Wolfgang Degenhardt
Encyclopedia
Wolfgang Degenhardt was an artist, prominent in Newcastle located in the Hunter Valley
area of New South Wales, Australia. Husband of Irene Degenhardt, who still lives in Newcastle today.
Degenhardt was born in Germany
, studied art in Bremen
and Milan
. He migrated to Greta, New South Wales
in the Hunter Valley in January 1955, with his wife Irene and sons Fred and Alex after the second world war. Shortly after arriving in Australia. He worked at BHP steel works, in the coke ovens as part of the immigration program at the time, which required people to work for two years in an industry chosen by the Australian Government. A year after arriving in Australia, he built his own home on Warners Bay Road, Charlestown. It was hard work, as the acre block he selected, was dense Australian bush land. To clear the block he used hand saws and an axe. He built the home with a small loan from the Commonwealth Bank, coming home after his shift at BHP to cut timbers and paint. The house has remained relatively unchanged to this day.
Over the years he presented his paintings to every man who retired from the steal works, with art supplies given to him by BHP, he became very well known for this. He worked for the BHP for 30 years, retiring only a few years before his passing.
Degenhardt won the inaugural Newcastle Art Prize and was a regional winner of Maitland Art Prize. He presented a one man exhibitions at Barry Stern Galleries 1968, Sydney and Lights Gallery, Newcastle 1963. He was a frequent contributor to the Blake Prize for religious art. He is represented in many private collections throughout the world.
Degenhardt was featured within newspapers, journals and on NBN and ABC television as his artwork became prominent. He painted in many different styles including German impressionism, cartoons, landscapes.
There are two drawings in the Newcastle Region Art Gallery's collection.
The Forgotten I. 1963
Victim III. 1972
Irene, born in Cologne, Germany. A writer for the Mavis Branson show, met Wolfgang whist traveling in the war years. She was responsible for organising his gallery appearances and named many of his works.
Hunter Valley
The Hunter Region, more commonly known as the Hunter Valley, is a region of New South Wales, Australia, extending from approximately to north of Sydney with an approximate population of 645,395 people. Most of the population of the Hunter Region lives within of the coast, with 55% of the entire...
area of New South Wales, Australia. Husband of Irene Degenhardt, who still lives in Newcastle today.
Degenhardt was born in Germany
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, studied art in Bremen
Bremen
The City Municipality of Bremen is a Hanseatic city in northwestern Germany. A commercial and industrial city with a major port on the river Weser, Bremen is part of the Bremen-Oldenburg metropolitan area . Bremen is the second most populous city in North Germany and tenth in Germany.Bremen is...
and Milan
Milan
Milan is the second-largest city in Italy and the capital city of the region of Lombardy and of the province of Milan. The city proper has a population of about 1.3 million, while its urban area, roughly coinciding with its administrative province and the bordering Province of Monza and Brianza ,...
. He migrated to Greta, New South Wales
Greta, New South Wales
Greta is a small town in the Hunter Valley region of New South Wales, Australia in Cessnock City Council. It has a population of around 1000 people. It is largely a commuter town located midway between Cessnock, Singleton and Maitland...
in the Hunter Valley in January 1955, with his wife Irene and sons Fred and Alex after the second world war. Shortly after arriving in Australia. He worked at BHP steel works, in the coke ovens as part of the immigration program at the time, which required people to work for two years in an industry chosen by the Australian Government. A year after arriving in Australia, he built his own home on Warners Bay Road, Charlestown. It was hard work, as the acre block he selected, was dense Australian bush land. To clear the block he used hand saws and an axe. He built the home with a small loan from the Commonwealth Bank, coming home after his shift at BHP to cut timbers and paint. The house has remained relatively unchanged to this day.
Over the years he presented his paintings to every man who retired from the steal works, with art supplies given to him by BHP, he became very well known for this. He worked for the BHP for 30 years, retiring only a few years before his passing.
Degenhardt won the inaugural Newcastle Art Prize and was a regional winner of Maitland Art Prize. He presented a one man exhibitions at Barry Stern Galleries 1968, Sydney and Lights Gallery, Newcastle 1963. He was a frequent contributor to the Blake Prize for religious art. He is represented in many private collections throughout the world.
Degenhardt was featured within newspapers, journals and on NBN and ABC television as his artwork became prominent. He painted in many different styles including German impressionism, cartoons, landscapes.
There are two drawings in the Newcastle Region Art Gallery's collection.
The Forgotten I. 1963
- triptych
- pen, black ink wash and red pastel on paper
- sight measurements - left to right 38.1 x 17.8, 41.5 x 11.1, 38.1 x 17.8 cms
- inscribed on left and centre sheet lower right and lower left on right sheet in ink "Degenhardt/63
- executed in the autumn of 1963 at Charlestown, New South WalesCharlestown, New South WalesCharlestown is a suburb of Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia, and the largest town within the City of Lake Macquarie. It is located approximately west-southwest of the central business district of Newcastle....
- Purchased from "Wolfgang Degenhardt" exhibition catalogue number 26 on 21 June 1963 by Gil Docking at Lights Gallery, Newcastle, New South WalesNewcastle, New South WalesThe Newcastle metropolitan area is the second most populated area in the Australian state of New South Wales and includes most of the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie Local Government Areas...
- accession number 1963.021
- Gallery's Comment - Black pen and ink drawing with red pastel on wet paper. Figure expression composition, executed in trptych form.
Victim III. 1972
- pen,ink wash and red conte crayon on paper
- sheet size 53.0 x 72.3 cms
- inscribed lower left in ink "Degenhardt/72"
- executed in May 1972 at the artist's house Charlestown, NSW
- Purchased from the exhibition "Hunter Valley Artists" catalogue number 28, at Newcastle City Art Gallery 1 September to 1 October 1972
- accession number 1972.056
- Gallery's Comment - One of a group of three drawings, "Victim I - III", shown in the exhibition and completed early 1972. They have a general relationship to such contemporary events as the Vietnam War and the Bangladesh tragedy, but do not relate to any one event in particular. They present a general view of man's inhumanity to manMan's inhumanity to manThe phrase "Man's inhumanity to man" is first documented in my balls]] poem called Man was made to mourn: A Dirge in 1784. It is possible that Burns reworded a similar quote from Samuel von Pufendorf who in 1673 wrote, "More inhumanity has been done by man himself than any other of nature's...
in the world of today. But it is not just a view of sorrow. There is some beauty too. Beauty in the lives of the human figures and particularly in the hands and their expressive qualities. Forms and features are over emphasised to heighten expression and feeling. Colours are restricted to black and white to give a stronger effect, with red conte added as a softener and enlivening touch. (verbal information from the artist 19 September 1972)
Irene, born in Cologne, Germany. A writer for the Mavis Branson show, met Wolfgang whist traveling in the war years. She was responsible for organising his gallery appearances and named many of his works.