Sulamith Wülfing

Wülfing considered the religious teacher Jiddu Krishnamurti her spiritual mentor and guide, and believed his influence helped her through difficult times. Wülfing died in 1989 at the age of 88.

Singer/songwriter Stevie Nicks has credited Sulamith Wülfing's art with providing the inspiration for many of her songs, as well as the cover of her 1983 album The Wild Heart. A concert video screen displayed Sulamith Wülfing art images during Stevie's 2005 Gold Dust tour.

During the artist's lifetime, over 200 of her works were published in the form of postcards by the Sulamith Wülfing Verlag. A large-format book with forty color plates, The Fantastic Art of Sulamith Wulfing was edited by David Larkin. Published in 1977, the book is now out of print. During the 1980s, a series of limited edition commemorative plates featuring Wülfing's art were issued. Wülfing also created a series of illustrations for Hans Christian Andersen's story The Little Mermaid.

In 1973 Pete Sinfield, former lyricist of progressive rock band King Crimson, used the painting Big Friend on the front cover of his first solo album Still. The illustration reflects his interest in the balance between fragility and power, clarity and illusion.

Wülfing's work, named Der Kristall (The Crystal), inspired the artwork for the LP Every Good Boy Deserves Favour (1971) by the British band The Moody Blues.

A few of Wülfing's books were published through Bluestar Communications. This publishing company was part of the New Age movement, which was a push for "therapeutic spirituality" in the 1970s.

Her family became separated during the war, when she received a false report of her husband's death on the Russian front and fled to France with her only child; they were later reunited on Christmas 1945. Under the Nazi regime her books were often burned and she was told repeatedly to paint by the rules at the time, which were large heroic scenes with the leader of States.

Early examples of collections of her illustrations include Der Mond ist aufgegangen (The moon has come up) (1933); Christian Morgenstern (1934); Die Truhe (The Chest) (1935); Der Leuchter (The Shining) (1936); Die Schwelle (The Threshold) (1937); and Die kleine Seejungfrau (The Little Mermaid) (1953).

Sulamith Wülfing graduated from the Art College in Wuppertal in 1921, and in 1932 married Otto Schulze, a professor at the Art College. Together, they created the Sulamith Wülfing Verlag (publishing house). During World War II, the industrial area around Wuppertal became a bombing target, and Wülfing's house was destroyed, along with many of her paintings.

Sulamith Wülfing (January 11, 1901 – 1989) was a German artist and illustrator. The author Michael Folz explains that Wülfing's art was a "realistic reflection of the world she lives in: she has seen the angels and elfin creatures of her paintings throughout her life."

Born in Elberfeld, Rhine Province on January 11, 1901 to Theosophist parents Karl and Hedwig Wülfing. She had a sister, Hedwig, who was born in 1905 and died in 1968. For the first five years of her life she and her parents lived in complete seclusion. As a child, Sulamith had visions of angels, fairies, gnomes, and nature spirits. She first began drawing these creatures at the age of four. The visions continued throughout her life, and directly inspired her paintings.