Karl Völker

Who was Karl Völker?

Karl Völker 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 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.