In 1921 Fiep went to the public primary school, where her father was a teacher. Fiep drew pictures from a very early age, mainly little figures in odd positions. ‘My parents always stimulated my drawing, but my father did warn me that being an artist would mean living a life of poverty in a garret’.
After primary school Fiep attended the local secondary school, where she developed into a difficult teenager. ‘You always had to draw according to a model and make so-called line drawings,’ said Fiep. ‘Just once we were given free rein: we were told to draw the four seasons on a piece of paper divided into four, with charcoal and feather. When the teacher looked over my shoulder he suggested in an ironic rhyme that I should erase the whole thing’