Albert Major

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Wilhelm Albert Major (born July 27, 1878 in Schönfeld , † December 5, 1957 in Naunhof ) was a German teacher , graphic artist and painter .

Albert Major on his 75th birthday in Naunhof

Life

Born as the son of the teacher Carl Hermann Major in Schönfeld, Albert Major pursued a teaching career like his father after attending school. From 1893 to 1899 he attended the teachers' college in Annaberg . During this time he discovered his talent for drawing. After initial practical experience as an assistant teacher at the Geyer Citizens' School , Albert Major took part in the drawing teacher course at the Dresden School of Applied Arts , where he became a student of the court advisor Ermenegildo Antonio Donadini . He also attended courses in life drawing and modeling. Due to a lack of financial means, he had to break off this additional artistic training in 1903. In the following year he successfully passed the state examination and received a position as a drawing teacher at the Royal Drawing School for the Textile Industry and Trade in Schneeberg . As early as August 5, 1914, he was drafted into military service and was stationed at the Crimmitschau convalescent home from 1916 after an injury. There he made numerous portraits of comrades and nurses. During this time he tried hard to get a better-paid job and got it in May 1918 at the secondary school in the administrative center of the Saxon authorities in Schwarzenberg , where he had been working part-time at the housekeeping school since 1905.

In both Schneeberg and Schwarzenberg numerous graphics, line and pen drawings, woodcuts, etchings and paintings from the western Ore Mountains were created . He was represented with two pictures at the art exhibition in Dresden in 1921. He contributed some illustrations to Walter Fröbe's main work Herrschaft und Stadt Schwarzenberg up to the 16th century . He also made several sketches and views while on the move. Some of his works also appeared on postcards as local artist cards or artist cards from the Ore Mountains. The churches in Schneeberg , Schwarzenberg , Markersbach and Naunhof were among his popular motifs .

Together with Walter Fröbe and other culturally interested citizens, he founded an association that set up and operated the natural theater at Rockelmann in 1924 . For this natural theater he designed a sliding stage and several sets.

Major had been a member of the NSDAP since February 1, 1930 and from that year was active in local politics in Schwarzenberg. In 1930 he was first elected to the city council of Schwarzenberg, from 1933 he held the office of deputy mayor. He was a member of the Reich Association of Academically Trained Drawing Teachers and joined the National Socialist Teachers' Association in 1931 . In the SA he had the rank of senior troop leader. In the year of the outbreak of World War II, he retired as a teacher. However, in order to supplement his income, he worked in the Schwarzenberg city administration and later again as a temporary teacher for a few hours. After the end of the war, Major was briefly imprisoned in the tower of Schwarzenberg Castle . The state subsidy in the form of civil servants' pensions was canceled, and in 1946 the right to vote was even withdrawn from him. During this time he earned his living with commissioned works.

When a lot of living space was requisitioned in the course of the beginning uranium mining in the area around Schwarzenberg, the Major family belonged to the group of people who should be expelled from the city. Major felt compelled to move to his widowed daughter in Naunhof in 1949, where he and his wife spent the rest of his life. He also created several artistic works in Naunhof.

The Perla Castrum Museum in Schwarzenberg Castle dedicated a special exhibition to him in autumn 2018.

literature

  • Bernd Kalch: Wilhelm Albert Major July 27, 1878 - December 3, 1957. A biography. Gornau 2018. DNB 1184900620
  • Frank Nestler: The history group finds grandson of the artist Albert Major . In: Freie Presse , Schwarzenberg edition of December 5, 2012.
  • The painter and graphic artist Wilhelm Albert Major . In: Naunhofer Nachrichten of February 8, 2014, p. 12.

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Ten year celebration of the Naturtheater Schwarzenberg. 1924-1934 . In: Glück auf from December 1934
  2. ↑ Bernd Kalch: Wilhelm Albert Major July 27, 1878 - December 3, 1957. A biography. Gornau 2018, pp. 51–53 and pp. 71–73
  3. ^ The painter and graphic artist Wilhelm Albert Major . In: Naunhofer Nachrichten of February 8, 2014, p. 12.
personal data
SURNAME Major, Albert
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Major, Wilhelm Albert
BRIEF DESCRIPTION German teacher, graphic artist and painter
DATE OF BIRTH July 27, 1878
PLACE OF BIRTH Schönfeld
DATE OF DEATH 5th December 1957
Place of death Naunhof