Peter August Böckstiegel

Peter August Böckstiegel was born in 1889 in Arrode near Werther (Westphalia) as the son of small farmers and linen weavers.

1895-1903
Attended school in Werther.

1903-1907
Completed a five-year apprenticeship in painting at a school in Bielefeld, finishing with a journeyman's examination as a painter and glazier.

1907-1913
Studied at the newly established Handwerker- und Kunstgewerbeschule in Bielefeld while working on the family estate.

1909
Had his first encounter with works by Paul Cézanne, Paul Gauguin, Édouard Manet, Pierre-August Renoir, Vincent van Gogh, and others at the Folkwang Museum in Hagen.

1912
Visited the Sonderbund exhibition in Cologne, where the works of Van Gogh made a lasting impression.

1913
Started studying at the Königlich Sächsischen Akademie der Bildenden Künste in Dresden. There, he met Conrad Felixmüller, with whom he would remain close friends for life.

1914
Transferred from Oskar Zwintscher's class to Otto Gussmann as a master student. In the summer, he painted en plein air in Goppeln, Saxony.

1915
Drafted into the military and served as a Landsturmmann. He continued to work artistically during the war years.

1918
Met Hanna Müller, the sister of Felixmüller.

1919
Joined the Dresden artist group Gruppe 1919. Married Hanna Müller.

1920
Birth of their daughter Sonja. From now on, he worked artistically in Arrode during the summer and in his studio in Dresden during the winter.

1925
Birth of their son Vincent. Exhibited in Dresden, Bielefeld, and Berlin, among other places.

1929
Awarded the Dürer Prize by the city of Nuremberg.

1933
A painting by the artist was removed from the Dresden Gallery.

1945
His studio was completely destroyed during the bombing of Dresden, resulting in the loss of countless sculptures, paintings, drawings, printing plates, and etching plates. From then on, he permanently resided in Arrode. He became the first chairman of the "Westfälische Sezession 1945."

1949
Received an honorary studio at the Kunstakademie Dresden.

1950
Held a comprehensive solo exhibition at the Staatlichen Kunstsammlungen Dresden.

1951
Passed away on March 22 in his family home in Arrode. He was carried to his grave by his neighbors. He found his final resting place in the cemetery in Werther.

In 2014, GALERIE OSTENDORFF showcased the exhibition "Peter August Böckstiegel and Conrad Felixmüller. A Friendship of Artists." The opening was documented in a short film by Michael Johann Dedeke.