Hermann Nonnenmacher

Hermann Nonnenmacher
Born	(1892-06-03)3 June 1892 Coburg, Germany
Died	August 1988 (aged 96) London, UK
Education	Dresden Academy of Fine Arts
Known for	Sculpture
Notable work	Abschied (1928), Berlinische Galerie
Movement	Modernist
Awards	German Federal Cross of Merit 1982

Hermann Nonnenmacher (1892–1988) was a sculptor, painter and teacher, born in Coburg, Germany, who later lived in London.

Biography

Nonnenmacher served in the German Army during World War I and sustained some hearing loss. He studied at the Dresden Academy of Fine Arts, and was a member of the Association of German Artists.[1]

In 1919 he married the sculptor Erna Rosenberg (1889-1980).[2] They lived and worked in Berlin at Potsdamer Str. 29, the former studio of Lyonel Feininger.[3][4]

Before the rise of Nazism, Nonnenmacher was a well-known sculptor whose works adorned many public buildings in Germany.[5] The prominent Berlin-born Australian sculptor, Inge King studied under Nonnenmacher during 1936-1937 in preparation for her entry to the Berlin Academy of Arts.[6] Hermann and Erna's sculptures was classified as Degenerate art by the Nazis, and much of their public works were destroyed.[7] Erna was persecuted as a Jew and they emigrated to London in 1938.

During World War II Hermann and Erna were interned on the Isle of Man, where Hermann continued to make and exhibit artwork.[8][9][7][10] After the war they set up a studio in a house off Archway Road, London.[5]

From 1949 to 1970 Nonnenmacher taught modelling and pottery at Morley College.[4] In 1982 Hermann Nonnenmacher was awarded the German Federal Cross of Merit by the West German government.

Nonnenmacher died in London in August 1988.

Exhibitions and commissions

Public collections

• Nonnenmacher's 1928 sculpture "Abschied" (Farewell) is on display in the Berlinische Galerie Berlin.[11]

Solo and two-person exhibitions

• Geffrye Museum[4]
• Heal's Mansard Gallery[4]
• Barclay Gallery, London (1953) Terra Cotta and Pottery Figurines by Audrey Blackman. Wood carvings by H. Nonnenmacher[12]
• King's College, London (1973) Retrospective exhibition Hermann Nonnenmacher sculptures and drawings[13]

Group exhibitions

• Royal Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts Annual Exhibition, six times during 1940-1954[14]
• Lambeth Palace great hall, Modern Church Art (1951). Nonnenmacher exhibited a statue of Job.[15]
• Royal Academy of Arts, London[4]
• Leicester Galleries, London[4]
• Royal British Society of Sculptors[4]
• Camden Arts Centre Art in Exile in Great Britain 1933-45 (1968)[4]

Commissions

Nonnenmacher was awarded several commissions for public sculpture in Germany before the rise of Nazism. Most or all of this work was destroyed.[5] Public commissions in England included sculpture for:

• Church of St. John, Waterloo, London[4]
• Boulton & Paul Ltd, Norwich[4]
• Merton College, Oxford[4]
• Chapel of King's College London, two carved wooden sculptures[16]

References

1. www.artbiogs.co.uk
2. "Erna Nonnenmacher - Maternity". Ben Uri, The London Jewish Museum of Art. Archived from the original on 22 February 2014. Retrieved 8 February 2014.
3. Auction Notes for Erna
4. David Buckman (1998). Artists in Britain Since 1945 Vol 2, M to Z. Art Dictionaries Ltd. ISBN 0-95326-095-X.
5. YEALM: A biography of Charles Lahr by Sheila Lahr
6. Ingeborg (Inge) Neufeld', Mapping the Practice and Profession of Sculpture in Britain and Ireland 1851-1951, University of Glasgow History of Art and HATII, online database 2011 accessed 08 Feb 2014
7. Sacha Llewellyn & Paul Liss (2016). WWII War Pictures by British Artists. Liss Llewellyn Fine Art. ISBN 978-0-9930884-2-1.
8. Cesarani, David; Kushner, Tony (1993). The Internment of Aliens in Twentieth Century Britain. Abingdon, UK: Routledge. ISBN 978-0714640952.
9. Dickson, Rachel. "The eye and the mouthpiece of our thoughts and ideas". Abstracts for "Creativity Behind Barbed Wire" conference 2010. Archived from the original on 6 September 2014. Retrieved 10 February 2014.
10. Carr, Gilly; Mytum, Harold (2012). Cultural Heritage and Prisoners of War. Routledge.
11. "Friederike von Born-Fallois, visitors' service". Berlinische Galerie. Retrieved 2 April 2017.
12. "Entertainments Guide". The Observer. 20 December 1956. p. 6.
13. "Entertainments Guide". The Guardian. 1 October 1973. p. 9.
14. "Hermann Nonnenmacher". Mapping the Practice and Profession of Sculpture in Britain and Ireland 1851-1951. University of Glasgow. Retrieved 8 February 2014.
15. "Modern Church Art". The Manchester Guardian. 2 June 1951. p. 3.
16. A brief history of Chapel - King's College London