Adolf Dehn

Adolf Dehn was one of America’s most interesting, innovate and notable lithograph artists of the 20th century.

Adolf Dehn was born in Waterville, Minnesota, on November 22, 1895. His descendants had emigrated from Germany and homesteaded around Waterville.

Dehn’s father was a hunter, who eked out a living for his family, and had little interest in art. Dehn’s mother recognized his talent and encouraged Dehn to pursue his interest in art. Both parents were ardent socialists. 

Denh graduated from high school in 1914 and went on to attend the Minneapolis School of Art, where he focused on illustration and caricature, rather than the more formal  traditional oil painting classes that were offered. It was there that he met artist Wanda Gag, who is best known for writing and illustrating the children's book Millions of Cats, the oldest American picture book still in print. In 1917, both Dehn and Gág were two of only a dozen students in the country to earn a scholarship to the Art Students League of New York.

In the summer of 1918, the United States entered World War l and Dehn was drafted into the army. He applied for status as a conscientious objector, which led to four months of detention in a guardhouse detention camp in South Carolina, followed by eight months of teaching art at an army hospital in North Carolina, before being released. Dehn returned to the Art Students League, where he created his first lithograph.

In 1921, Dehn had his first exhibit of lithographs at Weyhe Gallery in New York and traveled to Paris and Vienna, where he became part of an expatriate group that included Gertrude Stein, ee cummings and Josephine Baker. During his time in Europe he drew city and landscapes that reflected the social life in Europe. His works were published in Vanity Fair and leftist journals like The Liberator and The Dial.

In Paris how met his first wife, Russian dancer Mura Ziperovitch. The couple returned to New York in 1929 and Dehn focused his lithography on scenes of Manhattan. The Great Depression led to financial difficulties for Dehn and to the end of his marriage.

Dehn returned to Minnesota to save money. He began to draw scenes of the Midwest. He also spent several summers in Martha’s Vineyard, where he interacted with artists like Thomas Hart Benton and Jackson Pollock.

Around 1936 he expanded his work to include more watercolors. Those works were well received and he was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship.

Dehn’s success increased. In 1947 he married Virginia Engelman and the couple traveled to Venezuela, Cuba, Haiti andAfghanistan, where Dehn painted and successfully sold his works. In 1951 he received a second Guggenheim Fellowship.

Dehn died in New York on May 19, 1968, at the age of 72, after suffering a heart attack.

Adolf Dehn was elected as a full academician to the National Academy of Design and as a member of the National Institute of Arts and Letters. His works are held in over 100 museums including the National Gallery of Art, National Portrait Gallery, Metropolitan Museum, Museum of Modern Art, and Whitney Museum of American Art.

References:

Dr. Henry Adams. Adolf Dehn Biography. International FIne Prints and Drawing Association.