Will Faber

Biography

Illustration, publicity, book jackets. Born Rudolf Wilhelm Carl Faber 29 May 1901 in Saarbrücken. 1915-18: studied at the Saarbrücken Kunstgewerbeschule, then lived in Berlin briefly. 1924-5: studied at the Munich Kunstgewerbeschule: a teacher was Fritz Helmuth Ehmcke. 1927-32: worked as a commercial artist; designed publicity for the Schriftmuseum Rudolf Blanckertz, Berlin. From 1932: traveled and worked in Spain, living first in Barcelona (where he designed book jackets and packaging), then Ibiza. 1937: work interrupted by Civil War; returned to Germany (living there to ?1940). By 1951 he had already returned to Barcelona; a late commission was Okakura-Kakuzo’s El Llibre del Te (The Book of Tea) of 1978. Faber was a fine artist from about 1950, and won numerous awards in Spain. For an extensive list see Saur, 2003, pp. 50-51. He died February 1987 in Barcelona.

Writings about

  • ‘Ausstellung Will Faber’, Deutscher Drucker, Nov. 1937, p. 50
    • ‘Es ist höchste Zeit’ (greeting cards), Graphik 10, 1957, pp. 15-23, esp. p. 15
  • Wolfgang Petzet, ‘A German painter in Spain’, Die Kunst und das schöne Heim, Feb. 1960, pp. 178-9
  • Eberhard Hölscher, ‘El Dibujante Will Faber’ (exh. review), Die zeitgemässe Schrift, Berlin/Leipzig: Verlag für Schriftkunde Heintze & Blanckertz., April 1937, pp. 19-34
  • E. Hölscher, ‘The lettercraftsman Will Faber’ (exh. review), Die zeitgemässe Schrift, Berlin/Leipzig: Verlag für Schriftkunde Heintze & Blanckertz., Jan. 1938, pp. 15-21
  • Vollmer, 1961, Allgemeines Künstlerlexikon, Munich/Leipzig: K.G. Saur Verlag, 1990-., 2003.
  • Werner Suhr, ‘Will Faber’, Gebrauchsgraphik (International Advertising Art), Berlin: Phönix Illustrationsdruck und Verlag GmbH (later: ‘Gebrauchsgraphik’ Druck und Verlag GmbH), 1933-71. Published from Munich from 1950., Nov. 1937, pp. 44-52
  • E. Hölscher, ‘Will Faber, Barcelona’, Gebrauchsgraphik (International Advertising Art), Berlin: Phönix Illustrationsdruck und Verlag GmbH (later: ‘Gebrauchsgraphik’ Druck und Verlag GmbH), 1933-71. Published from Munich from 1950., Sept. 1951, pp. 42-5

Exhibitions

  • Schriftmuseum Rudolf Blanckertz, Berlin, 1931, 1937
  • Saarlandmuseum, Saarbrücken, 1959.