Kurt Werth

Who was Kurt Werth?

Kurt Werth was a German born illustrator of children’s books.

Werth was born September 21, 1896 in Leipzig, Germany. He studied at the State Academy for the Graphic Arts in Leipzig beginning in 1913. He studied there for two years before being drafted into the German army. After his two years of service he returned to the Academy. His professor was influenced by Cézanne, although the public wasn't yet aware of the new trend of cubism in art. At the Academy, Werth studied the new graphic techniques and tried them out as illustrations of literary works. After graduating, Werth began to illustrate books, the first being Shakespeare's Troilus and Cressida which was well received.

Werth moved to Munich, Germany after graduating, to draw satirical cartoons for various Munich magazines. In 1928, he and his wife Margaret, a Jewish German, moved to Berlin, Germany so that she could become part of the City Theater. In Berlin, Werth continued to draw satirical cartoons for Berlin magazines.

With Hitler's increasing power, the magazines folded, and Margaret Werth, who was Jewish, was not allowed to work. In the 1939 the Werths immigrated to the United States where Werth found employment illustrating a Sunday column in the New York Times magazine.