Louise Stomps ...
... was born in Berlin in 1900 and died in 1988 near Wasserburg in Bavaria. She had lived there since 1960 in a secluded old water mill, the "Kumpfmühle".
Works
Louise Stomps' work, created over a period of more than 60 years between 1927 and 1988, deserves to live on.
The catalogue raisonné has two parts: the sculptural works (about 600 sculptures) and the graphic works comprising a not yet
quantifiable number of drawings and prints. The catalogue is work in progress and both parts undoubtedly require further completion and maintenance.
Already now the work has proceeded so far that detailed queries are possible. These can be generated as PDF files.
Photos:
1 - 6: Friedhelm Hoffmann, Berlin
7 + 9: Anna Elisabeth Witte, Berlin
Biography
Louise Stomps was just as old as her century. It was not before 1927, at the age of 27, that she was able to begin working as an artist. She trained herself to a significant extent autodidactically and yet, as one of the first women of contemporary sculpture, she was able to pursue her vocation and passion without further interruptions and until old age, and also to make a living from it.
Exhibitions
At the age of 17 Louise Stomps began to draw and model regularly. It was not until 1927 however, that she was able to devote herself fully to her interests concerning art and specially the art of sculpture. For a young female artist it was particularly difficult at that time to get the opportunity to exhibit. In the time of National Socialism, against which she stood in resolute opposition, and in the war years the opportunities became even more rare. For that reason the list of exhibitions doesn't begin before 1945.