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65 66 </div> 67 <!-- InstanceBeginEditable name="EditRegion" --> 68 69 <h1><font color="#666666" size="5" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Hans 70 Hofmann: Biography</font></h1> 71 <p><font size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Artist Frank Stella 72 sang his praises in his American Heritage magazine essay, 73 “The Artist of the Century.” Students in America’s 74 art schools today are reaping what he sowed through his 40 75 years of teaching. Artists around the world employ his color 76 theories. Through his own vibrant paintings and his pioneering 77 teachings, Hans Hofmann has inspired generations.</font></p> 78 <p><font size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Hans Hofmann, son 79 of Theodor and Franziska Hofmann, was born in Weissenburg, 80 Bavaria on March 21st, 1880. When he was six years old, the 81 family moved to Munich where his father took a job working 82 with the government. Hofmann developed an interest in mathematics, 83 science, music and art at a very early age. When he was sixteen, 84 his father helped him obtain a job with the Bavarian government 85 as the assistant to the director of Public Works. During this 86 time, Hofmann further developed his technical knowledge of 87 mathematics, even inventing and patenting an electromagnetic 88 comptometer. Despite his exceptional gift for science, however, 89 Hofmann soon gravitated towards the arts, and began his formal 90 art training after his father passed away in the late 1800s. </font></p> 91 <p><font size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">In 1898, 92 Hofmann studied at Moritz Heymann’s art school in Munich. 93 It was there that Hofmann was introduced to Impressionism 94 and Pointillism, the burgeoning new art movements of the time. 95 Early works (such as a 1902 portrait of Hofmann’s future 96 wife, Maria (Miz) Wolfegg) show the influence these popular 97 modes of painting had on the young artist; they also demonstrate 98 his tremendous promise as an artist. Indeed, Hofmann showed 99 so much potential that one of his instructors, Willi Schwartz, 100 suggested that he travel to France to continue his studies. 101 In 1904, with the financial support of Berlin art patron Phillip 102 Freudenberg, Hofmann relocated to the center of all new developments 103 in art: Paris. Miz later joined him, and the two lived in 104 Paris for ten years during one of the most revolutionary periods 105 in the history of Western art. Continuing his exploration 106 at both the Academie de la Grand Chaumiere and the Academie 107 Colarossi, Hofmann befriended many of the leaders of the Modernist 108 movement. He also frequented the Café du Dome, a haunt 109 of many artists and writers of the French avant-garde. There 110 he became acquainted with pioneers like Matisse, Picasso and 111 Bracques. His closest and perhaps most influential friendship 112 was with Robert Delaunay, who, together with his wife Sonia, 113 launched a mini-movement known as Orphism, or Organic Cubism. 114 The Delaunay’s approach, with its emphasis on color 115 over form, clearly made an impression on Hofmann. Both he 116 and Miz helped design scarves for Sonia Delaunay’s Cubist 117 fashions, and eventually Hofmann began to form his own color 118 and composition theories, which he continued to develop and 119 write about throughout his lifetime and later passed on to 120 his many students.</font></p> 121 <p align="center"><font size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><img src="../pbs/pbs_image.gif" alt="Artist Hans Hofmann paints on the beach." width="484" height="97" align="middle"></font></p> 122 <p><font size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">In 1908 and 1909, 123 Hofmann exhibited his work with the New Secession in Berlin. 124 Soon after,Hans and Miz left Paris and traveled first to Corsica 125 where Hans could recover from a brush with tuberculosis. They 126 then moved back to Germany to look after his ill sister, during 127 which time the war broke out in Europe. Because of his German 128 citizenship, Hofmann was not allowed to return to Paris and 129 due to his lung condition he was disqualified from the army. 130 Thus, he remained in Munich during the First World War and 131 opened the Hans Hofmann School of Fine Arts in the spring 132 of 1915. The school gained recognition worldwide when the 133 war ended, and summer sessions in Capri, St. Tropez and Bavaria 134 attracted many foreign students. Glenn Wessels, Louise Nevelson, 135 Carl Holty, Alfred Jensen and Worth Ryder were among Hofmann’s 136 students at this time, and many of them stayed in touch with 137 Hofmann over the years. </font></p> 138 <p><font size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">In 1930, Worth 139 Ryder invited Hofmann to teach a summer session at the University 140 of California at Berkeley where he was the chairman of the 141 Department of Art. This was the beginning of a meaningful 142 long-term relationship between Hofmann and U.C. Berkeley,culminating 143 years later in a special arrangement: Hofmann donated 45 paintings 144 to the University on the condition that the school promise 145 to construct an art museum on campus. In the spring of 1931, 146 Hofmann returned to California to teach at the Chouinard School 147 of Art in Los Angeles, and then resumed summer courses at 148 Berkeley. Though he had little time to paint, he still managed 149 to draw as much as possible, and he took advantage of the 150 California climate and landscape to continue his artistic 151 exploration of nature. His first public exhibition in the 152 United States was held that year at the California Palace 153 of the Legion of Honor in San Francisco. </font></p> 154 <p><font size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Meanwhile, 155 in Germany, Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels created the
156 Reichs Kammerce (Reich Chambers) for film, music, radio, broadcasting, 157 press, theater and fine arts. The Reichs Kammerce carefully 158 monitored the cultural details of German life, and procedures 159 were established to deem what was acceptable expression and 160 what was not. With hostility mounting towards intellectuals 161 in Germany, Miz advised Hans not to return to Munich. In 1932 162 he settled in New York City, where he taught at the Art Students 163 League on 57th Street. In 1933, Hofmann opened the Hans Hofmann 164 School of Fine Arts at 444 Madison Avenue in Manhattan. Over 165 the next few years, though the school would relocate several 166 times, its reputation continued to spread. Art students from 167 all over North America heard of the unique teacher from Europe 168 who imparted to American students what he had learned from 169 Picasso, Braque, Matisse and Delaunay. He became known as 170 an instructor who allowed his students to explore and experiment 171 with their own technique while still encouraging them to take 172 their visual cues from the natural world surrounding them. </font></p> 173 <p align="center"><font size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><img src="../images/hofmann_teacher_biography.jpg" alt="Hans Hofmann Teaching a class the push pull idea." width="300" height="214" border="1"></font></p> 174 <p><font size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">A summer school 175 was opened in Provincetown, Massachusetts in 1934, and Hofmann 176 divided his time between the city and the coast.He thoroughly 177 enjoyed being outdoors in nature, and after a prolonged period 178 of only drawing, he finally began to paint again. In 1939 179 Miz joined him in America, and two years later he became an 180 American citizen. Hofmann continued to teach in New York and 181 Provincetown for the next twenty-eight years. During the 30s, 182 40s, and 50s, Hofmann’s dual role as teacher and artist 183 would prove challenging for him. He remarked, “Being 184 an artist and being a teacher are two conflicting things. 185 When I paint, I improvise… I deny theory and method 186 and rely only on empathy and feeling… In teaching, it 187 is just the opposite, I must account for every line, shape 188 and color. One is forced to explain the inexplicable.” 189 Nevertheless, he was an enormously generous teacher, and despite 190 his broken English (which was often peppered with German and 191 French), he was a wonderfully expressive and attentive presence 192 in the classroom. He gave his students one-on-one critiques, 193 often drawing a tiny composition of his own in the corner 194 of their works to illustrate one of his points.His impact 195 as a teacher is still palpable today, as his theories of the 196 “push and pull” of color and of breaking up the 197 picture plane are still being disseminated by art teachers as they present a 198<a href="https://shawnmcnulty.com/abstract-art-definition-characteristics/" target="_blank">definition of abstract art</a> to their students.</font></p> 199 <p><font size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">It wasn’t 200 until late in Hofmann’s career that his reputation as 201 an artist finally began to catch up with his reputation as 202 a teacher. At the age of 64, Hofmann’s first exhibition 203 in New York was organized by Peggy Guggenheim and held at 204 the Art of This Century Gallery. In 1949 he returned to Paris 205 for the opening of his exhibition at the Galerie Maeght. During 206 his visit, he returned to the studios of his contemporaries, 207 Picasso, Braque, Brancusi and Miro. In 1955, Clement Greenberg 208 organized a retrospective of Hofmann’s work at Bennington 209 College, and in 1957 there was a major retrospective at the 210 Whitney Museum in New York. In spite of his growing recognition 211 as a painter, it wasn’t until 1958, at the age of 78, 212 that Hofmann was finally able to resign as a teacher and devote 213 himself fully to his art. Though a generation older than Jackson 214 Pollock, Arshile Gorki, Clyfford Still and Willem de Kooning, 215 Hofmann took his place as a major and influential member of 216 this thoroughly American art movement. In 1960, Hofmann was 217 one of four artists representing the United States at the 218 Venice Biennale, and three years later a retrospective exhibition 219 of his work at the Museum of Modern Art traveled throughout 220 the United States and internationally to South America and 221 Europe. Lowery Sims, who curated Hofmann’s 1999 retrospective 222 at the Metropolitan Museum, says of the artist’s late 223 bloom, “Hans Hofmann came into his own in the 1950s 224 and 60s when he’s in his seventies and eighties… 225 It sort of defies the notion that creativity is only the province 226 of the young. He’s a really great example for people 227 to understand that creativity is a lifelong promise.” </font></p> 228 <p><font size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Three years later, 229 Miz Hofmann died suddenly. Hofmann painted “Paz Vobiscom” 230 in her memory and continued to paint magnificent major works. 231 In 1965, Hofmann married a young German woman, Renate, and 232 painted a loving, glowing series of masterworks dedicated 233 to her, which are now in the permanent collection of the Metropolitan 234 Museum of Art. </font></p> 235 <p><font size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">On February 17, 236 1966 Hofmann died at the age of 86. On his easel was another 237 painting, almost finished, dedicated to Renate. Retrospectives 238 and exhibitions continue to this day, and his work is in permanent 239 collections in galleries and museums from New York to New 240 Zealand. </font></p> 241 <p><font size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">In addition to 242 his paintings, Hofmann’s continuing legacy includes 243 not only those students who became accomplished artists, but 244 also those who became teachers and mentors themselves, spreading 245 Hofmann’s influence far beyond even the large numbers 246 he taught. Hofmann was recognized for helping students find 247 their own distinctive ways to practice art. He never insisted 248 that they become abstract artists; in fact, most of his students 249 never saw his own paintings until after he had retired from 250 teaching. Instead, he encouraged them to frequent museums 251 and galleries, often exposing them to new styles of art. Former 252 Hofmann students include : James Gahagan, Red Grooms, Lillian 253 Orlowsky, Wolf Kahn, Paul Resika, Mercedes Matter, Irving 254 Kershner, Roberd DeNiro Snr, Myrna Harrison and Frank Stella.</font></p> 255 <p><font size="1" face="Verdana, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">* 256 Bio info taken from the PBS Documentary</font><font size="2" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"> - <span class="ad"><a href="../pbs/pbs.html" class="ad"><font color="#000000">Hans 257 Hofmann, Artist/Teacher, Teacher/Artist</font></a></span></font></p> 258 <!-- InstanceEndEditable --></section> 259 260 <aside id="sidebar"> 261 262
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