Growing up with a mother who has always painted, lawyer Nicholas Hanna never thought much of the paint pots strewn around the house, or the paintings that covered the walls of his home. A serendipitous incident that saw one of Dorle Lindner’s paintings being sold to a client began his journey to bring her talent to the world.
SINGAPORE (JAN 17): It was 1965, and young artist Dorle Lindner was bored. Her fine arts education at Munich’s prestigious Academy of Fine Arts held no more surprises for her — it was too rigid, too regimented. She was tired of painting pictures like ‘A Man Walking with His Umbrella in the Rain.’ “Bored stiff,” was how she put it.
In 1966, six weeks after she was enrolled into the academy, she packed her bags, quit school, and set off for New York. She had heard of the rise of abstract impressionism there and wanted to learn more about the movement. Her father was absolutely furious. Kurt Lindner was a wealthy industrialist who had survived the ravages of war-time Berlin to rebuild the family fortune, and his daughter’s behaviour was totally unbecoming of a young lady from a well-heeled family. Incensed that Dorle had quit the academy, Kurt refused to support her in any way, thinking that without money she would quickly return to Germany and art school. Yet Dorle not only persisted, but thrived in New York. She got a day job as a mail clerk at the famous Plaza Hotel, and spent her free time visiting museums and learning English.
The luxurious and iconic hotel, a staple among dignitaries and celebrities, was where Dorle met David Douglas Duncan, a renowned photographer who had previously documented the works of the legendary abstract artist Pablo Picasso. She approached Duncan without any hesitation and showed him her portfolio. Among her work were some produced on scraperboard — an art form of direct engraving which involves scratching a blank ink surface with a scalpel to reveal the white chalk beneath. Duncan immediately recognised the conceptual and intellectual similarities between the Spanish master and Dorle. He took some of her samples and went away for a few weeks. She did not hear from him for some time and life went on, eventually bringing her back to Germany in March 1967, where she continued working on her art.
Then, a wrongly-dialled number set the wheels of love spinning, sending her on a different path. One Gregory Hanna, a Greek living in England, had dialled long-distance to a wrong number in Germany while trying to order some auto spare parts. That wrong number was Dorle’s. Intrigued by her well-spoken English on the other line, he persisted for several hours on the phone despite the misdial. The next day, he was on a plane to Germany for the weekend to meet Dorle, and two weeks later, they were married.
Years passed, and Duncan finally returned with news — he wanted to feature her in a book titled The Magic Worlds of Fantasy. The 112-page book took some time to edit and prepare. By the time it was published, it was 1978 and Dorle had become a mother of two boys, aged eight and four. Exhibitions were planned and the organisers wanted her to make appearances and showcase her talent, but she declined. Her focus was on her family. The published book featured Dorle’s early scraperboard works alongside those of three other abstract artists. In the book, Duncan described an incident in which he showed her works to Picasso. The famous artist remarked: “She has her own world, too.”
LINDNER ART