Ferdinand Springer

Ferdinand Springer was a German painter and printmaker, born in Berlin. He studied at the University of Zurich in Switzerland and the Académie Ranson in Paris, under Roger Bissiere. He learned engraving under Stanley William Hayter at Atelier 17. In 1939, being German, he was branded an "official enemy" of France and was sent to the Les Milles internment camp near Aix-en-Provence. He was released in 1940, upon which time he moved to Grasse, France and started the “Grasse Group” with artist such as Hans Arp, Sonia Delaunay, Alberto Magnelli. Unfortunately, as World War II began to heat up, Springer was forced to flee to Switzerland and much of his work up to that point was lost. He continued working in printmaking until the 1990s, when his focus turned largely to painting.