Lea Grundig-Langer Art

Lea Grundig-Langer was born in 1906 in Dresden, where her family was part of the Jewish community. She studied at the city's Decorative Arts and Crafts Academy before progressing, in 1924, to the prestigious Saxon Art Academy: here, she was admitted into the Masterclass of Otto Gussmann. Fellow participants included Otto Griebel, Wilhelm Lachnit and Hans Grundig. At the academy she also got to know Otto Dix, whom she would come to regard as one of the most influential of her mentors. She remained at the Academy until 1926, when she left the Jewish community, joined the Communist party, and shortly thereafter married Hans Grundig. Her work was banned by the Nazis, who put her in prison for a short time; she later emigrated to Palestine, then back to Europe and eventually East Germany, where she was active politically while teaching and practicing her art.