Ernst Gall

Vocation

Family

German architectural historian and monument conservator, who published several books based on his research. In 1923 he founded the Yearbook for Art Science, which he published until 1930. In 1932 he co-founded the Journal of Art History with Wilhelm Waetzoldt. From 1934 onwards Gall was in charge of the Dehio Association in revising Georg Dehio's Handbook of German Art Monuments. After the death of Otto Schmitt in 1951, he became chief editor of the Reallexikon zur Deutschen Kunstgeschichte. From 1920 he was a speaker in the Prussian Ministry of Culture in Berlin, responsible for Eastern issues, modern art, preservation of monuments and castles. In November 1929, he took up a senior position in the Prussian Administration of State Castles and Gardens. In 1933-1934, he was suspended for a year due to his refusal to join the Nazi Party, but then resumed office. In 1945 he resigned because of disagreements with the Soviet occupation authorities. From 1946 until his retirement in 1953 he was head of the museums of the Bavarian Palace Department. In 1947 he became Honorary Professor of History of Architecture at the University of Munich. The art historian Günter Gall (1924-2008) was his son. Ernst Gall died on 5 August 1958 in Munich, aged 70. Link to Wikipedia biography (German)