ºÚÁÏÉç

Skip navigation

Main menu

  • What's on
  • Art & Artists
    • The Collection
      Artists
      Artworks
      Art by theme
      Media
      Videos
      Podcasts
      Short articles
      Learning
      Schools
      Art Terms
      Tate Research
      Art Making
      Create like an artist
      Kids art activities
      Tate Draw game
  • Visit
  • DISCOVER ART
  • ARTISTS A-Z
  • ARTWORK SEARCH
  • ART BY THEME
  • VIDEOS
  • ART TERMS
  • SCHOOLS
  • TATE KIDS
  • RESEARCH
  • Tate Britain
    Tate Britain Free admission
  • ºÚÁÏÉç
    ºÚÁÏÉç Free admission
  • Tate Liverpool + RIBA North
    Tate Liverpool + RIBA North Free admission
  • Tate St Ives
    Tate St Ives Ticket or membership card required
  • FAMILIES
  • ACCESSIBILITY
  • SCHOOLS
  • PRIVATE TOURS
Tate Logo

Hans Erni

born 1909

Photographs of Ben Nicholson working at Park Hill Road [c.1938]
© Hans Erni

Biography

Hans Erni (February 21, 1909 – March 21, 2015) was a Swiss graphic designer, painter, illustrator, engraver and sculptor.

Born in Lucerne, the third of eight siblings, to a cabin cruiser engineer, he studied art at the Académie Julian in Paris and later in Berlin, and admired artists such as Pablo Picasso and Georges Braque.

He is known for having illustrated postage stamps, his lithographs for the Swiss Red Cross, his participation on the Olympic Committee as well as his activism. His 1939 works and first major public success was a mural titled Switzerland: "Vacation Land of the People" was commissioned and displayed for the national exhibition in Zürich.

The Hans Erni Museum, situated in the grounds of the Swiss Museum of Transport in Lucerne, contains a large collection of artwork, he also designed ceramics and theatre costumes and sets. He did the art for Swiss bank notes, in the 1940s but, after the notes were already printed they were never published, because a member of the State Council of Lucerne criticized that Erni was deemed as a communist. However, Erni was never a member of any political party. In 2004, he was awarded the honorary citizenship of the city of Lucerne. On 10 January 2009 he received the SwissAward for lifetime accomplishment.

In his career, he realized about 300 posters and several murals — including for the 1980 Salon international de l'automobile, Red Cross, IOC, United Nations and ICAO.

He illustrated about 200 books and created 90 postage stamps and 25 medals.

This biography is from Wikipedia under an . Spotted a problem? Let us know.

Sketches, letters, etc.

  • Photographs of Ben Nicholson working at Park Hill Road

    Hans Erni
    [c.1938]
  • Negative of Ben Nicholson working at Chy-an-Kerris, Carbis Bay

    Hans Erni
    °Ú1942–8±Õ
Artwork
Close

Join in

Sign up to emails

Sign up to emails

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google and apply.

°Õ²¹³Ù±ð’s privacy policy

About

  • About us
  • Our collection
  • Terms and copyright
  • Governance
  • ARTIST ROOMS
  • Tate Kids

Support

  • ºÚÁÏÉç
  • Patrons
  • Donate
  • Corporate
  • Press
  • Jobs
  • Accessibility
  • Privacy
  • Cookies
  • Contact
© The Board of Trustees of the Tate Gallery, 2025
All rights reserved