Wolfgang Heinz Unger

Wolfgang Heinz Unger, born on September 17, 1929 in Halle/Saale and died on July 7, 2019 in Munich, was an outstanding representative of German late Impressionist landscape painting.

Unger spent his formative years in Halle, where he took his first steps in art during his school years under the guidance of William Krannich (1892-1968). From 1945 to 1948, he completed an apprenticeship with Alexander Meuten, a respected craftsman, and then continued his studies at the renowned Burg Giebichenstein art academy.

The call of art drew Unger to West Berlin, where he worked for a picture wholesaler from 1952. At the same time, he began to go on art trips with the Berlin landscape painter Willy Hermann (1895-1963), an experience that broadened his artistic understanding. After his marriage in 1954, Unger founded his own picture wholesaler in Düsseldorf, which sold works of traditional painting as well as his own creations.

Unger’s artistic development was significantly influenced by one important encounter: Otto Pippel, a respected painter who supported him until his death in 1960 and with whom he worked closely. This period also marked the beginning of his own exhibitions, which took place in the 1960s in renowned galleries such as Galerie Schumacher in Munich and Sagert & Co. in Berlin.

After his divorce in 1964, Unger embarked on extensive travels abroad to make landscape studies in various parts of the world, including Europe, Africa, North and South America, India and Thailand. The diversity of these experiences flowed into his works and enriched his artistic repertoire. After his second marriage in 1966, he opened the renowned gallery “Das Gemälde Cabinet” with a highly acclaimed exhibition in Bad Dürkheim in 1972.

From 1972 to 1996, Unger regularly participated in exhibitions with works from the 19th and 20th centuries. Together with his wife Annette, he had two children, Christian and Nicole. After divorcing his second wife in 1998, he concentrated fully on his painting again and gave up his commitment to the “Gemälde Cabinett Unger”.