Hummel figurines (also known as M.I. Hummel figurines or simply Hummels) are a series of porcelain figurines based on the drawings of Maria Innocentia Hummel.
Hummel figurines (also known as M.I. Hummel figurines or simply Hummels) are a series of porcelain figurines based on the drawings of Maria Innocentia Hummel.
The sketch art of Maria Innocentia Hummel began to appear in the 1930s in Germany and Switzerland, mostly pastoral drawings of children. The German art publisher Ars Sacra was involved in the early popularization of the art on postcards. Hummel's "art cards" became popular throughout Germany, catching the eye of Franz Goebel, porcelain maker and head of W. Goebel Porzellanfabrik. Goebel acquired rights to turn Hummel's drawing into figurines, producing the first line in 1935. [1] The figurines were introduced at the Leipzig Trade Fair, a major European show for the industry. Goebel was known for presenting new and novel products that attracted American distributors. By the end of the year, 46 M.I. Hummel motifs were on the market, in America sold at Marshall Field & Co. of Chicago and other retailers. [2]
After the end of World War II, the popularity of Hummel figurines grew as American soldiers stationed in West Germany began sending the figurines home as gifts. [3] Nostalgia associated with the figurines and the U.S. soldiers buying them led to Hummel figurines becoming a popular collector's item. Popularity increased even more when the figurines were sold by the Army PX system. As travel to Europe became more commonplace, the figurines, with their folkloric appearance, were often purchased as souvenirs. [4] A vibrant speculator market in Hummel figurines developed in the 1970s, and Hummel figurines skyrocketed in price. [5] M.I. Hummel collector plates made by Goebel and sold by the Goebel Collectors Club, were a prominent item in the Bradford Exchange, an American supplier of collectible plates. [6] Today, figurine offerings include traditional M.I. Hummel figurines, special limited editions, a figurine series featuring Swarovski crystal elements, the Hope Series that donates a portion of the proceeds to the American National Breast Cancer Foundation, [7] Annual Angels, and more. In the United States, prices for authentic M.I. Hummel figurines range from just over $100 for simple figurines to well over $1,000 for larger and more intricate pieces. [8] There is also an active second-hand market for the figurines.
Production of Hummel figurines by Goebel was taken over in early 2009 by Manufaktur Rödental GmbH under the direction of Jörg Köster. [9] [10] Following the 2013 bankruptcy of Manufaktur Rödental, a new international management team took over the M.I. Hummel figurine business in 2014. Figurine production continued in Germany under Hummel Manufaktur GmbH, with North American distribution handled by Newboden Brands. M.I. Hummel figurines continue to be produced in the original factory in Rödental, Germany, where they have been made since 1935. They are still created with the strict oversight of the Convent of Siessen, where M.I. Hummel lived and worked. [11]
In September 2017, this company also declared bankruptcy. [12] On 22 December 2017, it became public news that Bernd Foertsch, a businessman from Kulmbach, intended to acquire Hummel Manufaktur. The acquisition has meanwhile been completed. Bernd Foertsch now wants the company to undergo a process of restructuring. He will put the company's focus on direct sales and an extensive community concept to integrate the huge collectors’ community. [13] The annual production of figurines will be reduced from 55,000 to 20,000. Moreover, no figurine smaller than ten centimeters or less than €100 will be manufactured.
In 1977, The Goebel Collector's Club was founded in the U.S. The club was to be an information service for the growing number of M.I. Hummel collectors. In 1989, the Club expanded internationally, and the name changed to the M.I. Hummel Club. Still in operation today, the club offers an array of membership benefits including a quarterly magazine, INSIGHTS, and Club Exclusive figurines created just for members. A free gift figurine is sent every year to those who join or renew their membership. There are Club Conventions, a European travel program and other benefits. A network of Local Chapters was organized in 1978 and spread across North America and the world. Local Chapter members meet in person to share knowledge and friendship. [14]
Many books and price guides have been published about Hummel figurines. [15] Some of these works supported the secondary market interest of collector speculators; The Official M.I. Hummel Price Guide: Figurines and Plates, 2nd Edition, by Heidi Ann Von Recklinghausen is a current price guide, published in 2013. Another respected guide, The No. 1 Price Guide to M.I. Hummel, written by Robert L. Miller, was last updated as a 10th Edition in 2006. [16]
The bestselling quarto-size art book about Hummel figurines, Hummel: The Complete Collector's Guide and Illustrated Reference, was authored by author Eric Ehrmann, who conducted extensive interviews with members of the family of Maria Innocentia Hummel and visited her ancestral home in Massing, Bavaria. Author Eric Ehrmann also visited the Kloster Siessen where Hummel lived and sketched in Saulgau and interviewed Radegundis Wespel, the director of the convent. He also conducted extensive research at the archives of W. Goebel Porzellanfabrik at Roedental, Bavaria, West Germany and interviewed workers as well as executives of the company including Wilhelm Goebel himself. The large art book format featuring life-size color photography of the figurines was an overnight success in the summer of 1976 when it was published by the Portfolio Press of Huntington, New York.
A later volume, The Hummel Album, was published in 1992 by Portfolio Press. A team of writers, designers and photographers worked with the figurine manufacturer to tell the M.I. Hummel story. [17]
Das Berta-Hummel-Museum im Hummelhaus opened in 1994 in the Hummel family home in Massing, Germany, the birthplace of the artist Berta Hummel, later known as Maria Innocentia. Berta Hummel's nephew Alfred Hummel and his daughter, Veronika direct the museum which houses the largest collection of M.I. Hummel figurines in Europe as well as the paintings and drawings of Berta Hummel completed before she joined the Convent. [18]
Donald Stephens, longtime mayor of Rosemont, Illinois, United States, was a prolific collector of Hummel figurines. In 1984, Stephens donated his collection to the Village of Rosemont to be displayed in a museum. The Donald E. Stephens Museum of Hummels opened in its current location in Rosemont on March 13, 2011. [19] The museum purports to be the largest collection of Hummel figurines in the world. [20]
Rockwell Kent was an American painter, printmaker, illustrator, writer, sailor, adventurer and voyager.
Frederic George Stephens was a British art critic, and one of the two 'non-artistic' members of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood.
Emilie Cosman, known as Milein Cosman, was a German-born artist based in England. She was best known for her drawings and prints of leading cultural figures, dancers and musicians in action, such as Francis Bacon, Mikhail Baryshnikov, T. S. Eliot and Igor Stravinsky.
Meissen porcelain or Meissen china was the first European hard-paste porcelain. Early experiments were done in 1708 by Ehrenfried Walther von Tschirnhaus. After his death that October, Johann Friedrich Böttger continued von Tschirnhaus's work and brought this type of porcelain to the market, financed by Augustus the Strong, King of Poland and Elector of Saxony. The production of porcelain in the royal factory at Meissen, near Dresden, started in 1710 and attracted artists and artisans to establish, arguably, the most famous porcelain manufacturer known throughout the world. Its signature logo, the crossed swords, was introduced in 1720 to protect its production; the mark of the swords is reportedly one of the oldest trademarks in existence.
Maria Innocentia Hummel was a German Franciscan sister and artist. She is noted for her paintings which were the basis for Hummel figurines.
The etching revival was the re-emergence and invigoration of etching as an original form of printmaking during the period approximately from 1850 to 1930. The main centres were France, Britain and the United States, but other countries, such as the Netherlands, also participated. A strong collector's market developed, with the most sought-after artists achieving very high prices. This came to an abrupt end after the 1929 Wall Street crash wrecked what had become a very strong market among collectors, at a time when the typical style of the movement, still based on 19th-century developments, was becoming outdated.
Sir Muirhead Bone was a Scottish etcher and watercolourist who became known for his depiction of industrial and architectural subjects and his work as a war artist in both the First and Second World Wars.
Anthony Frederick Augustus Sandys, usually known as Frederick Sandys, was a British painter, illustrator, and draughtsman, associated with the Pre-Raphaelites. He was also associated with the Norwich School of painters.
The Nymphenburg Porcelain Manufactory is located at the Nördliches Schloßrondell in one of the Cavalier Houses in front of the Nymphenburg Palace in Munich, Germany, and since its establishment in 1747 has produced porcelain of high quality. It is one of the last porcelain producers in the world where every single part is made entirely by hand.
Donald E. Stephens was the first village president (mayor) of Rosemont, Illinois, US. He was also a leading Illinois Republican politician.
Gerhard Skrobek is best known as the premier artisan of Hummel figurines since the Second World War. Skrobek was born in Leobschütz, in Upper Silesia and studied art in Berlin. Skrobek worked for the Goebel company in Rödental, Germany between 1951 and 2002 and designed many of the figurines eagerly sought by collectors.
Kenneth Price was an American artist who predominantly created ceramic sculpture. He studied at the Chouinard Art Institute and Otis Art Institute in Los Angeles, before receiving his BFA degree from the University of Southern California in 1956. He continued his studies at Chouinard Art Institute in 1957 and received an MFA degree from New York State College of Ceramics at Alfred University in 1959. Kenneth Price studied ceramics with Peter Voulkos at Otis and was awarded a Tamarind Fellowship.
Panini is an Italian company that produces books, comics, magazines, stickers, trading cards and other items through its collectibles and publishing subsidiaries. It is headquartered in Modena, Italy, and named after the Panini brothers who founded it in 1961. Panini distributes its own products, and products of third party providers. Panini maintains a Licensing Division to buy and resell licences and provide agency for individuals and newspapers seeking to purchase rights and comic licences. Through Panini Digital the company uses voice-activated software to capture football statistics, which is then sold to agents, teams, media outlets and video game manufactures.
Ralph Mallory Kovel was an American author of 97 books and guides to antiques, co-authored with his wife, Terry Kovel. They wrote a nationally syndicated collectibles column that began in 1955, which is still in production as of 2022.
Robert William Olszewski is a painter and miniatures artist who has worked with Disney, Enesco, and other companies.
California pottery includes industrial, commercial, and decorative pottery produced in the Northern California and Southern California regions of the U.S. state of California. Production includes brick, sewer pipe, architectural terra cotta, tile, garden ware, tableware, kitchenware, art ware, figurines, giftware, and ceramics for industrial use. Ceramics include terra cotta, earthenware, porcelain, and stoneware products.
Kewpie is a brand of dolls and figurines that were conceived as comic strip characters by cartoonist Rose O'Neill. The illustrated cartoons, appearing as baby cupid characters, began to gain popularity after the publication of O'Neill's comic strips in 1909, and O'Neill began to illustrate and sell paper doll versions of the Kewpies. The characters were first produced as bisque dolls in Waltershausen, Germany, beginning in 1912, and became extremely popular in the early 20th century.
R. John Wright Dolls is an art doll making workshop located in Bennington, Vermont. Established in 1976, R. John Wright Dolls (RJW) is a privately held company founded by R. John Wright.