Paul Schroëter - Young Girl Bending Over Her Work - Charcoal Drawing - Studio Stamp

Paul Schröeter (1866-1946)

Schröeter came from an old Hamburg family. In the 1880s, he studied at the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf with Eduard von Gebhardt and Adolf Schill. There, he became friends with Fritz Overbeck and became a member of the student association known as "Tartarus," whose occasional publications he illustrated.

Their fellow student Peter Philippi would later describe Tartarus as one of the most important art associations in Düsseldorf, after the professional group Malkasten. From there, he moved on to the Munich Academy of Fine Arts and joined the General German Art Association. He stayed there for a few years, became a member of the Munich Secession, and participated in its first exhibition in 1893. Schroëter made study trips to Holland, Belgium, and Spain and, for a short time, resided in the artists' colony in Willingshausen.

In 1895, he received a large gold medal at the Große Berliner Kunstausstellung. From 1898 to 1901, he lived in Hamburg, where, with Ernst Eitner and Arthur Illies, he co-founded the Hamburgischer Künstlerklub. He also provided commissioned illustrations for the art magazine Jugend. Overbeck was one of several friends who persuaded him to live in the new artists' colony in Worpsweder. He moved there in 1901 with his wife Grete and children.

In 1904, he moved again to Bremen, where he became a member of the Deutscher Künstlerbund. In 1908, he left Bremen and settled near Berlin. He was a member of the Berlin Artists' Association, but very little is known about his later life. Many of his works are in private collections. Most of the others were destroyed during World War II.

Bibliography
- Peter Philippi: The Little City and Its People, Pictures, Experiences, and Pictures. Walter Hädecke Verlag, Stuttgart 1938, pg. 16.
- "The Early Years of the Munich Secession," In: The Art of All, Vol. 15, Bruckmann Verlag, Munich May 1894, pg. 228
- "Schröter, Paul, Painter, Draughtsman, Illustrator, Picture Contributor," In: Jugend. Vol. 33, pg. 553; Vol.40, pg.661; Vol.49, pg.1464 (online).
- Die Kunst, “Von Ausstellungen und Sammlungen - Berlin”, Vol.7, F. Bruckmann