Georg Arnold-Graboné
Encyclopedia
Georg Arnold-Graboné was a painter of German impressionism and an art teacher. Because Grabone is not his real surname, sometimes his name appears as Georg Arnold-Graboné.
Art Academy. In 1914 the young Arnold passed his Abwalt (exit examination), and volunteered as an enlistee in the German Army. While serving in World War I
. he suffered a head injury from a grenade explosion. The injury left him temporarily without hearing or speech. Because of his injuries he was discharged from the army. He returned to his Schwabian homeland.
and then studied Cubism
in Vienna
under Professor Lippert. Here he became a member of a circle of painters known as the “Licht-Gruppe”.
Arnold abandoned these experimental forms and returned to more traditional painting. Some years later he would write “Ich bin kein freund der Abstracten kunst” (I am no friend of abstract art
). After Vienna, Arnold returned to in Munich where studied landscape painting under Heinrich von Zuegel and Leo von Konig. After Munich, he traveled to Berlin
where he further refined his painting style under the well-known German impressionist Max Liebermann
. Arnold once wrote that Liebermann made him into a true painter. On his stylistic naturalism, Arnold once wrote: "Ich gebe die Stimmung der Landschaft so wieder, wie ich sie emfinde und wie sie auch der Betrachter empfinden soll" (I show the texture of the landscape in the way that I feel it and, as also how I want the viewer to feel it)
In 1928 Arnold was awarded a gold medal in Vienna for his oil painting: Hardanger Fjord. In 1932 he moved to Zurich
to teach at an art academy. He later became its Rector.
In 1936 he began to use the name Graboné as a "kunstlername" rather than Arnold. Graboné was derived from Garabronn, the place which contained his family home. His painter friends included Otto Pippel and Franz Xavier Woffel. Although he was financially successful as a painter, Arnold painted because of his love of the aesthetic. Once, it is told, he traded a painting for taxi fare.
was stationed in Garmisch as the commander of occupied Europe. Sir Winston Churchill
encouraged Eisenhower to take up painting as a hobby. Eisenhower followed Churchill’s advice and began to take lessons from Arnold-Graboné. At that time Arnold-Graboné had his studio only a few miles from Eisenhower’s headquarters. For a period of time Eisenhower flew twice weekly from Paris
to Füstenfeldbruck, and then by automobile to Tutzing
where he took his art lessons from the professor. They formed a friendship and one of Arnold-Graboné’s paintings hung in the White House. Later the former president hung one of the paintings, "Zugspitze" in his home in Gettysburg. http://www.eisenhower.utexas.edu/listofholdingshtml/listofholdingsE/EDDPREPRESIDENTIAL/Principal_File_1916_19pdfhttp://www.eisenhower.utexas.edu/9122630.htm.
Arnold-Graboné’s circle of American friends acquired at NATO headquarters also included General Nordstrom and Robert L. Scott (author of "God is my copilot"). The artist marketed his works to the junior officers stationed at NATO headquarters and he often invited them to exhibitions his work. As a consequence, many young American officers purchased paintings and brought them back to the United States.
Through Eisenhower, Arnold-Graboné eventually became acquainted with Sir Winston Churchill. Churchill was interested in the artist's spatula technique and asked him for some tutelage. The two of them spent several weeks one summer in the early 1950s painting together on the Isle of Man
.
Although he maintained his studio in Tutzing the artist exhibited throughout the world. In the 1950s and 1960s Arnold-Graboné had exhibitions in the United States, including New York
, Chicago
, Washington DC and Sarasota, Florida
.http://news.google.com/archivesearch?q=arnold+grabone&hl=en&ned=us&ie=UTF-8 Former President Lyndon B. Johnson owned in his private collection an original Graboné titled "Arber".
in Bavaria
. He was survived by his wife, Sofie, and their one son, Werner.
painting. His technique used the texture of thickly applied paint to create an actual three-dimensional representation of a landscape. In Graboné’s works, the colors are remarkable for their brilliance, distinguishing his landscapes from those of other pallet-knife painters. The brilliance is a result of Graboné’s color-separation technique in knife-painting. His favorite subjects were of the Alps of Bavaria and South Tirole, the Isle of Capri, the English Garden in Munich, the lake region surrounding Starnberg, and fishing boats on the North Sea. His unusual signature is incised into the wet paint with the opposite end of the brush, almost invariably on the bottom left hand of his oil paintings (and on the bottom right for watercolors).
Early life
Born in Munich on September 11, 1896, Arnold was the son of the Regional-President Wilheim von Arnold. He went to study at MunichMunich
Munich The city's motto is "" . Before 2006, it was "Weltstadt mit Herz" . Its native name, , is derived from the Old High German Munichen, meaning "by the monks' place". The city's name derives from the monks of the Benedictine order who founded the city; hence the monk depicted on the city's coat...
Art Academy. In 1914 the young Arnold passed his Abwalt (exit examination), and volunteered as an enlistee in the German Army. While serving in World War I
World War I
World War I , which was predominantly called the World War or the Great War from its occurrence until 1939, and the First World War or World War I thereafter, was a major war centred in Europe that began on 28 July 1914 and lasted until 11 November 1918...
. he suffered a head injury from a grenade explosion. The injury left him temporarily without hearing or speech. Because of his injuries he was discharged from the army. He returned to his Schwabian homeland.
Maturity
Without the benefit of any additional schooling, Arnold began to paint everything he saw. Although his speech and hearing returned, he could not abandon his love of painting. He began to study formally in StuttgartStuttgart
Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....
and then studied Cubism
Cubism
Cubism was a 20th century avant-garde art movement, pioneered by Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque, that revolutionized European painting and sculpture, and inspired related movements in music, literature and architecture...
in Vienna
Vienna
Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...
under Professor Lippert. Here he became a member of a circle of painters known as the “Licht-Gruppe”.
Arnold abandoned these experimental forms and returned to more traditional painting. Some years later he would write “Ich bin kein freund der Abstracten kunst” (I am no friend of abstract art
Abstract art
Abstract art uses a visual language of form, color and line to create a composition which may exist with a degree of independence from visual references in the world. Western art had been, from the Renaissance up to the middle of the 19th century, underpinned by the logic of perspective and an...
). After Vienna, Arnold returned to in Munich where studied landscape painting under Heinrich von Zuegel and Leo von Konig. After Munich, he traveled to Berlin
Berlin
Berlin is the capital city of Germany and is one of the 16 states of Germany. With a population of 3.45 million people, Berlin is Germany's largest city. It is the second most populous city proper and the seventh most populous urban area in the European Union...
where he further refined his painting style under the well-known German impressionist Max Liebermann
Max Liebermann
Max Liebermann was a German-Jewish painter and printmaker best known for his etching and lithography.-Biography:...
. Arnold once wrote that Liebermann made him into a true painter. On his stylistic naturalism, Arnold once wrote: "Ich gebe die Stimmung der Landschaft so wieder, wie ich sie emfinde und wie sie auch der Betrachter empfinden soll" (I show the texture of the landscape in the way that I feel it and, as also how I want the viewer to feel it)
In 1928 Arnold was awarded a gold medal in Vienna for his oil painting: Hardanger Fjord. In 1932 he moved to Zurich
Zürich
Zurich is the largest city in Switzerland and the capital of the canton of Zurich. It is located in central Switzerland at the northwestern tip of Lake Zurich...
to teach at an art academy. He later became its Rector.
In 1936 he began to use the name Graboné as a "kunstlername" rather than Arnold. Graboné was derived from Garabronn, the place which contained his family home. His painter friends included Otto Pippel and Franz Xavier Woffel. Although he was financially successful as a painter, Arnold painted because of his love of the aesthetic. Once, it is told, he traded a painting for taxi fare.
Relationship with Eisenhower and Churchill
In 1951 U.S. General Dwight D. EisenhowerDwight D. Eisenhower
Dwight David "Ike" Eisenhower was the 34th President of the United States, from 1953 until 1961. He was a five-star general in the United States Army...
was stationed in Garmisch as the commander of occupied Europe. Sir Winston Churchill
Winston Churchill
Sir Winston Leonard Spencer-Churchill, was a predominantly Conservative British politician and statesman known for his leadership of the United Kingdom during the Second World War. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest wartime leaders of the century and served as Prime Minister twice...
encouraged Eisenhower to take up painting as a hobby. Eisenhower followed Churchill’s advice and began to take lessons from Arnold-Graboné. At that time Arnold-Graboné had his studio only a few miles from Eisenhower’s headquarters. For a period of time Eisenhower flew twice weekly from Paris
Paris
Paris is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
to Füstenfeldbruck, and then by automobile to Tutzing
Tutzing
Tutzing is a municipality in the district of Starnberg in Bavaria, Germany and is situated on the west bank of the Starnberger See south of Munich...
where he took his art lessons from the professor. They formed a friendship and one of Arnold-Graboné’s paintings hung in the White House. Later the former president hung one of the paintings, "Zugspitze" in his home in Gettysburg. http://www.eisenhower.utexas.edu/listofholdingshtml/listofholdingsE/EDDPREPRESIDENTIAL/Principal_File_1916_19pdfhttp://www.eisenhower.utexas.edu/9122630.htm.
Arnold-Graboné’s circle of American friends acquired at NATO headquarters also included General Nordstrom and Robert L. Scott (author of "God is my copilot"). The artist marketed his works to the junior officers stationed at NATO headquarters and he often invited them to exhibitions his work. As a consequence, many young American officers purchased paintings and brought them back to the United States.
Through Eisenhower, Arnold-Graboné eventually became acquainted with Sir Winston Churchill. Churchill was interested in the artist's spatula technique and asked him for some tutelage. The two of them spent several weeks one summer in the early 1950s painting together on the Isle of Man
Isle of Man
The Isle of Man , otherwise known simply as Mann , is a self-governing British Crown Dependency, located in the Irish Sea between the islands of Great Britain and Ireland, within the British Isles. The head of state is Queen Elizabeth II, who holds the title of Lord of Mann. The Lord of Mann is...
.
Although he maintained his studio in Tutzing the artist exhibited throughout the world. In the 1950s and 1960s Arnold-Graboné had exhibitions in the United States, including New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
, Chicago
Chicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
, Washington DC and Sarasota, Florida
Florida
Florida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
.http://news.google.com/archivesearch?q=arnold+grabone&hl=en&ned=us&ie=UTF-8 Former President Lyndon B. Johnson owned in his private collection an original Graboné titled "Arber".
Death
After a fight with cancer, Arnold-Graboné died on February 10, 1982 near StarnbergStarnberg
The city of Starnberg is in Bavaria, Germany, some 30 km south-west of Munich. It lies at the north end of Lake Starnberg, in the heart of the "Five Lakes Country", and serves as capital of the district of Starnberg...
in Bavaria
Bavaria
Bavaria, formally the Free State of Bavaria is a state of Germany, located in the southeast of Germany. With an area of , it is the largest state by area, forming almost 20% of the total land area of Germany...
. He was survived by his wife, Sofie, and their one son, Werner.
Artistic style
Arnold-Graboné became well known for his unique style of Palette knifePalette knife
A palette knife is a blunt tool used for mixing or applying paint, with a flexible steel blade. It is primarily used for mixing paint colors, paste, etc., or for marbling, decorative endpapers, etc...
painting. His technique used the texture of thickly applied paint to create an actual three-dimensional representation of a landscape. In Graboné’s works, the colors are remarkable for their brilliance, distinguishing his landscapes from those of other pallet-knife painters. The brilliance is a result of Graboné’s color-separation technique in knife-painting. His favorite subjects were of the Alps of Bavaria and South Tirole, the Isle of Capri, the English Garden in Munich, the lake region surrounding Starnberg, and fishing boats on the North Sea. His unusual signature is incised into the wet paint with the opposite end of the brush, almost invariably on the bottom left hand of his oil paintings (and on the bottom right for watercolors).