Werner Graeff (1901-1978) - Ohne Titel

Werner Graeff (1901-1978), without title, 1973.

Acrylic paint on plywood panel, mounted on a leather-imitation passe-partout, framed dimensions 42 x 37 cm, painting dimensions 24 x 19 cm. Signed and dated.

Condition: Good, but age-appropriate. Images are part of the condition description.

Provenance: Private collection, Essen; Private collection, Berlin.

Biography
Werner Graeff (1901–1978) was a German artist, designer, photographer and filmmaker and counts among the important representatives of classical modernism. As a versatile designer, he played a decisive role in shaping the avant-garde of the 1920s and was closely associated with the Bauhaus milieu. His work ranges between constructive art, experimental photography, and functional industrial design.

Graeff studied, among other places, at the Bauhaus Dessau, where he came into contact with figures such as László Moholy-Nagy and Walter Gropius. He worked in the fields of typography, photo montage, and product design, and in 1929 published the influential work “It’s Coming—the New Photographer!”, which is regarded as a programmatic text of New Photography.
His artistic stance was characterized by clarity, functionality, and technical precision—central principles of the New Building movement and modernism. In addition to his artistic activity, Graeff was also active as an author and theorist and made a significant contribution to the dissemination of modern design and photography concepts.
Today, Werner Graeff is regarded as a major catalyst for modern graphic design, experimental photography, and functional industrial design. His works exemplify the innovative power of the Bauhaus movement and the European avant-garde of the 20th century.