Gela Forster

Gela Forster (born Angelika Konstanze Maria Bruno Schmitz) Born on August 6, 1893 in Berlin Germany; died December 5, 1957 in New York City

Angelika Schmitz was the second daughter of the singer Lucia Wanda Genelli and the architect Bruno Schmitz.

She began her career as a sculptor under the name, Gela Forster, exhibiting primarily in Berlin and Dresden Germany, She was a founding member and active participant of the Dresden Secession Movement.

German Expressionist artist, Herwarth Walden, valued Gelas, expressionistic, raw, brutish figures. So much so he included one in the 100th Sturm exhibition in Berlin in September 1921.

In 1921 she married the sculptor Alexander Archipenko. The two artists emigrated to America on October 6 1923, arriving at Ellis island on the passenger ship Mongolia.

During the 1940s she taught sculpture in Mexico at Escuela de Belles Artes in San Miguel Allende.

Angelika is buried along side her husband Alexander Archipenko in New York's Woodlawn Cemetery.

Forster's sculptures left in Berlin and Dresden are lost to time, probably destroyed during WW2. There is no evidence of her sculptural work elsewhere. Only a few photos remain a true loss to the 20th century art world.