Jankel Adler is one of a number of important avant-garde European artists who came to Britain as émigrés or exiles during the period of the Second World War. He was born in Poland, studied at the School of Applied Arts in Barmen, Germany and became an active member of various avant-garde groups in Berlin, Düsseldorf and Cologne. Between 1931 and 1933 he had a studio at the Dusseldorf Academy where he taught with Paul Klee, who became a close friend. Adler left Germany in 1933 and spent the next few years working in various European countries, including Poland, Russia, and Italy. This period culminated with him moving to Paris in 1937. Here he worked in the famous avant-garde printmaking workshop, Atelier 17, with its founder Stanley William Hayter. At the outbreak of war Adler joined the Polish army and was evacuated to Scotland in 1941 and then moved to London in 1943 where he spent the last years of his life. In London Adler moved in a number of artistic circles, and became close to other émigrés, including Oskar Kokoschka. He also befriended a number of younger British artists, such as Robert Colquhorn and Robert Macbryde, and provided an important bridge between the London art scene and the European avant-garde.

This sheet is an excellent example of Adler’s commitment to printmaking which he developed during his time with Paul Klee in Düsseldorf and mastered at Stanley William Hayter’s legendary Atelier 17 in Paris. Adler was particularly interested in monoprinting and helped to inspire younger artists to explore the technique when he settled in Britain. This bold black ink print, with its contrast of dense, blotted passages and finer calligraphic lines, explores the radical possibilities of the medium.

Gift from David and Lillian Aukin 2011

Courtauld Connects Regional Programme - Radical Drawing, Herbert Art Gallery and Museum, Coventry, 18/10/2019-19/01/2020

Inscription: inscription : stamped in red and purple ink : lower right corner & recto : : Jankel Adler C.A //

Inscription: inscription : manuscript in graphite : lower right corner & recto : : 3) //