(1881 - 1955) Hermann Max Pechstein began his career as an apprentice to a decorative painter from Zwickau, Germany, in the town where he was born. In 1903, he enrolled in the Dresden Academy, and in 1906, he graduated with top honors and won a scholarship to study in Italy. On his return from Paris, he befriended the Dutch Fauvist painter Kees Van Dongen. In 1906 he joined Die Brucke, ("the bridge" -- a German art movement), and was their only member with a formal art education. In 1910 he moved permanently to Berlin where he was elected president of the Neue Secession. He exhibited at the Berlin Secession in 1912 and was therefore expelled from Die Brucke for having broke their rule of only exhibiting together. In 1914, he traveled to the Palau Islands in the South Seas. While attempting to return to Germany, he was interred in Japan, the United States and Holland. Upon his return, he was drafted into military service and sent to the Somme front but was released early after suffering a nervous collapse. Pechstein produced 850 prints -- 390 lithographs, 290 woodcuts, and 170 etchings. In the early years, Pechstein only printed in very small editions. His often irregular rolling technique resulted in subtle differences between prints, and he also liked to experiment with different colored papers and inks, as well as going back into black and white prints with watercolor.