Description

Paul Westerfrölke 1886-1975 Drawing On the edge of the village, houses, fruit trees, dated Artist: ru signed; Paul Westerfrölke; well-recorded German painter and graphic artist Age: ru dated (19)66 Technique: Drawing (pencil) on paper Dimensions: approx. 32.5x22.5cm Condition: Signs of age, surface slightly dirty, corners bumped, see photos About Paul Westerfrölke: Paul Westerfrölke (* 24. February 1886 in Gütersloh; † 27. March 1975 ibid) was a German painter, graphic artist, conservationist and ornithologist. Life Paul Westerfrölke was the son of the merchant and hotelier Wilhelm Westerfrölke and his wife Luise, née Barkey. After graduating from high school in 1904 at the Evangelisch Stiftisches Gymnasium, Westerfrölke attended the Düsseldorf School of Applied Arts (1905–1908), where he was particularly interested in nature studies and plant and animal drawings. In 1908 he moved to the Düsseldorf Art Academy, where he made human, animal and landscape studies under Carl Ederer. In 1912 he was able to sell pictures for the first time. In 1914 he was a master student with his own studio. Westerfrölke did his military service in the First World War in, among other places, Minden, Lille and Allenstein. He was given a year's leave of absence in 1915 due to incapacity for service. During this time he completed further training at the Berlin Art School, followed by a drawing teacher exam. After the war he moved to Gütersloh in 1919. In 1935 he received the World War Cross of Honor. In 1925 Westerfrölke became a member of the Association of Westphalian Artists. From 1933 onwards, the prices of his pictures rose and he was able to win contracts for cover illustrations for national newspapers. In 1934 he became a member of the Schanze Free Artists' Community in Münster. In 1936 he painted the painting “Westphalian Farm” for the meeting room of the Higher Presidium in Münster. In 1938, his pictures could be seen at the art exhibition as part of the Gütersloh “Michaelmas Week” (folk festival and economic exhibition); The curator was Otto Winkelsträter. 26 Westerfrölke pictures were shown at the Great German Art Exhibitions from 1937 to 1943 in Munich. Apart from his studies and the short military service, Westerfrölke spent his entire life in Gütersloh. In 1937 he turned down an offer to the Academy of Applied Arts in Munich, where he was supposed to take over the graphic design class (his planned take over of the graphics class at the Münster Art Academy in 1939 was prevented by the start of the war); Instead, Westerfrölke made painting his profession in Gütersloh and became known primarily as a local illustrator of Westphalia.[1] In Dressler's art handbook from 1928 he is referred to as the “painter of the heath”. He also exhibited abroad, making his works known beyond the borders of his hometown. According to his own statements, Westerfrölke saw his landscape drawings less as paintings and more as “descriptions of landscapes”. Most of his pictures and drawings are now privately owned.[2] In addition to his artistic work, Paul Westerfrölke was also active as a conservationist and ornithologist and was considered a proven expert on the local bird world. After his death, his precise and comprehensive notes were sent to the Natural History Museum in Münster for evaluation. Westerfrölke acquired his knowledge autodidactically through his own observations and intensive study of literature. In 1935 he was appointed landscape officer (nature conservation officer). District Commissioner of the Wiedenbrück district. Westerfrölke held this office until shortly before his death and thus also for the Gütersloh district, which was newly created in 1973. Between 1965 and 1969 he mapped more than two thirds of the bird species native to the district. Westerfrölke was a long-time active member of the “Natural History and Nature Conservation” department in the Westphalian Heritage Association. He was awarded the Federal Cross of Merit in 1961 for his services to nature conservation. Paul Westerfrölke died at the age of 89 from a heart attack that he suffered while working in his garden. reception In the year of his death, citizens of Gütersloh suggested naming a street after Paul Westerfrölke. In 1980, the local history association applied for the as yet unnamed hiking trail along the Dalkepromenade to be named after him. Today the Paul-Westerfrölke-Weg runs for around three and a half kilometers from the city center to the Neue Mühle, east of the Pavenstädt district. literature Joseph Peitzmeier: Paul Westerfrölke as a nature observer, Gütersloh contributions, issue 54/55, June 1979 Gütersloh Local History Association: From Westerfrölke's workshop, edited by Karsten Kelberg, Gütersloh 2000 Paul Westerfrölke 1886 - 1975, accompanying booklet for the exhibition by the cultural office of the city of Gütersloh in collaboration with the Kunstverein Kreis Gütersloh eV, the Galerie Friedemann and Antiquitäten Jentsch in Gütersloh on the occasion of the 100th. Paul Westerfrölke's birthday Stephan Grimm, Heinrich Lakämper-Lührs: Gütersloh residents write history, Verlag Wartberg 2005, ISBN 3-8313-1588-4 Source: https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/ Paul _Westerfrölke; Retrieved 28. October 2019 In addition to his artistic work, Paul Westerfrölke was also active as a conservationist and ornithologist and was considered a proven expert on the local bird world. After his death, his precise and comprehensive notes were sent to the Natural History Museum in Münster for evaluation. Westerfrölke acquired his knowledge autodidactically through his own observations and intensive study of literature. In 1935 he was appointed landscape officer (nature conservation officer). District Commissioner of the Wiedenbrück district. Westerfrölke held this office until shortly before his death and thus also for the Gütersloh district, which was newly created in 1973. Between 1965 and 1969 he mapped more than two thirds of the bird species native to the district. Westerfrölke was a long-time active me