Hannah Höch, born Anna Therese Johanne Höch in 1889, gained prominence as a pioneering practitioner of photomontage during the Weimar period. While her initial training at the college of Applied Arts in Berlin focused on glass design and graphic arts, she eventually established herself as a central figure in the Dada movement through her critical visual examinations of gender roles.
Early Education and Career
Born in Gotha, Germany, Höch moved to Berlin in 1912 to study under Harold Bergen. Her education was interrupted in 1914 by the outbreak of World War I, during which she performed Red Cross work. She returned to Berlin in 1915 to join Emil Orlik’s graphics class at the National Institute of the Museum of Arts and Crafts. Between 1916 and 1926, she held a position at the publisher Ullstein Verlag, creating designs for periodicals including Die Dame and Die Praktische Berlinerin. This professional experience influenced her artistic technique, as she began incorporating sewing patterns and lace motifs into her collages.
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Höch became involved with the Berlin Dadaists by 1917, ultimately becoming recognized as one of the originators of photomontage—a technique utilizing pasted photographic elements from mass media. Her participation in the 1920 First International Dada Fair faced internal opposition from male colleagues, including George Grosz and John Heartfield, before her eventual inclusion. Her work during this period challenged contemporary societal structures, specifically interrogating the dichotomy of the 'New Woman' and promoting agency for women within the Weimar Republic.
International Relations and Personal Life
Following her seven-year relationship with activist Raoul Hausmann, which ended in 1922, Höch developed a circle of international contacts, including Sonia Delaunay, Piet Mondrian, and László Moholy-Nagy. In 1926, she relocated to The Hague to live with the Dutch writer Mathilda Brugman, a relationship that lasted until 1935. She later married businessman Kurt Matthies in 1938, a marriage that concluded in divorce in 1944.
Late Career and Legacy
Throughout the period of the Third Reich, Höch resided in a garden house in Berlin-Heiligensee, where she maintained a low profile as her work was categorized by authorities as degenerate art. Despite these professional challenges, she continued producing and internationally exhibiting her photomontages until her death in 1978 in Berlin. She is buried at the Heiligensee cemetery, and her former home remains a site accessible to the public during the annual Tag des offenen Denkmals.
Fast facts
- Born: 1889, Gotha, Germany
- Died: 1978, Berlin, West Berlin
- Movement: Dada
- Primary medium: Photomontage
- Education: College of Applied Arts, Berlin
- Employer: Ullstein Verlag
- Resting place: Heiligensee cemetery
Questions readers ask
What was the significance of Höch's photomontage work?
She was an originator of the form, using images from mass media to challenge social structures, gender dichotomies, and the concept of the 'New Woman'.
Did Höch leave Germany during the Third Reich?
No, she remained in Berlin throughout that period, living in a house in the Heiligensee district and continuing her work under difficult conditions.
Achievements
- Movement: Dada
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