Guess the Artist

Your clues this week are:

• The artist was German and active in the 20th-century. Born with an extremely common surname, the artist added a distinguishing hyphen + place-of-birth at age 21.
• Originally an architecture student, the artist abandoned school after one year to concentrate on being a new kind of painter: a painter with a unique style influenced by Art Nouveau, Neo-Impressionism, the paintings of Henri Matisse and, most importantly, Vincent van Gogh.
• The artist's career was interrupted by military service from 1915 until November 11, 1918, but resumed to honors and critical acclaim afterward.

And


• The honored and acclaimed period sadly proved to be an interlude. As the Nazis rose in power, the artist was methodically stripped of: membership in the Preussische Akademie der Künste; works that had been on view in German museums and galleries (though mainly harmless landscapes, they were nonetheless seized as "degenerate"); and even permission to paint. One final indignity occurred when the artist's Berlin studio was bombed to smithereens in WWII, destroying all of the work stored inside. Incredibly, the artist regrouped after the war and carried on as both painter and professor of painting.

Please email me your guesses over the coming week. I'll post the winner and correct answer with next week's guessing game. Good luck!

Last Week's Answer:

Last week the clues were supposed to lead you to English society painter George Romney. His 20th-century namesake was my state's Governor back in the day and, yes, the two Georges share a family tree. The painting we saw was Emma Hart as "The Spinstress," ca. 1784-85 -- Emma Hart being the name that Amy Lyon decided to use, until Emma Hart became Lady Hamilton. Romney apparently saw more of his muse Emma than he did of his wife, who was not invited to live with him in London or anywhere else for the next 37 years. Was it a coincidence that he moved back in with Mrs. Romney for the last two years of his life, after suffering a series of strokes that left him unable to paint? I think not.

The first correct response came from Judith in Asheville, NC. Now Judith, can you tell us if a tour of the 250-room Biltmore House and its grounds is worth the $50-$65 admission? We've always wanted to see it in person, but that's a bit on the pricey side for a family of five .... Moving right along, then: congratulations to you, Judith, and thanks to all who played. Many of you replied, no one sent in a wrong guess, and that is a new Guess the Artist record!