Hans Hofmann

Hans Hofmann was born in Weissenberg, Bavaria, Germany on March 21, 1880. As a young man, he worked as a civil servant for the State of Bavaria and produced a number of scientific inventions. In 1898, he moved to Munich to study art. His work attracted patronage from a wealthy collector, which enabled him to live and work in Paris from 1904-1914. Hofmann started an art school in Munich where he taught during and after World War I. In the 1930s, he traveled to the United States to teach at the University of California, Berkeley and the Art Students' League in New York. He became an influential figure in American Abstract Expressionism. Many young artists considered his techniques, such as the "push and pull" color theory, extremely innovative. He died in New York on February 17, 1966.

(Source: Grove Dictionary of Art Online)