Milly Steger (15 June 1881 in Rheinberg as ''Emilie Sibilla Elisabeth Johanna Steger'' – 31 October 1948 in Berlin) was a German sculptor.

Biography

Milly Steger, born in

Rheinberg Rheinberg () is a town in the district of Wesel, in North Rhine-Westphalia, Germany. It is situated on the left bank of the Rhine, approx. north of Moers and south of Wesel. It comprises the municipal districts of Rheinberg, Borth, Budberg, an ...

as ''Emilie Sibilla Elisabeth Johanna Steger'', spent her childhood in Elberfeld where her father was appointed as magistrate. After completing her general education, she received language and propriety education in a boarding school in

London London is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of both England and the United Kingdom, with a population of in . London metropolitan area, Its wider metropolitan area is the largest in Wester ...

. While there, she took instruction in painting and decided to become an artist. In

Elberfeld Elberfeld is a municipal subdivision of the Germany, German city of Wuppertal; it was an independent town until 1929. History The first official mentioning of the geographic area on the banks of today's Wupper River as "''elverfelde''" was ...

, she then attended a class for plasterers and stonemasons at the local arts and crafts school. From 1903 to 1906, she received private training from Karl Janssen in

Düsseldorf Düsseldorf is the capital city of North Rhine-Westphalia, the most populous state of Germany. It is the second-largest city in the state after Cologne and the List of cities in Germany with more than 100,000 inhabitants, seventh-largest city ...

, as women were not allowed to attend the arts academy. She moved to

Berlin Berlin ( ; ) is the Capital of Germany, capital and largest city of Germany, by both area and List of cities in Germany by population, population. With 3.7 million inhabitants, it has the List of cities in the European Union by population withi ...

in 1908, where she began teaching at the Women's Academy at the Society of Berlin Artists. Steger was invited by the art patron

Karl Ernst Osthaus Karl Ernst Osthaus (15 April 1874, in Hagen – 25 March 1921, in Merano) was an important German patron of avant-garde art and architecture. Life Osthaus was born to a wealthy banking family, who also owned several businesses in the textile a ...

Hagen Hagen () is a city in the States of Germany, state of North Rhine-Westphalia, in western Germany, on the southeastern edge of the Ruhr area, 15 km south of Dortmund, where the rivers Lenne and Volme meet the Ruhr (river), Ruhr. In 2023, the ...

in 1910, where she was commissioned to create the first large-scale architectural sculpture for the city, creating four statues of women for the facade of the Hagen Theater. She was involved in the artist circle around Osthaus and made contacts with the sculptors

Moissey Kogan Moissey Kogan (12 March 1879 – 3 March 1943) was a Bessarabian Jewish medalist, sculptor and graphic artist who spent much of his time in Paris and travelled throughout Europe. He specialised in creating sculptures and graphic art based on the ...

and

Will Lammert Will Lammert (5 January 1892 – 30 October 1957) was a German Sculpting, sculptor. In 1959 he was posthumously awarded the National Prize of East Germany, National Prize of the German Democratic Republic. Life Germany (1892–1933) Will La ...

, the painter

Christian Rohlfs Christian Rohlfs (November 22, 1849 - January 8, 1938) was a German painter and printmaker, one of the important representatives of German expressionism. Early life and education He was born in Groß Niendorf, Kreis Segeberg in Prussia. He to ...

, and the glass painter

Jan Thorn-Prikker Johan Thorn Prikker (6 June 1868, The Hague - 5 March 1932, Cologne) was a Dutch artist who worked in Germany after 1904. His activities were very eclectic, including architecture, lithography, furniture, stained-glass windows, mosaics, tapestrie ...

. Steger lived in a house in the artists' colony "Am Stirnband" in Hohenhagen. For the tenth anniversary of the Folkwang Museum in Hagen in 1912, Milly Steger donated a sandstone women's head above the museum portal. In the following three years she designed reliefs for the Stadthalle Hagen. Supported by Osthaus, she participated in exhibitions of the Sonderbund (1910 in Düsseldorf and 1912 in Cologne) and at the German Werkbund Exhibition in Cologne in 1914. Her financial situation deteriorated during

World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...

such that she could no longer afford the rent for her studio in Hagen. In 1917 she returned to Berlin, where she remained until the end of her life. Steger spent much of the rest of her life teaching drawing and sculpture. Her work was also part of the sculpture event in the art competition at the

1936 Summer Olympics The 1936 Summer Olympics (), officially the Games of the XI Olympiad () and officially branded as Berlin 1936, were an international multi-sport event held from 1 to 16 August 1936 in Berlin, then capital of Nazi Germany. Berlin won the bid to ...

. Notable avant-garde patron

Katherine Dreier Katherine Sophie Dreier (September 10, 1877 – March 29, 1952) was an American artist, lecturer, patron of the arts, and social reformer. Dreier developed an interest in art at a young age and was afforded the opportunity of studying art in the ...

collected her work, but much of Steger's unsold work was lost when her studio was destroyed during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

. Just before her death in 1948, Steger was named the honorary president of the

Democratic Women's League of Germany The Democratic Women's League of Germany (, or DFD) was the mass women's organisation in East Germany. It was one of the constituent members of the National Front and sent representatives to the Volkskammer. In 1988, membership was 1.5 million. ...

."Revolt, They Said". www.andreageyer.info.
Retrieved 2017-08-10.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Steger, Milly German women sculptors 1881 births 1948 deaths Art competitors at the 1936 Summer Olympics