As Karl-Heinrich Müller’s life partner, Ursula Kruse-Wormser, a painter and sculptor who was born in 1942, is inextricably linked with the evolution of Hombroich. From the initial viewing of the wetland landscape, the ongoing design and its ultimate legacy, Kruse-Wormser helped to shape the island and its visionary process of collecting and conceptualising in many ways. In her studio at the Raketenstation, she produced paintings and sculptures – and as the legendary hostess and initiator of the island’s famous hospitality, she created table-scapes and culinary experiences.
As heiress to a renowned art and carpet dealer in Nuremberg, which is still going strong to this day, she developed an expert eye for all things aesthetic. She is closely linked with the work of certain Insel Hombroich artists as a muse, inspiration and even as a model – one example being Anatol’s Rotes Porträt from 1984. In her book Uns. Wege zur Insel (Us. Paths To The Island), she details – in her capacity as a collector of stories, observer and author – her own memories of how Insel Hombroich was developed and shaped by the early community there.