Fritz Klimsch

German sculptor Fritz Klimsch studied in Berlin and in 1898 co-founded the Berlin Secession. In 1916 he became a senator at the Prussian Academy of Arts and in 1921 a Professor at the United States School in Berlin. While his early work was in art nouveau, Klimsch increasingly turned in later years to classical forms and reached his greatest notoriety for his female nudes. During the Nazi dictatorship, he was one of the most popular sculptors of the regime. After World War II the family first settled in Salzburg, but the Salzburg mayor eventually expelled him, and he moved to Freiburg.

Klimsch came from a Frankfurt artistic and entrepreneurial family as his father Eugen Klimsch (1839-96) was an illustrator and painter, and a grandson of lithographer and painter Ferdinand Klimsch (1812-90). His brothers Karl and Paul were also painters.

When the bronze statue Relaxation was created in 1936, it was titled In wind and sun. A copy of the 148 cm high figure is located in the Berlin Botanical Garden. The Swimmer is likely identical with the Standing female with hands on the hips. The 92 cm high bronze sculpture dates from 1931. The date was adjusted to 1933 for the art competitions.