Alfred Georg Seidel

Alfred Herbert Georg Seidel (November 1, 1913 – November 20, 2001) was an important German graphic artist and painter whose work encompassed a wide range of artistic forms of expression.

Born on November 1, 1913 in Breslau, Alfred Seidel was taken by his mother Maria to the Upper Silesian town of Scharley or Deutsch-Piekar shortly after the death of his father Otto during the First World War, where he grew up with relatives together with his sister Helene. The formative environment of the coalfields near the then Russian border had a significant influence on his early development.

His talent for art was recognized and encouraged early on, particularly by an attentive drawing teacher during his school years at the Realgymnasium in Beuthen, which he attended from 1924. Seidel felt his calling as an artist at a young age.

After leaving the Realgymnasium shortly before graduating from high school, he began training as a theater painter in 1933. This was followed by engagements at the Upper Silesian Landestheater in Bytom and later at the Stadttheater in Salzburg, where he was the first theater painter and studio manager.

During the Second World War, Seidel was wounded twice and lost his right eye. Despite this disability, his passion for art remained unbroken. He created numerous prints, drawings, paintings, stained glass windows for church rooms and sculptures. His deep love of literature was also reflected in his illustrations and literary works.

After his release from American captivity in 1945, Seidel first found a new home in Sillenbuch and from 1954 in Schorndorf. There he was a member of the Esslingen Artists’ Guild for many years.

Alfred Seidel died on November 20, 2001 in Schorndorf, where he was survived by his wife Elisabeth and his three children Susanne, Matthias and Christoph. In 2017, his heirs bequeathed a significant portion of his works to the town of Schorndorf.