Carl Gross (painter)
Carl Gross (born February 27, 1903 in Hamburg ; † September 15, 1972 there ) was a German painter and graphic artist .
Carl Friedrich Wilhelm Gross was born on February 27, 1903 in Hamburg and already showed a special talent in drawing and painting during his school days, which was recognized and encouraged by his class teacher. At the time of his leaving school, the family's poor economic situation (his father had been drafted for military service) initially made an artistic career impossible; until the end of the First World War , Carl Gross had to deal with his mother and with messengers and the like. through.
After the end of the war, his former class teacher managed to find a patron who provided the talented young man from Hamburg with a private scholarship of 4,500 Reichsmarks, which enabled him to attend the Hamburg School of Applied Arts (today: the Hochschule für Bildende Künste ) from 1918 . There he studied - u. a. at Arthur Illies - in addition to nudes, portraits, posters and lettering, painting and modeling, lithography and other printing processes, as well as art history.
However, after three busy but happy years at the academy, the rest of the money made available to him fell victim to inflation . In addition, his parents were increasingly dependent on support, and so Carl Gross was forced to finish his art studies in 1921 and to take every chance of work that came up in the post- war period , which was full of privation .
In his private life he continued to devote himself (and that for the rest of his life) to free artistic activity; Professionally, he has repeatedly worked as a poster and decorative painter for various Hamburg companies.
In November 1924, Carl Gross took up a position at “ Poster Art Arno Kypke ”, a company affiliated with “ Hoenicke & Kypke ”. At that time, the company "Hoenicke & Kypke" was the tenant of all advertising opportunities in the area of the means of transport operated by Hamburger Hochbahn AG . First, Carl Gross painted large advertising surfaces in the design studio (in the Versmannhaus on Rathausmarkt ); later his skills, knowledge and experience prompted his boss to make him the responsible head of the graphic design department. Finally secured to some extent, in 1927 he married his fiancée, the tailor Ella Uhlmann.
In 1930 the Hamburger Kunsthalle acquired a painting by Carl Gross, a pastel with the title "Zwei Pöhren".
In 1937, “Hoenicke & Kypke” transferred their business to the newly founded “ Hamburger Verkehr-Werbung GmbH” (HVW), which resulted in their painting workshop and studio being closed. Carl Gross was taken over by the newly founded HVW and continued to head the graphic design department.
In 1941 (?) He was drafted. After the end of the war, he continued to work at HVW until he retired.
As a pensioner , Carl Gross then only wanted to devote himself to drawing and painting (his preferred motifs were landscapes , rural motifs, still lifes and portraits ). But he didn't have much time left for that - Carl Gross died of cancer at the age of 69 .
literature
- Jürgen W. Scheutzow: The person behind the work - Head of the artistic studio since the beginning: Carl Gross, graphic artist BDG , in: In Hamburg, advertising rolls. 25 years of Hamburg Transport Advertising GmbH , Hamburg 1962, p. 53
| personal data | |
|---|---|
| SURNAME | Gross, Carl |
| BRIEF DESCRIPTION | German painter and graphic artist |
| DATE OF BIRTH | February 27, 1903 |
| PLACE OF BIRTH | Hamburg |
| DATE OF DEATH | 15th September 1972 |
| Place of death | Hamburg |