Luitpold Adam der Ältere

Luitpold Adam the Elder (born February 23, 1888, in Munich; died August 20, 1950, in Frauenau) came from a long-established family of painters and artists, which, over many centuries, produced numerous artists. He began his artistic training in 1904/05 at a private drawing school in Munich and continued at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich under professors Gabriel von Hackl, Karl von Marr, and Wilhelm von Thoma. A study trip to Italy influenced his early years, and he began working as a freelance artist in 1911, joining the Munich Artists’ Cooperative in 1912.

During World War I, Adam volunteered and served in France, participating in significant battles such as the Wytschaete/Messines assault and the Battle of Neuve Chapelle. From 1915 in northern France, he documented the war through numerous sketches and photographs and sustained an injury in Verdun in 1916. After the war, Adam worked at the Image and Film Office in Berlin. His affiliation with the NSDAP and the Frontline Combat Artists’ Association led to his participation in a 1937 exhibition in Magdeburg, where he presented works such as “In the Trenches of Messines” and “Patrol.” In 1938, he married Helene Levermann.

During World War II, he led the Painters and Press Artists Group at the Propaganda Reserve Unit in Potsdam, and as the war drew to a close, he preserved the unit’s archive in the Bavarian Forest. Settling in Frauenau, he continued his work as an independent artist and received further commissions. Adam’s legacy includes an extensive body of work, primarily portraits, with around 140 portraits documented. In addition to war scenes and portraits, he also focused on Christian themes and worked as a sculptor for the Rosenthal Porcelain Manufactory in Selb. Among his notable works are portraits of rectors from the University of Cologne, including Ernst Leupold, Erwin Geldmacher, and Hans von Haberer. His realistic portrait style was strongly influenced by the Munich School of Painting. His estate remains in the possession of his family in Munich.