Karl Völker

Karl Völker (17 October 1889 – 28 December 1962) was a German architect and painter associated with the New Objectivity movement.

He was born in Halle, Saxony-Anhalt and, after an apprenticeship as an interior decorator, studied in 1912-1913 at the Dresden School of Arts and Crafts where Richard Guhr was his teacher. He joined the Berlin "Red Group" in 1924, and was a contributor to the journal Das Wort. His early paintings, such as Industriebild (Industrial Picture, 1923) are in a constructivist style.

He worked as an architect until 1933, when Hitler took power. Declared a degenerate artist by the Nazis, he was forced to support himself from 1933-1943 performing architectural conservation work.

After military service in World War II he resumed working as an architect and painter. He died in Halle in 1962.

References

• Michalski, Sergiusz (1994). New Objectivity. Cologne: Benedikt Taschen. ISBN 3-8228-9650-0
• Schmied, Wieland (1978). Neue Sachlichkeit and German Realism of the Twenties. London: Arts Council of Great Britain. ISBN 0-7287-0184-7