ALICE SOMMER

(Dresden 1898 - 1982 Rotthalmünster)

 
Charcoal drawing of a boy with a hat
 

Head of a boy

Dated bottom right 10 Jun 24.

Charcoal on paper

60 x 39.7 cm (23 5/8 x 15 5/8 inches)

 

Provenance:

Private Collection, Germany

 

The youngest of three daughters, Alice Sommer was born in Dresden in 1898. She studied fashion at the Grand Ducal Saxon School of Applied arts under Max Feldbauer until he left in 1918, to teach at the Dresden Academy, and continued her studies with Maragete Junge until 1919. In 1919, the academy allowed women to apply, and Alice followed her previous mentor, Feldbauer. He immediately recognized her talent and awarded her with an individual studio in 1921, something Otto Dix received when he was a student at the academy years prior. Sommer received high honors for during her studies in 1922, 1923 and 1924. It was in 1924 that Alice began working freelance and joined the Economic Association of Dresden Visual Artists. Her last work from this period dates to 1928, the year her son was born. During the 1945 bombing of Dresden, many of Sommer’s works were destroyed.