It is with great pleasure that we present our first major exhibition of works by Werner Drewes.

	Apparition woodcut 1945

Since his death in 1985, recognition of Drewes' important role and impact on 20th century American art has steadily grown among collectors and curators. A student at the Bauhaus during the 1920s, Drewes, along with Lyonel Feininger and Laszlo Moholy-Nagy, was one of the first artists to convey the groundbreaking concepts of that school to the United States via his painting, printmaking and teaching.

The son of a conservative Lutheran Minister, Drewes was born in Canig, Germany in 1899. After being drafted into the army and serving two years as a soldier on the Western Front, Drewes was admitted to the Bauhaus (Wiemer) in 1921 where he studied under Klee, Itten and Muche. From 1923 to 1927 he traveled extensively throughout Europe, North America and Asia, obtaining the occasional art commission in order to support his journey. Upon his return to Germany in 1927 he was readmitted to the Bauhaus in its new location in Dessau, where he enrolled in classes with the artists Moholy-Nagy (graphics) and Kandinsky (painting).

By 1930, as political pressure on artists became increasingly intolerable, especially for those artists dedicated to abstract art (Hitler closed the Bauhaus in 1933), Drewes left Germany and emigrated to New York City. Despite the Depression, Drewes flourished in his new environment. He taught printmaking at the Brooklyn Museum under the Federal Art Project, lectured at Hayter's Atelier 17 and was an instructor in painting, drawing and printmaking at Columbia University. In 1937 he was a founding member of the American Abstract Artists group, the first formal organization in the United States devoted to the creation of non-objective art.

Collage #304 1977

Drewes' reputation continued to grow, and in 1946 he accepted the position of Professor of Design at Washington University in St. Louis. This tenured post afforded Drewes more financial stability and as result he was able to further explore and fine- tune his unique interpretations of the Bauhaus' aesthetic spirit. It was during this time he met, and became good friends with Max Beckman who was also on the teaching staff at the University.

Drewes retired from Washington University in 1965, eventually settling in Reston, Virginia, where he remained active until his death in 1985. Drewes enjoyed a large amount of recognition for his work in these later years including exhibits at major galleries in Germany and Turkey, and a retrospective devoted entirely to his printmaking held at the Smithsonian's National Museum of American Art in 1984.

For our current show we have selected a good number of oils and works on paper ranging in date from 1945 to 1984. We are indebted to the granddaughter of the artist, Karen Siebert, for her numerous contributions to the exhibition. Without her aid and generous support this event would not be possible.

Alan Platt
Platt Fine Art

Click here to see other works by Werner Drewes

Exhibition archive:

William Dickerson
Carl Flick
Harry Brodsky and G. Ralph Smith
Harold Weston