Kurt Harald Isenstein was born on August 13, 1898, in Hannover. Isenstein studied at the Academy of Arts on Berlin, where he subsequently worked as an art teacher and a professional sculptor. His bust of Albert Einstein stands in front of the Einstein Tower in Potsdam,which was erected by Erich Mendelsohn. Isenstein also produced paintings, for the works of Arno Holz for example. On Holz' death in 1929, Isenstein created a cast iron portrait of the poet for his headstone in the cemetary in Berlin-Charlottenburg. Politically persecuted in Germany for his Jewish origins as well as his political beliefs, he emigrated to Denmark in 1934 and to Sweden in 1943. He returned to Denmark in 1946. He lived and worked in Copenhagen as an artist and music teacher there until his death on February 3, 1980.