German 1925-2003

Karl Spreitz and Herbert Siebner 1972
Image courtesy of the Collection of Karl Spreitz

Herbert Siebner was a leading artist, educator, and socialite who mobilized Victoria’s artists. His eccentric character was evidence of a zest for life and distrust of authority he developed after experiencing Nazi-ruled Germany. When he left Berlin and the Art Academy for Victoria in 1954, he felt a sense of creative freedom: “For the first time I could make all the mistakes in art, all experiments necessary to an artist without having a guilt complex about my teachers and colleagues.” ¹  He initiated The Point Group and exhibited his developing work that progressed from abstract expressionism toward figural characters drawn from antiquity, mythology and personal fables. Siebner’s varied work in painting, printmaking, sgraffito and stone were exhibited internationally and appear in public spaces such as the Student Union Building at the University of Victoria and the Royal BC Museum.

¹Requote from Robin Skelton, Herbert Siebner: A Celebration, 1993

Headstand is Not Walking 1971
Oil on canvas
56 x 72
Gift of Joan Peet