LeipzigLeipzig
Leipzig Leipzig has always been a trade city, situated during the time of the Holy Roman Empire at the intersection of the Via Regia and Via Imperii, two important trade routes. At one time, Leipzig was one of the major European centres of learning and culture in fields such as music and publishing...
, Germany, Wildenhain’s early artistic training was in drawing
Drawing
Drawing is a form of visual art that makes use of any number of drawing instruments to mark a two-dimensional medium. Common instruments include graphite pencils, pen and ink, inked brushes, wax color pencils, crayons, charcoal, chalk, pastels, markers, styluses, and various metals .An artist who...
, design
Design
Design as a noun informally refers to a plan or convention for the construction of an object or a system while “to design” refers to making this plan...
and lithography
Lithography
Lithography is a method for printing using a stone or a metal plate with a completely smooth surface...
. In February 1924, he enrolled at the Bauhaus
Bauhaus
', commonly known simply as Bauhaus, was a school in Germany that combined crafts and the fine arts, and was famous for the approach to design that it publicized and taught. It operated from 1919 to 1933. At that time the German term stood for "School of Building".The Bauhaus school was founded by...
in Weimar
Weimar
Weimar is a city in Germany famous for its cultural heritage. It is located in the federal state of Thuringia , north of the Thüringer Wald, east of Erfurt, and southwest of Halle and Leipzig. Its current population is approximately 65,000. The oldest record of the city dates from the year 899...
, where he completed the foundations or preparatory course under Laszlo Moholy-Nagy
László Moholy-Nagy
László Moholy-Nagy was a Hungarian painter and photographer as well as professor in the Bauhaus school. He was highly influenced by constructivism and a strong advocate of the integration of technology and industry into the arts.-Early life:...
. He also studied with Paul Klee
Paul Klee
Paul Klee was born in Münchenbuchsee, Switzerland, and is considered both a German and a Swiss painter. His highly individual style was influenced by movements in art that included expressionism, cubism, and surrealism. He was, as well, a student of orientalism...
, and, beginning in November 1924, with Gerhard Marcks
Gerhard Marcks
Gerhard Marcks was a German sculptor, who is also well-known for his drawings, woodcuts, lithographs and ceramics.-Background:...
and Max Krehan
Max Krehan
Max Krehan was a German Master Potter in Dornburg, Germany, who, in 1920, was appointed the Lehrmeister for the pottery workshop at the Bauhaus school in Weimar.-Background:...
at the Bauhaus pottery workshop in Dornburg
Dornburg
Dornburg is a town in the Saale-Holzland district, in Thuringia, Germany. It sits atop a small hill of 400 ft above the Saale. Since 1 December 2008, it is part of the town Dornburg-Camburg.-Main sights:...
. Among the other potters there was Marguerite Friedlaender, his future wife.
When the Bauhaus moved to Dessau
Dessau
Dessau is a town in Germany on the junction of the rivers Mulde and Elbe, in the Bundesland of Saxony-Anhalt. Since 1 July 2007, it is part of the merged town Dessau-Roßlau. Population of Dessau proper: 77,973 .-Geography:...
in 1925, pottery was dropped from its curriculum. Marcks moved to the State School of Applied Art at Burg Giebichenstein
Burg Giebichenstein
Giebichenstein Castle is a castle in Halle in Saxony-Anhalt. It is part of the Romanesque Road ....
, Halle
Halle, Saxony-Anhalt
Halle is the largest city in the German state of Saxony-Anhalt. It is also called Halle an der Saale in order to distinguish it from the town of Halle in North Rhine-Westphalia...
, where he soon became the director. The following year, when Friedlaender became the head of that school’s pottery workshop, Wildenhain moved with her to resume his student training there. He became a Master Potter in 1930, the same year in which they were married, after which she was professionally known as Marguerite Wildenhain
Marguerite Wildenhain
Marguerite Wildenhain , born Marguerite Friedlaender, was a French-born American ceramic artist, educator and author. In the second half of her life, having emigrated to the U.S...
.
In 1933, when the Nazis took over Germany, Marguerite dismissed from her position, because of her Jewish ancestry. She and Frans then moved to Putten
Putten
Putten is a municipality and a town in Gelderland province in the middle of the Netherlands. In 2007 it had a population of 23,024.Putten is surrounded by a great variety of landscapes. To the east of Putten lies the Veluwe, the biggest national park of the Netherlands...
, Holland, where they set up a pottery workshop called Het Kruikje (Little Jug). In March 1940, she was able to emigrate to the U.S. (just two months in advance of the German invasion of Holland), but he (a non-Jewish German citizen) was not allowed to follow her. In 1941, he moved to Amsterdam
Amsterdam
Amsterdam is the largest city and the capital of the Netherlands. The current position of Amsterdam as capital city of the Kingdom of the Netherlands is governed by the constitution of August 24, 1815 and its successors. Amsterdam has a population of 783,364 within city limits, an urban population...
, where he taught briefly at the Arts and Crafts School, and also studied sculpture with Jan Bronner at the Rijksacademie. By 1943, he had been drafted into the German Army, and in the following year took part in the Battle of Arnhem
Battle of Arnhem
The Battle of Arnhem was a famous Second World War military engagement fought in and around the Dutch towns of Arnhem, Oosterbeek, Wolfheze, Driel and the surrounding countryside from 17–26 September 1944....
. In April 1945, he became a deserter and was hidden from authorities by friends in Amsterdam.
Pond Farm
In the months after her emigration to the U.S. in 1940, Marguerite had almost no word of the whereabouts of her husband. From May 10 (the day of the German invasion of Holland) until September 10, 1940, she wrote unmailed letters to him, in the form of a diary, as she slowly worked her way across the U.S., from New York to California. These letters have since been published in Marguerite: A Diary to Franz Wildenhain edited by Dean Schwarz (2004). In 1942, she settled at Pond FarmPond Farm
Pond Farm was an American artists’ colony that began in the 1940s and, in one form or another, continued until 1985. It was located near the Russian River resort town of Guerneville, California, about north of San Francisco...
, an artists’ colony near Geurneville, California, established by Gordon and Jane Herr, who had been in contact with the Wildenhains in Holland in 1939.
After a separation of about seven years, Frans and Marguerite Wildenhain were finally reunited in 1947, when at last he was granted a visa. He too joined the community at Pond Farm, where he worked as an artist and teacher with his wife, fiber artist Trude Guermonprez, jewelry designer Victor Ries, and the Herrs.
Later years
By 1950, the Wildenhain’s marriage had fallen apart, and Frans then accepted an offer to join the faculty of the School of American Craftsmen (now School for American Crafts) at the Rochester Institute of Technology in Rochester, New York, where he taught for 20 years. Frans and Marguerite’s divorce became final in 1952, and Frans subsequently remarried, to Marjorie McIlroy (who died in 1967), and then to Elisabeth (Lili) Brockardt, a weaver and textile artist. He died in Rochester in 1980.Awards and collections
Frans Wildenhain received numerous prizes for his artwork, from (among others) the International Exposition in Paris (1939), the Albright Art Gallery (1952), the Brussels World's Fair (1958), and a Guggenheim FellowshipGuggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowships are American grants that have been awarded annually since 1925 by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts." Each year, the foundation makes...
(1958). He was also a Fellow of the American Crafts Council. His work is in the collections of the Stedelijk Museum
Stedelijk Museum
Founded in 1874, the Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam is a museum for classic modern and contemporary art in Amsterdam in the Netherlands. It has been housed on the Paulus Potterstraat, next to Museum Square Museumplein and to the Rijksmuseum, Van Gogh Museum and the Concertgebouw, in Amsterdam Zuid...
(Amsterdam), Smithsonian Institution
Smithsonian Institution
The Smithsonian Institution is an educational and research institute and associated museum complex, administered and funded by the government of the United States and by funds from its endowment, contributions, and profits from its retail operations, concessions, licensing activities, and magazines...
(Washington, DC), Everson Museum (Syracuse, NY), Seattle Art Museum
Seattle Art Museum
The Seattle Art Museum is an art museum located in Seattle, Washington, USA. It maintains three major facilities: its main museum in downtown Seattle; the Seattle Asian Art Museum in Volunteer Park on Capitol Hill, and the Olympic Sculpture Park on the central Seattle waterfront, which opened on...
, the Art Institute of Chicago
Art Institute of Chicago
The School of the Art Institute of Chicago is one of America's largest accredited independent schools of art and design, located in the Loop in Chicago, Illinois. It is associated with the museum of the same name, and "The Art Institute of Chicago" or "Chicago Art Institute" often refers to either...
, and Luther College
Luther College (Iowa)
Luther College is a four-year, residential liberal arts institution of the Evangelical Lutheran Church in America, located in Decorah, Iowa, USA...
(Decorah, IA).
The largest collection of his work (comprising over 300 works) is at Rochester Institute of Technology
Rochester Institute of Technology
The Rochester Institute of Technology is a private university, located within the town of Henrietta in metropolitan Rochester, New York, United States...
(Rochester, NY). An exhibition principally featuring Wildenhain ceramics from the collection will be on view from August 20, 2012 to October 2, 2012 at Rochester Institute of Technology. The exhibition simultaneously will be held on campus at both Bevier Gallery and Dyer Arts Center. There will be an exhibition catalogue.
Sources
- Dean and Geraldine Schwarz, eds., Marguerite Wildenhain and the Bauhaus: An Eyewitness Anthology. Decorah, IA: South Bear Press, 2007. ISBN 978-0-9761381-2-9.
- Dean Schwarz, ed., Marguerite A Diary to Franz Wildenhain. Decorah, IA: South Bear Press, 2004. ISBN 0-9761381-1-5.
- Ruth R. Kath, The Letters of Gerhard Marcks and Marguerite Wildenhain 1970-1981: A Mingling of Souls. Ames, IA: Iowa State University Press, 1991.
External links
- Marguerite Wildenhain and the Bauhaus
- Frans Wildenhain Collection at Luther College
- Frans Wildenhain Photos
- Frans Wildenhain Papers at the Archives of American Art
- Frans Wildenhain 1950-75: Creative and Commercial American Ceramics at Mid-century
- RIT Archives Acquires Frans Wildenhain Ceramic Collection