THE ELKE SOMMER ARTWORKS

You are visitor number: 

COPYRIGHT © 1998 by Elke Sommer

ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

---

 

Welcome to THE ELKE SOMMER ARTWORKS. In addition to being a well-known actress, Ms. Sommer has dedicated herself to producing her own unique-style of art. Elke's art has been presented in 39 one-woman shows and she hosted the 13 part series "Painting with Elke" on PBS. A select number of Ms. Sommer's orignals have been reproduced as limited edition prints, serigraphs or lithographs.
THE ARTWORKS contains information on Ms. Sommer and her art and includes currently available artwork. This site is exclusively authorized to display, promote and sell Ms. Sommer's artwork.
 

The following links will take you to different places in the ELKE SOMMER ARTWORKS. Just click on any of the following items and your journey will begin.

ELKE SOMMER
(Art Biography)

"I'd rather be known as a painter who acts than as an actress who paints," says actress Elke Sommer.

Elke was born in Berlin, the only child of a Lutheran minister named Peter Schletz and his wife, Renata Topp. Pfarrer Schletz descended from one of the oldest families in Germany and the family coat of arms is dated 1225. Although she has never used the title Elke could, if she wished, be called Baroness.

By the end of World War II Elke's family moved to Niederndorf, a typical country village with red roofed houses and storks nesting on chimneys. On Sundays she attended services in her father's church, one of the oldest in Germany.

A precocious child, Elke was able to recite Christmas songs by the age of one. By the time she was two years old she was making up her own poems.

Elke remembers her childhood as the happiest time of her life. Her family was poor but then, she says, so was everyone else. Although an only child she was never lonely. Her parents allowed her to have as many friends and pets as she wished. At one time she shared the bedroom-living room with two dogs, a cat, hedgehog, guinea pig and two pet mice who lived under the couch on which she slept.

After school and on vacations she played in the beautiful fields, meadows and woods surrounding the village. It was there she saw the gypsies she so often portrays in her work.

Encouraged by her parents, Elke began to paint with water colors on sheets of school paper. Her mother still has some of her early attempts at portraying the almost fairy tale world that was her life and would later become a vivid part of her memory.

A typical tomboy wearing hand me down clothes contributed by neighbors and relatives, Elke did not own a dress until she was almost thirteen years old. She went to one of the best gymnasiums (high schools) in Germany where she studied Latin and Greek for nine years. On Saturdays she took art lessons from Peter Bina, a family friend who was a noted painter.

Elke's father died when she was fourteen. Three years later she graduated from high school and decided to become an interpreter. She arranged to go to England as an au pair girl or mother's helper so she could study English. She worked for $4 a week for more than a year and scored well on her High Cambridge Exams.

Away from home, Elke was lonely and often sad. During her limited spare time she began to recall, in watercolors, the happy scenes of her childhood. This was a pattern she has continued until today: when sad she paints happy scenes and when happy she paints sad scenes. In all of her paintings there is a recurring religious motif, usually expressed by the inclusion of a cross or church in her work. This is a direct tribute to the memory of her beloved father.

Soon after her eighteenth birthday Elke went on vacation to Viareggio, Italy where she was discovered for films by the famous Italian director, Vittorio de Sica. She worked and lived in Rome for nine months. While waiting on film sets or on days off she continued painting but in a new medium, oils.

As an actress she worked in half a dozen countries learning the language (she speaks seven languages fluently) and storing up images which, later, she would express on canvas.

In 1963, Elke came to Hollywood to star opposite Paul Newman in her first American film "The Prize." She didn't know anyone in America and lived alone in a large rented house in Beverly Hills with only two mices for companions. Homesick and lonely, she spent hours of solitude feverishly painting the remembered happy scenes of her childhood. Carl Foreman, director of "The Prize", was the first person to purchase one of her paintings.

After her marriage in 1964 to an American journalist she settled down in Beverly Hills in a large house with a huge living room with tempting bare walls. Elke started to paint in earnest using anything at hand for a canvas. Some of her early works were on her husband's shirt cardboards, on wrapping paper and boards. Only a few were on canvas but they all had a central theme: they were a projection of her childhood combined with fantasies about the way life should be. The illustrious Italian painter Amen, who was then living in Los Angeles, helped her to develop the style for which she is now so well known.

On sunny days Elke who is a nature lover painted in the nude in her enclosed backyard. She had discovered acrylics and worked without an easel. She layed the canvas flat on the ground or on the living room floor. Soon the walls of the living room were hung with her works. Friends who saw them suggested she have a one woman show. That first show in 1965 at the McKenzie Galleries in Beverly Hills was a success. She sold eighteen of thirty paintings and local art critics were generous with their acclaim. Her biggest compliment, however, came when she was told that a man who bought one of her large canvases asked about the artist. He didn't know that Elke Sommer was also star of seventy feature films.

Since that first showing, Elke has had thirty-nine woman shows at such prominent galleries as: The California Museum of Art, Science and Industry; Beach Nash Gallery, Beverly Hills; Schumacher Galleries, Munich; Bayerischer Hof, Munich; Galeria Del Arte Moderna, Rome; Kunsthaus, Berlin; Marshall Fields, Chicago; Center Art Gallery, Honolulu; Mid-Town Gallery, Chicago. Her most recent show in April 1998 at Richard Danskin Galleries, Palm Desert, CA.

In 1988 she was also commissioned to do a painting of Stockholm for the Norway Chamber of Commerce. She also starred in a widely acclaimed series of instructional half-hour shows on painting for PBS called "Painting with Elke".

Critics have always given Elke fulsome praise but she is more interested in public acceptance. At an early showing, George Bach, a prominent psychiatrist, bought one of Elke's paintings to hang in his waiting room. "It expresses closeness and communication, just what I am seeking to get across to may patients," he said. "In each of Elke's painting the people are in group contact, physically close or touching and relating to each other. That's what life is all about."
 
 

To millions of fans, Elke is more than the star of seventy feature films and many of television's most successful mini-series.

Elke is also ...

• An accomplished artist. Her critically acclaimed work has been featured in 39 one-woman shows in major galleries throughout the world. Recently, she hosted a series, "Painting With Elke", on national television and has authored a book on painting.
• A prize winning race car driver and hostess of the nationally syndicated television show, "The World Of Speed And Beauty."
• An award winning dramatic, as well as comedic, actress who continues to set house records in America and Europe for her roles in the theater. Elke is the recipient of some of America and Germany's most coveted acting awards.
• A splendid stage director, she is highly regarded in the theater on both continents.
• Dubbed "The Brute" by Sports Illustrated because of her play on the court, she is a top-ranked celebrity tennis player and golfer : voracious and competitive.
• As a much sought-after international celebrity, she recently hosted "The Berlin Film Festival," to great acclaim.
• The Singer. She has recorded best-selling albums in four of her five fluent languages.

--- Then, there is the private Elke, the person only a few of her fans know. The Elke who raises cymbidiums and roses in the lush gardens of her two acre estate in exclusive Bel Air. The Elke who spent a recent New year's Eve mid-wifing the birth of a litter of seven puppies when their mother was in distress. And Elke, the much regarded Beverly Hills hostess - an invitation to her home is much sought-after in Hollywood.

Elke Schletz was born in Berlin to a Lutheran Minister and his wife. Her father was the last member of a family famous during the Middle ages as robber barons. While Elke, through her lineage, is a "Baroness," she elects not to use this title.

After the war, the Schletz family was evacuated to Erlangen, a small university town in the south of Germany. Circumstances, far from good or even decent, forced them to make their home in a one-room basement apartment. Frau Schletz took in washing to help the family survive. Meals often consisted of potatoes regarded as too small to harvest. At that time, Elke's most memorable Christmas present was a shiny red apple her father had traded for his watch. Pfarrer Schletz determined that his only child would have the best possible education, enrolled her in the prestigious Gymnasium School in Erlangen. Within a student body of 500, Elke was one of the only two girls enrolled. She studied classical Greek and Latin for nine years. It was this formal training that formed her extraordinary facility for languages.

Elke's first ambition was to become an interpreter for the United Nations. Her father's death at 14 precluded further formal education. So off she set to England to be an au pair, to perfect her English and earn a living. Her salary was the equivalent of $4.00 per week. During the day she cared for her privileged young charges. Three nights a week she studied for her High Cambridge Exams in English.

Soon after receiving her diploma, Elke and her mother traveled to Italy for a holiday. While dining at a small cafe in the town of Viareggio, someone pinned a ribbon on her and asked her to stand. The entire cafe began to applaud. Unaware of her instant celebrity status, she learned that she had been chosen "Miss Viareggio." Surely this statuesque blond stood out in this small Mediterranean village. Elke laughed it off, taking it all in stride. Two days later, a man came to the door of their pensione, stating that he was a representative of renowned Italian film director, Vittoria de Sica. Seeing Elke's photograph in a local newspaper, de Sica was so taken with the young woman's beauty that he wanted her for a film he was shooting in Rome. Elke's mother sent the man away, but he returned later in the day with his wife to prove that he was legitimate. The money de Sica offered for the small role was enough to pay for another full year of tuition. Elke accepted. At that time, she had no intentions of becoming an actress and was certain that this bubble would soon burst. It did not. Offers for additional roles continued. She subsequently changed her name to Sommer because it was easier for the Italians to pronounce and remained in Rome to perfect her Italian.

After making several films in Italy, Elke was offered a starring role in the British film " Don't Bother To Knock," with Richard Todd.

On her way, she was soon hailed as the new European sex bomb. It was then she joined the list of stars whose first names suffice - like Gina, Sophia, Brigitte and Liz.

Just about this time Carl Foreman cast her in her first American film, "The Victors." Immediately following she went on to starring a role in "The Prize," opposite Paul Newman and "A Shot In The Dark", with Peter Sellers.

Elke moved to Los Angeles, made her home in Bel Air and achieved international stardom.

Through the years she has starred in numerous feature films, movies for television, mini-series and guest starred on many television series. She has performed on stage here and abroad as well as directed many stage productions.

This brings us to the present - Elke continues to maintain an extraordinary professional schedule. One may wonder, with the rigorous demands of her career, how can she balance the need for her treasured private life? In August of 1993, she married hotelier Wolf Walther. In the role of husband and sole mate, Wolf has become both an anchor and a sail to his wife providing a solid home base for the private Elke and a passionate supporter of the public Elke.

Never entirely comfortable with her image as a sexy blonde, Elke has moved into a far more natural milieu with the range of challenging roles and characters she now undertakes. Each broadens her and deepens her awareness of her own self.

In a career rich with achievements and accolades, Elke continues to see new challenges. In spite of all that she has accomplished to date, Elke is confident: The best is yet to come.

L'Amico Del Giaguaro
YEAR: 1958
DIRECTOR: Giuseppe Bennati
ACTORS: Isabelle Corey, Gabriella Pallota, Mario Carotenuto, Walter Chiari, Tony Dallara, Carlo Romano

Uomini E Nobiluomini
YEAR: 1958
DIRECTOR: Giorgio Bianchi
ACTORS: Silvia Pinal, Mario Carotenuto, Antonio Cifariello, Vittorio De Sica

Urlatori Alla Sbarra
YEAR: 1959
DIRECTOR: Lucio Fulci
ACTORS: Mina, Chet Baker, Adriano Celentano, Giacomo Furia, Joe Sentieri

Regazzi Del Juke Biox
YEAR: 1959
DIRECTOR: Lucio Fulci
ACTORS: Fred Buscaglione, Mario Carotenuto, Adriano Celentano, Tony Dallara, Antonio De Teffe

Das Totenschiff
YEAR: 1959
DIRECTOR: Georg Tressler
ACTORS: Mario Adorf, Horst Buchholz, Werner Buttler, Helmut Schmid

La Pica Sul Pacifico
YEAR: 1959
DIRECTOR: Roberto Montero
ACTORS: Tina Pica, Silvio Bagolini, Memmo Carotenuto, Matteo Spinola, Ugo Tognazzi

Am Tag, als der Regen kam
YEAR: 1959
DIRECTOR: Gerd Oswald
ACTORS: Corny Collins, Mario Adorf, Gert Froebe, Claus Wilkke, Christian Wolff

Femmine Di Lusso
YEAR: 1960
DIRECTOR: Giorgio Bianchi
ACTORS: Caprice Chantal, Belinda Lee, Walther Chiari, Ivan Desny, Ufgo Tognazzi

Don't Bother to Knock

YEAR: 1960

DIRECTOR: Cyril Francis

ACTORS: Judith Anderson, Nicole Maurey, Jane Thorburn, Richard Todd

Lampenfieber

YEAR: 1960

DIRECTOR: Kurt Hoffmann

ACTORS: Dunja Movar, Antje Weisgerber, Gustav Knuth, Bernhard Wicki

Saffo, Venere Di Lesbos

YEAR: 1960

DIRECTOR: Pietro Francisci

ACTORS: Susy Golgi, Tina Louise, Riccardo Garrone, Kerwin Matthews, Enrico Maria Salerno

Himmel, Amor und Zwirn

YEAR: 1960

DIRECTOR: Ulrich Erfurt

ACTORS: Grit Boettcher, Hannelore Schroth, Ann Smyrner, Hartmut Reck

Und so was nennt sich Leben

YEAR: 1960

DIRECTOR: Richard August

ACTORS: Karin Baal, Hedi Finkenzeller, Michael Hinz, Wolfgang Lukschy

Cafe Oriental

YEAR: 1961

DIRECTOR: Rudolf Schundler

ACTORS: Trude Herr, Jerome Courtland, Walter Gross, Bill Ramsey

De Qoi Tu Te Meles, Daniela

YEAR: 1961

DIRECTOR: Max Pecas

ACTORS: Kathee Haack, Claire Maurier, Ivan Desney, Danik Patisson

Douce Violence

YEAR: 1961

DIRECTOR: Max Pecas

ACTORS: Claire Mauier, Pierre Brice, Christian Pezey, Vittorio Prada

Auf Wiedersehen

YEAR: 1961

DIRECTOR: Harald Philipp

ACTORS: Gert Froebe, Joachim Fuchsberger, Guenter Pfitzmann

Geliebte Hochstaplerin

YEAR: 1962

DIRECTOR: Akos von Rathony

ACTORS: Loni Heuser, Nadja Tiller, Walter Giller, Dietmar Schoenherr

Les Bricoleurs

YEAR: 1962

DIRECTOR: Jean Girault

ACTORS: Francis Blanche, Darry Cowl

Nachts ging das Telefon

YEAR: 1962

DIRECTOR: Geza von Cziffra

ACTORS: Ingrid Andree, Loni Heuser, Guenther Pfitzmann, Guenter Philipp, Leonard Steckel

Un chien dans un jeu de quilles

YEAR: 1962

DIRECTOR: Fabien Collins

ACTORS: Sophie Daumier, Comacico, Christian Marquand

Das Maedchen und der Staatsanwalt

YEAR: 1962

DIRECTOR: Juergen Goslar

ACTORS: Paul Dahlke, Goetz George, Wolfgang Preiss, Fritz Tillmann

Verfuehrung am Meer

YEAR: 1962

DIRECTOR: Jovan Zivanovic

ACTORS: Peter van Eyck

Bahia Di Palma

YEAR: 1962

DIRECTOR: Juan Bosch

ACTORS: Teresa del Rio, Arturo Fernandez

... denn die Musik und die Liebe in Tirol

YEAR: 1963

DIRECTOR: Werner Jacobs

ACTORS: Hannelore Auer, Vivi Bach, Corny Collins, Thomas Adler, Claus Biederstaedt

The Victors

YEAR: 1963

DIRECTOR: Carl Foreman

ACTORS: Senta Berger, Jeanne Moreau, Melina Mercouri, Romy Schneider, Vincent Edwards, Albert Finney, George Hamilton, George Peppard

The Prize

YEAR: 1963

DIRECTOR: Mark Robson

ACTORS: Diana Baker, Micheline Presle, Paul Newman, Edward G. Robinson

A Shot In The Dark

YEAR: 1963

DIRECTOR: Blake Edwards

ACTORS: Tracy Reed, Herbert Lom, George Sanders, Peter Sellers

The Heroes of Telemark

YEAR: 1964

DIRECTOR: A. Mann, G. Woxhot

ACTORS: Ulla Jacobson, Kirk Douglas, Richard Harris, Michael Redgrave

Unter Geiern

YEAR: 1964

DIRECTOR: Alfred Vohrer

ACTORS: Walter Barnes, Pierre Brioce, Goetz George, Stewart Granger

The Art of Love

YEAR: 1964

DIRECTOR: Norman Jewison

ACTORS: Angie Dickinson, Ethel Merman, Dick van Dyke, James Garner

The Money Trap

YEAR: 1964

DIRECTOR: Burt Kennedy

ACTORS: Rita Hayworth, Joseph Cotten, Glenn Ford, Ricardo Montalban

Le Bambole

YEAR: 1965

DIRECTOR: Mauro Bolognini, Luigi Com,encini, Franco Rossi, Dino Risi

ACTORS: Virna lisi, Gina Lollobrigida, Monica Vitti, Piero Focaccia

Tausend Takte Uebermut

YEAR: 1965

DIRECTOR: Ernst Hofbauer

ACTORS: Hannelore Auer, Vivi Bach, Thomas Adler, Rex Gildo, Guenther Philipp

Hotel der toten Gaeste

YEAR: 1965

DIRECTOR: Eberhard Itzenplitz

ACTORS: Karin Dor, Gisela Uhlen, Claus Biederstaedt, Joachim Fuchsberger, Frank Latimore

The Oscar
YEAR: 1965
DIRECTOR: Russelll Rouse
ACTORS: Eleanor Parker, Tony Bennett, Milton Berle, Stephen Boyd

Boy, Did I Get the Wrong Number
YEAR: 1965
DIRECTOR: George Marshall
ACTORS: Bob Hope, Phylis Diller, Marjorie Lord, Cesare Danova

Deadlier than the Male
YEAR: 1966
DIRECTOR: Ralph Thomas
ACTORS: Sylvia Koscina, Suzanne Leigh, Nigel Green, Richard Johnson

Les Corrompos
YEAR: 1966
DIRECTOR: Frank Winterstein
ACTORS: Nancy Kwan, Maurizio Arena, Christian Marquand, Robert Stack

The Venetian Affair
YEAR: 1966
DIRECTOR: Jerry Thorpe
ACTORS: Ed Asner, Karlheinz Boehm, Boris Karloff, Robert Vaughn

Las Vegas 500 Milliones
YEAR: 1967
DIRECTOR: Antonio Isasi
ACTORS: Lee J. Cobb, Cary Lockwood, Jack Palance, Jean Servais

The Wicked Dreams of Paula Schultz
YEAR: 1967
DIRECTOR: George Marshall
ACTORS: John Banner, Bob Crane, Joey Forman, Werner Klemperer

The Wrecking Crew
YEAR: 1968
DIRECTOR: Phil Karlson
ACTORS: Nancy Kwan, Sharon Tate, Nigel Green, Dean Martin

The Invincible Six
YEAR: 1969
DIRECTOR: Jean Negulesco
ACTORS: Curd Juergens, Stuart Whitman

Zeppelin
YEAR: 1970
DRIECTOR: Etienne Perier
ACTORS: Peter Carsten, Anton Diffring, Marious Goring, Michael York

Jamaican Gold
YEAR: 1971
DIRECTOR: Henry Levin
ACTORS: Jeremy Kemp, Rod Taylor, Stuart Whitman, Keenan Wynn

Percy
YEAR: 1971
DIRECTOR: Ralph Thomas
ACTORS: Pauline Delany, Janet Key, Hywell Bennett, Benholm Elliot

Gli Orrori Del Castello Di Norimberga
YEAR: 1972
DIRECTOR: Mario Bava
ACTORS: Antonio Cantafora, Alan Collins, Joseph Cotten, Massimo Girotti

Die Reise nach Wien
YEAR: 1973
DIRECTOR: Edgar Reitz
ACTORS: Hannelore Elsner, Mario Adorf, Nicolas Brieger, Heinz Reincke

Einer von uns beiden
YEAR: 1973
DIRECTOR: Wolfgang Petersen
ACTORS: Ortrud Beginnen, Ulla Jacobson, Juergen Prochnow, Klaus Schwarzkopf

Percy's Progress
YEAR: 1974
DIRECTOR: Ralph Thomas
ACTORS: Judy Geeson, Harry H. Corbett, Denholm Elliot, Leigh Lawson, Vincent Price

Ein Unbekannter rechnet ab
YEAR: 1974
DIRECTOR: Peter Collinson
ACTORS: Stephane Audran, Charles Aznavour, Richard aTtenborough, Gert Froebe, Oliver Reed

Carry on Behind
YEAR: 1975
DIRECTOR: Gerald Thomas
ACTORS: Joan Sims, Bernard Bresslaw, Windsor Davies, Jack Douglas, Kenneth Williams

Das Netz
YEAR: 1975
DIRECTOR: Manfred Purzer
ACTORS: Susanne Uhlen, Heinz Bennent, Mel Ferrer, Klaus Kinski

La Casa Dell'Esorcsmo
YEAR: 1975
DIRECTOR: Mario Bava
ACTORS: Silva Koscina, Alessio Orano, Telly Savalas

The Swiss Conspiracy
YEAR: 1975
DIRECTOR: Jack Asrnold
ACTORS: Senta Berger, David Janssen, John Ireland, John Saxon

Invisible Strangers
YEAR: 1976
DIRECTOR: John Floria
ACTORS: Aariana Hill, Sue Lyon, Leslie Parrish, Robert Foxworth

Tote pflastern seinen Weg
YEAR: 1976
DIRECTOR: Franco Prosperi
ACTORS: Martin Balsam, Heinz Domez, Ray Lovelock

The Double McGuffin
YEAR: 1977
DIRECTOR: Joe Camp
ACTORS: Ernest Borgnine, George Kennedy, Ed (Too Tall) Jones

I Miss You - Hugs & Kisses
YEAR: 1978
DIRECTOR: Murry Markowitz
ACTORS: Cindy Girling, Donald Pilon, Chuck Shamta

The Prisoner of Zenda
YEAR: 1978
DIRECTOR: Richard Quine
ACTORS: Lynne Frederick, Peter Sellers

Exit Sunset Boulevard
YEAR: 1980
DIRECTOR: Bastan Cleve
ACTORS: Azizi Hohari, Ruediger Kuehlbrodt

Der Mann im Pyjama
YEAR: 1981
DIRECTOR: C. Rateuke, H. Schmige
ACTORS: Peter Fritz, Hermann Lause, Otto Sander, Erich Schwartz

Lily in Love
YEAR: 1983
DIRECTOR: Karoly Makk
ACTORS: Maggie Smith, Adolph Green, Janos Kende, Christopher Plummer, Sandor Szabo

Coconuts
YEAR: 1984
DIRECTOR: Franz Novotny
ACTORS: Olvia Pascal, Mario Adorf, Rainhard Fendrich, Hanno Poschi, Emanuel Schmid

Niemand weint fuer immer
YEAR: 1984
DIRECTOR: Jans Rautenbach
ACTORS: Howard Carpendale, Douglas Fuchs, Zoli Marki, Siegried Rauch

Deathstone
YEAR: 1986
DIRECTOR: Franz Josef Gottlieb
ACTORS: Birte Berg, Ravindra, Heather Thomas, Albert Fortell, Brad Harris, Siegfried Rauch

Himmelsheim F 145
YEAR: 1988
DIRECTOR: Manfred Stelzer
ACTORS: Annette Favery, Sophie Kesser, Tilly Lauenstein, Elisabeth Welz, Gustl Augustin, Dietmar Mossmer,
Theo Messingschlaeger, Sigi Zimmerschied, Hanns Zischler

Severed Ties
YEAR: 1991
DIRECTOR: Damion Santostefano
ACTORS: Olivier Reed, Garrett Morris

Life is a Bluff
YEAR: 1996
DIRECTOR: Peter Zingler
ACTORS: Mario Adorf, Heinz Hoenig, Muriel Baumeister, Ben Becker

Ms. Sommer's business facsimile number is 310-724-8993.

Ms. Sommer's E-Mail address is esommer@concentric.net.
 

1. Browse the available products and make your selection(s).
2. Fax or e-mail your order including the item number, a description of the item, the amount of purchase, your mailing address and shipping address, and your telephone number, facsmile number, and e-mail address, as applicable. Upon receipt, we will contact you and arrange for payment and shipping. Payments must be made in advance via an agreed upon method. Product availability and pricing may change without notice. Fax and e-mail information are included in the "Contact Ms. Sommer" section of this site.

02 - Musical Dog

22 x 30 - Acrylic

03 - Double-Edged Sword

24 x 30 Acrylic

04 - Sunday Morning Walk

24 x 30 Acrylic