The First Class of Fulbrighters - Fulbright-Kommission

fled back to the perennial California sunshine and to the
Davis Campus of the University of California (which, in those
halcyon days for the humanities, had five new positions in
German!). Even the offer to become the Head of the German
Department at the Chicago Circle Campus of the University
of Illinois several years later could not entice us back to the
Midwest. Everything came full circle with two more Fulbright
awards: a summer seminar in Bonn-Berlin and a travel
grant in conjunction with a visiting professorship to the University
of Exeter, England. It is symbolically significant that
Fulbright should “frame” my entire academic career.
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The fiftieth anniversary of the program, a decade after
my retirement, gave me occasion to rethink the central and
seminal role of the original Fulbright year in my own academic
career and personal development. It is no exaggeration
to conclude that, because of the unique opportunity to
live and learn in Germany with no (or very few) strings
attached, I, personally, had a wonderful life. In the final
analysis, the program offered the grantees even more than
the name “Fulbright” implies: both literally and figuratively
we enjoyed “fuller” and “brighter” futures because of this
initial impetus.
1) Rolls 2) Different types of German university classes 3) Ladies and gentlemen 4) The only faithful one 5) Schwabing, a district of Munich favored by students.
Bierstube, a pub 6) “Is the seat next to you free?” “Yes” “Oh, you are an American.”
Living in Munich
by Ben Freedman
THE COMPOSER PETER ILLICH TCHAIKOVSKY
had Madam von Meck to be his sponsor, his “angel.” My
“angel” was the Fulbright Commission, which, in 1953,
awarded me a grant enabling me to live in Munich, study
at the Akademie der Bildenden Künste and to experience
the culture of Germany.
The complex concerns of a developing young artist
such as earning income, having time for studio work, and
having time for professional growth and development are
collectively difficult problems. The Fulbright grant provided
the support for my ambitious plans to paint, to travel,
and to do studio research. Living in Munich, painting in
classes at the Akademie, attending critiques, and visiting
museums and galleries were rich and nourishing experiences
needed to achieve my hoped for progress.
At the conclusion of the grant duration, I, indeed, felt
successful. I felt completely committed to my life as a
striving painter. I gained more energy and determination
than ever before. I was able to face my future with great
enthusiasm, intensity, and sacred endeavor.
My professor at Washington University in Saint Louis,
Carl Holty, had lived in Munich as a young man and
encouraged me to seek “the great Munich experience.”
The city’s history, traditions, and its development of
modern German art are striking. The city had been to
painters, at the turn of the century, what stars represent to
professional astronomers. Munich’s history of support and
inspiration for painters has deep roots. The local color, as
well as the city’s many museums and collections are stimulating.
The Blue Rider group and many pioneers of modern
European painting have had exciting experience living
in the city of beer, art, crafts and bohemians.
Professor Holty had prepared me to admire and comprehend
this complex city. I was not disappointed with
this fresh new adventure. I enjoyed my work at the Munich
Akademie. The diverse
student body, Professor Ernst
Geitlinger’s instruction in
painting, and exhilarating
visits to museums and galleries
were added rewards. The art
supply shops were splendid.
Painters here were given high
status and priority. Munich
was an artistic Jerusalem for
all painters who accepted the
challenge. This was the city
of Kirchner, Corinth, Nolde,
Kokoschka, and Kandinsky.
Max Beckmann, who taught
at Washington University in
Saint Louis, my alma mater,
also lived in Munich.
MY EXPECTATIONS
were greatly stimulated, my
adrenaline was bubbling!
I was excited and energized by
my new life. I was not at all
uncomfortable in my new
environment and its challenges.
My wife Flo, and I
had felt some anxiety at the
thought of living in Germany.
We are both Jewish. (The end
of World War II and the history
of the Third Reich were
fairly recent.) But, life was
going well for us. We were
learning, experiencing our new
existence, enjoying our new
Benjamin Freedman was born a triplet in
1930, during the Depression. He grew up
in Orleans Parish, Louisiana. Even as he
attended Fortier High School for boys he
was already excited by the visual arts.
Freedman attended Louisiana State University
in Baton Rouge before transferring
to Washington University in St. Louis,
Missouri, influenced by the fact that artist
Max Beckman had taught there. After
graduation and marriage in 1953, his
wife and he traveled to Munich to attend
the Akademie on the sponsorship of the
Fulbright program. After spending two
years in the U.S. Army, Freedman attended
the University of Arizona as a graduate
student. In 1957 he joined the faculty at
West Virginia University teaching painting,
drawing, and design. He retired in
1989 as Professor Emeritus having taught
for thirty-two years. He continues to paint,
to exhibit, and to collect.