Children, Singing, c. 1925

The two childlike nudes are standing next to one another in contrapposto on a plinth. While the boy is looking down, the girl is leaning back with a raised arm. Though the proportions appear classical, the animation associated with the act of singing invests the group with an expressive element. The bronze sculpture Children, Singing marks the beginning of the Austrian artist Georg Ehrlich’s (1897–1966) sculptural oeuvre. Having worked primarily as a painter and graphic artist until 1925, he broadened his artistic spectrum from the mid-1920s. His sculptural work was shaped by his quest for clarity and harmony. As a member of the artists’ association Hagenbund, and receiving vital support from the art historians Erica Tietze-Conrat and Hans Tietze, he exhibited his works frequently at the Zedlitzhalle. In 1937, Ehrlich was forced to emigrate to London.

AK, 2023