Karl Hofer (1878-1955)

Karl Hofer, born  in Karlsruhe, Germany, was a painter notable for his extensive contributions to the German Expressionist movement. Figurative, conservatively rendered working-class Germans most often adorn his canvases, with his subjects and style spanning a considerable breadth over the course of his career.

Inspired by artists such as Henri Rousseau, the classical portraits of his early years gave way to politically charged Expressionist figures —which, during the Nazi regime, were denounced as “degenerate art”— finally morphing into Cubist-inspired compositions of post-war life.

Hofer received little recognition during his early career, and never joined an Expressionist painting group like Die Brücke.

By the end of his life, however, Hofer was considered one of the greatest German painters of his time, and his works can now be found in many collections around the world, including the Art Institute of Chicago, The Museum of Modern Art in New York, and the Kunsthalle Mannheim in Germany.