Peter August Böckstiegel was born into a family of Westphalian farmers; after an apprenticeship as a glazier and painter, he attended the vocational school of the painters' trade union in Bielefeld. There, in Ludwig Godewols, he met a teacher who encouraged his students to visit galleries and museums.

One of his first excursions led Böckstiegel to the Folkwang Museum founded by Karl Ernst Osthaus in Hagen; it was here, in 1909, that he first encountered works by Vincent van Gogh. He was no less impressed by the Sonderbund exhibition, presented in Cologne three years later. At this exceptional survey of contemporary European artistic creation, multiple rooms were dedicated to the work of van Gogh.

But wait, there's more...

Displaying 1,867 of 1,851 characters.

Subscriber Members, please Sign In for full artist biographies and all services.

For non-paying users, good news! Full text bios for all artists are available every Friday.

If you are not currently a member, please See Details about membership.