Lindner, Richard (1901-1978), was a German-born American painter. Lindner painted strongly outlined and boldly colored stylized figures that show the influence of the French artist Fernand Leger. Lindner’s works depict the darker aspects he saw in entertainment and street life. Many of these pictures have surrealistic and sexual overtones. In focusing on scenes from everyday life in simplified compositions, Lindner is considered a forerunner and then a strong advocate of Pop Art. Pop Art was an art movement of the 1950’s and 1960’s based on everyday objects from popular culture, such as comic strips and soft drink bottles. Lindner’s work is one of the few connections between the European and the American branches of that style. See Pop Art .
Lindner was born on Nov. 11, 1901, in Hamburg, Germany. He studied art and worked as the art director in a publishing house. In 1933, Lindner left Germany to avoid the Nazis and moved to Paris. In 1939, he was imprisoned as a German alien. He later served briefly in the French army. Lindner moved to the United States in March 1941 and became a successful book and magazine illustrator. In 1950, he began to devote himself to painting full-time. Lindner died on April 16, 1978.
