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.www.artbiogs.co.uk
In 1919 he married the sculptor Erna Rosenberg (1889-1980). They lived and worked in Berlin at Potsdamer Str. 29, the former studio of Lyonel Feininger.Auction Notes for Erna
Before the rise of Nazism, Nonnenmacher was a well-known sculptor whose works adorned many public buildings in Germany. 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.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 Hermann and Erna's sculptures was classified as Degenerate art by the Nazis, and much of their public works were destroyed. 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. After the war they set up a studio in a house off Archway Road, London.YEALM: A biography of Charles Lahr by Sheila Lahr
From 1949 to 1970 Nonnenmacher taught modelling and pottery at Morley College. 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.
Solo and two-person exhibitions Geffrye Museum Heal's Mansard Gallery Barclay Gallery, London (1953) Terra Cotta and Pottery Figurines by Audrey Blackman. Wood carvings by H. Nonnenmacher King's College, London (1973) Retrospective exhibition Hermann Nonnenmacher sculptures and drawings
Group exhibitions Royal Glasgow Institute of the Fine Arts Annual Exhibition, six times during 1940-1954 Lambeth Palace great hall, Modern Church Art (1951). Nonnenmacher exhibited a statue of Job. Royal Academy of Arts, London Leicester Galleries, London Royal British Society of Sculptors Camden Arts Centre Art in Exile in Great Britain 1933-45 (1968)
Commissions Nonnenmacher was awarded several commissions for public sculpture in Germany before the rise of Nazism. Most or all of this work was destroyed. Public commissions in England included sculpture for: Church of St. John, Waterloo, London Boulton & Paul Ltd, Norwich Merton College, Oxford Chapel of King's College London, two carved wooden sculpturesA brief history of Chapel - King's College London
References