Heartfield, John

(real name Helmut Herzfelde). Born June 19, 1891, in Berlin; died there Apr. 26, 1968. German artist, poster artist, and designer.

Heartfield studied at the Munich School of Applied Arts from 1907 to 1911 and at the School of Crafts in the Charlottenburg section of Berlin from 1912 to 1914. In 1930 and 1931 he lived in the USSR, and from 1933 to 1950 he lived in Prague and London. He returned to the German Democratic Republic (GDR) in 1950. Heartfield created the proletarian antifascist, anti-imperialist photomontage poster. He also worked as a magazine illustrator, a designer for motion pictures, and a book illustrator. In 1957 he was awarded the National Prize of the GDR.