Walter A. Gruber
Set Designs with Deco and Expressionist Influences by a German American Artist, 1920s
Watercolor, ink and graphite designs (43)
Various sizes; from 3 x 4 inches to 11 1/2 x 15 inches. Most about 7 1/2 x 11 inches.
Most with Gruber's stamp, signature, credit or monogram recto.
Most with Gruber's stamp, signature, credit or monogram recto.
Further images
A rich and archive of scenic designs, with vibrant art deco and moody German Expressionist influences, completed by a German-American designer and artist named Walter A. Gruber. Present are detailed,...
A rich and archive of scenic designs, with vibrant art deco and moody German Expressionist influences, completed by a German-American designer and artist named Walter A. Gruber. Present are detailed, preliminary sketches and fully-realized, vibrant renderings for backdrops and stage designs for shows including “Maria Stuart”, “Hamlet” and Ibsen’s “Peer Gynt.”
Walter A. Gruber presumably learned his craft from his father, whose “Atelier Franz Gruber” created theatrical backdrops and elaborate-painted curtains in Hamburg in the first few decades of the 20th-century. In 1921, The Deutsches Schauspielhaus, a large theatre in Hamburg, mounted a production of “Peer Gynt” with set designs credited to Atelier Franz Gruber. While no photographs of this production exist, it is possible the younger Gruber was employed by his father at that time, and that the designs included here were those used in the show. There is scant documentation of the father’s work, but what does exist shows dramatic backdrops painted in the German Art Nouveau “Jugendstil” style.
It is also presumable that he brought these designs with him when he came to America in 1935, in an effort to find work. He eventually joined the United Scenic Artists, and created products of advertisements along with theatrical designs.
Walter A. Gruber presumably learned his craft from his father, whose “Atelier Franz Gruber” created theatrical backdrops and elaborate-painted curtains in Hamburg in the first few decades of the 20th-century. In 1921, The Deutsches Schauspielhaus, a large theatre in Hamburg, mounted a production of “Peer Gynt” with set designs credited to Atelier Franz Gruber. While no photographs of this production exist, it is possible the younger Gruber was employed by his father at that time, and that the designs included here were those used in the show. There is scant documentation of the father’s work, but what does exist shows dramatic backdrops painted in the German Art Nouveau “Jugendstil” style.
It is also presumable that he brought these designs with him when he came to America in 1935, in an effort to find work. He eventually joined the United Scenic Artists, and created products of advertisements along with theatrical designs.