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welcome to the Devoted to the art of Berlin-based Maria and Werner von Axster-Heudtlass, husband and wife designers and artists active from the late 1920s to the early 1940s. The range of art presented, collected primarily from web sources, includes posters, postcards, advertisements, magazine illustrations and stamps. |
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About the Art The art falls into two categories; from 1927 to about 1938, the subjects are generally related to travel and product advertisements. From 1938 to 1943 it falls firmly into the category of Nazi propaganda, in which capacity the Axster-Heudtlass' were apparently well-regarded. Much of this work relates to the Nazi KdF ("Strength through Joy") Organisation, which organised trips, concerts and cultural activities for German workers in the belief this would make them happier and more productive. Many of the postcards promote the SA (Sturmabteilung), a general "home front" auxiliary, of which von Axster-Heudtlass (presumably Werner) appears to have been a captain.
Use the links to the left to access each collection. The graphics are shown as a series of thumbnails with an attached description; clicking on a thumbnail will open a larger version of the graphic in a new (suitably sized) window. Please note that the order of graphics is not chronological, being arranged instead by (rough) subject groups. Under "Site Information" I have included an explanation (as much for myself as anybody else) as to why I have spent so much time on such obscure artists. The biography page gives all the information I have been able to find on Maria and Werner - there are some facts, some speculation (this page was extensively updated in March 2017 and January 2018 with new information). The Background page contains a note on the various
signatures used in the works, some brief information on the KdF and
SA organisations, and some links to German poster and propaganda art
sites.
The images on this site have been collected from a wide variety of sources, both web- and paper-based. As far as I am aware, no copyrighted material has been reproduced. Some graphics have been reproduced from the German Historical Museum (DHM) for which acknowledgement is made. However, if you believe that you hold copyright over any image(s) on this site, please contact the webmaster. This site is not copyrighted and I am happy
for people to download any images or text they wish; a link back to
this site would be appreciated. |