Ilse Kilian-Tan

German (born 1928, died 2025)

Ilse Kilian-Tan (1928-2025) was a fiber artist, painter, writer, educator, and linguist based in Spokane, Eastern Washington. She created elaborate abstracted wall hangings inspired by nature.
Kilian-Tan was born in East Germany and grew up under the shadow of the Hitler regime, Russian occupation, and communism. She fled to West Germany in her late teens, eventually becoming a translator and moving to the United States in the 1960s. In the U.S., she earned a Bachelor of Arts degree and a Master of Arts degree in literature and foreign languages. She also earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree from Eastern Washington University in Cheney, where she taught foreign languages for many years.