Reimann School

The Reimann School, was a private school of German origin for practical design and the first commercial art school in Britain. Albert and Klara Reimann founded the Reimann School in Berlin in 1902. By 1914 the Reimann Schule as it was then known had developed a successful vocational curriculum that trained students not so much for the Arts and Crafts Movement but for the design aspects of the commercial world. Graphics for printing, window display, stage design, fabric design, and fashion-related classes were offered. Driven from Germany by virulent Nazism the School was re-established at 4-10 Regency Street, London in January 1937. Its teachers included a young Leonard Rosoman, Eric Fraser, and Milner Gray with the poster designer Austin Cooper acting as its first Principal. Occasional lecturers included E. McKnight Kauffer and a young Richard Hamilton later to become a famous Pop Artist worked for a time in the Display Department.

In addition to Cooper, those who taught at the School included John Rowland Barker (graphic design), Natasha Kroll (window display design), Merlyn Evans (painting and graphic art), Robert Harling (lettering and typography), Walter Nurnberg, (photography), Duncan Miller, (interior design). Its alumni included designer Bruce Angrave, Dorrit Dekk, Manfred Reiss and H.A. Rothholz. The School also operated a successful commercial art studio, Reimann Studios, which designed posters and other graphics for the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and Great Western Railway amongst others. The School and studios closed in 1940 following the outbreak of World War II, and in 1943, the School’s premises were destroyed by bombing, a fate which also befell the Reimann Schule in Berlin.