Striking 10.5 x 14 etching of Albert Einstein in later years by graphic artist Arthur Degner, signed in the wide lower margin in pencil by the artist, "Degner." In fine condition, with scattered light foxing in the borders.
Arthur Degner (1888–1972) studied between 1906 and 1908 at the Academy of Arts in Königsberg under Ludwig Dettmann and Otto Heichert. In 1909 he moved to Berlin and became the chairman of the Free Secession in 1919, of which he had been a member since 1911. He was also a member of the German Artists' Association, the National Association of Visual Artists, and the German Werkbund. In 1920 he was appointed to the Academy in Königsberg, returned to Berlin in 1925, where he taught at the University of Fine Arts (HBK). From 1931 to 1933 he was chairman of the Berlin Secession. After the Nazis came to power, he was placed under a work and exhibition ban. After the war, he was brought back to HBK. He was made emeritus there in 1956. There are several portraits of Einstein by Degner; it is likely that they were acquainted in Berlin.
