(edited to the essentials from
Wikipedia)
Hans Hofmann (March 21, 1880 –
February 17, 1966) was a German-born American painter, renowned as both an
artist and teacher. His career spanned two generations and two continents and
is considered to have both preceded and influenced Abstract Expressionism.
Born and educated near Munich, he
was active in the early twentieth-century European avant-garde and brought a
deep understanding and synthesis of Symbolism, Neo-impressionism, Fauvism, and
Cubism when he emigrated to the United States in 1932.
Hofmann's painting is
characterized by its rigorous concern with pictorial structure and unity,
spatial illusionism, and use of bold color for expressive means.
Hofmann is also regarded as one
of the most influential art teachers of the 20th century. He established an art
school in Munich in 1915 that built on the ideas and work of Cézanne, the
Cubists and Kandinsky; some art historians suggest it was the first modern
school of art anywhere.
After relocating to the United
States, he reopened the school in both New York City and Provincetown,
Massachusetts until he retired from teaching in 1958 to paint full-time.