Bildnis einer Bildhauer-Kollegin. 1925.
Pencil drawing.
Signed "G. Gerber" and dated in right below image. On brownish paper. 47,8 x 33,3 cm (18,8 x 13,1 in), size of sheet.

PROVENANCE: From artist's estate
Private collection Northern Germany.

Gretel Haas-Gerber, born in Offenburg in 1903, was one of the pioneers of a generation of female artists that had fought for an education at the art universities. After she had begun her studies in Karlsruhe, Haas-Gerber enrolled for a year at the Munich Academy in 1925, where she studied painting with Hugo von Habermann and Max Dörner. This drawing originates from her study years, however, for its elaborate line the work is far from a mere study work: In an expressive manner she depicted a then unknown colleague sculptor. After she had complete her studies Gretel Haas-Gerber became soon established as a freelance artist, but the National Socialists would soon defame her work. She could not live up to her tradition before the late 1960s, remaining true to a figuration. Gretel Haas-Gerber died at an old age in her hometown in 1998. Today her works are in possession of numerous collections, among them the Lindenau-Museum in Altenburg. [KP].