Born into an assimilated German-Jewish family in 1918, Klaus Meyer immigrated to England in 1938. Partway through studying graphics at the Central School of Arts and Crafts in London he was interned in Shropshire, then in Onchan Camp on the Isle of Man (1940-42), where despite his youth and inexperience he assisted with teaching art to his fellow internees. He also produced many lively sketches of daily camp life, often in a humorous vein, depicting the communal latrines, or outdoor scenes where the internees are endowed with a heroic quality - noble workmen with rolled shirt-sleeves - on the reverse of lengths of floral wallpaper stripped from camp walls. Meyer also sketched portraits of his fellow internees, including the musicologist Hans Keller, composer Hans Gal, and the young violinist, Peter Schidlof, as well as his own sensitive self-portrait. As with a number of other interned artists, including Josef Otto Flatter and FHK Henrion, Meyer eventually recorded his oral testimony, recalling his time in internment. He commented that being in camp wasn't so bad for him - of course he resented it deeply but nevertheless came out healthier then when he arrived, on a diet of herring and potatoes, outdoor exercise and cultural stimulation. He also recalled that his greatest fear on seeing the British soldiers in the camp watchtowers was imagining that the khaki uniforms would mutate into the hated black of the German SS. After release, Meyer studied painting and then printmaking at the Slade School of Fine Art, taking up woodcuts in his mid-30s. Meyer's printmaking is distinguished by its bold formal characteristics. Girl in Red is based on an earlier portrait of his young daughter Rachel, set in their Hampstead garden.
Interned Artists: Ben Uri and the 80th Anniversary of Internment
Forthcoming exhibition
