HansBierbauer(Oskar)

Untitled

1997
2009

Hans Bierbrauer (alias Oskar) was born in Berlin in 1922. He died in Eutin in 2006. An art graduate and lithographer, he became known for his caricatures and cartoons. He designed the cartoon of the Statue of Liberty in New York at the start of the East Side Gallery, which was painted on the Wall by Lance Keller.

Bierbrauer’s cartoon marking the start of the East Side Gallery shows the Statue of Liberty in New York. But instead of holding a torch, she is balancing a scaled-down Brandenburg Gate on her fingertips. The legend “Brandenburg Gate Berlin” is written on the pedestal. The painting is signed Oskar, Bierbrauer‘s pseudonym. However, it was painted on the Wall by US artist Lance Keller. With this cartoon, Oskar designed a memorable allegory for the fall of the Wall.

Hans Bierbrauer at the Federal Chancellery’s summer party, 1970
Hans Bierbrauer at the Federal Chancellery’s summer party, 1970

Bierbrauer trained to become a lithographer before studying painting at what was then the Hochschule für bildende Künste in Berlin. He started contributing political cartoons to the daily newspapers Berliner Anzeiger and Berliner Morgenpost in 1951, eventually publishing thousands. He became widely known as a cartoonist through his appearances on German TV. Later he devoted himself to oil- and watercolour-painting.

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