Painter, sculptor, commercial designer and poet of French nationality but German origins, Arp developed a cosmopolitan vision of art early in his career, as well as maintaining a close connection with the European vanguard. He studied in the Kunstgewerbeschule in Strasbourg (1900-1901), the Kunstschule in Weimar (1904-1907) and the Acadamie Julian Paris (1908-09). He was one of the pioneers of Abstract Art and one of the founders of the Dada movement in Zurich. He was involved in Surrealist exhibitions, demonstrations and publications as from 1924 and he received the Distinction Prize at the 1954 Venice Biennale.