1921-1925 studies at the Städel School, under the landscape painter Andreas Egersdoerfer and others. 1927 encounter with Otto Mueller in Breslau. Study trips to Italy and Paris. 1928 member of the 'Darmstadt Secession'. Numerous study trips to Spain. 1935 journey through Holland. 1940 meets Alfred Kubin. 1944 destruction of his Frankfurt atelier. Moves to Bischofsheim an der Rhön (Bavaria). 1950-1955 professorship and occasional directorship of the Staatliche Hochschule für Bildende Künste, the Städel School, Frankfurt am Main. 1953-1959 board of directors of the 'Frankfurt Secession'.