Otto Douglas Douglas-Hill

Otto Douglas Douglas-Hill , mostly Otto D. Douglas-Hill , (born September 12, 1897 in Beerberg ( Silesia ), † December 10, 1972 in Málaga ) was a German sculptor and ceramist . He mainly created vessels with self-developed glazes and taught at the United State Schools for Free and Applied Arts in Berlin. “Form without ornament” was the program for him.

life and work

Douglas-Hill, training flight (1958), Berlin-Hansaviertel

Coming from the Lower Silesian Beerberg in the Lauban district (today a district of Leśna as Baworowo ), Otto Douglas-Hill took part in the First World War after training as a sculptor (1913–1916) , from where he returned home as a disabled man. In 1920 he began to study art in Berlin. Around 1922, he and a landscape gardener took over a ceramic company, the Oranienburger Werkstätten . Around 1926 he founded his own Douglas-Hill workshop in the former Wertheim stoneware factory in Berlin-Charlottenburg , where he made dishes, vases, garden ceramics, etc. Ä. Manufactured.

In 1929 Douglas-Hill became head of the ceramic experimental department at the United State Schools for Free and Applied Arts in Berlin-Charlottenburg. At the same time he established a joint workshop with the Baltic German ceramist Bodo von Campenhausen . Initially anchored in progressive circles and befriended z. B. with Erich Mendelsohn , after 1933 Douglas-Hill got caught up in reactionary art circles and gained the favor of the Nazi elite, who advocated a return to down-to-earth “German” craft. He was appointed professor and commissioned by Hermann Göring . Before he emerged with experimental and effective glazes and technically brilliant build-up ceramics, he now created the heads of generals at the Berlin Ministry of Aviation and ashtrays for Carinhall .

After 1945, Douglas-Hill was unable to continue teaching. Due to the destruction of his Berlin studio and his work, he emigrated to Chile at the invitation of former students. After his return in 1955 he was able to produce several monumental ceramic sculptures as commissioned work. He owned a studio at Heisterholz in Petershagen on the Weser, where he also tried out his own glazes and firing processes. He later relocated his workshop to Spain, where he died at the age of 75.

Awards

Gold medal at the Paris World Exhibition in 1937 for a two meter high vase

Web links

Commons : Otto Douglas Douglas-Hill - Collection of Pictures, Videos and Audio Files

literature

Gisela Reineking v. Bock: Otto D. Douglas-Hill . In: Keramos, H. 77, 1977.

Winfried Winnicke: Otto Douglas-Hill . In: Märkische Tonkunst. Berlin and Brandenburg - ceramics of the 20s and 30s. Exhibition cat. Stuttgart: Cantz, 1992.

Winfried Winnicke: "Shining elemental force in turquoise". Prof. Otto D. Douglas-Hill (1897–1972) on his 100th birthday. In: Keramos, H. 158, 1997.

Individual evidence

↑ Master of German Ceramics, 1900 to 1950 , page 92, Kunstgewerbemuseum, 1978 ( limited preview in the Google book search).
^ Form and Figure Plastic and Sculpture of the 19th and 20th Century. by Zezschwitz Art and Design, archived from the original on January 20, 2015 ; Retrieved August 10, 2019 (Douglas-Hill, Otto Douglas, Sister I around 1960).

personal data
SURNAME	Douglas-Hill, Otto Douglas
ALTERNATIVE NAMES	Douglas-Hill, Otto D.
BRIEF DESCRIPTION	German sculptor and ceramist
DATE OF BIRTH	September 12, 1897
PLACE OF BIRTH	Beerberg ( Silesia )
DATE OF DEATH	December 10, 1972
Place of death	Málaga

[1] Master of German Ceramics, 1900 to 1950 , page 92, Kunstgewerbemuseum, 1978 ( limited preview in the Google book search).

[2] Form and Figure Plastic and Sculpture of the 19th and 20th Century. by Zezschwitz Art and Design, archived from the original on January 20, 2015 ; Retrieved August 10, 2019 (Douglas-Hill, Otto Douglas, Sister I around 1960).