LEICESTER’s internationally acclaimed collection of German Expressionist art, and the eighty-year history of its development, are being celebrated in a new book.
‘German Expressionism: The Leicester Museums and Galleries’ Collection’ presents a full catalogue of the collection and explores the extraordinary journey of the artworks from Nazi Germany to Leicester.
The publication of the new book coincides with the 80th anniversary of Leicester’s seminal wartime exhibition ‘Mid European Art’ – the first major exhibition of German Expressionism to be held in Britain.
Curated by museum director Trevor Thomas with the support of the Free German League of Culture, the 1944 exhibition showcased an important selection of 62 works loaned from refugee artists and collectors who had fled Nazi Germany. It included works by artists such as Emil Nolde, Franz Marc, Wassily Kandinsky, Lyonel Feininger, Hermann Max Pechstein and Erich Heckel.
The majority of the artworks on display – around 50 in total – came from a vast collection of more than 4,000 items built up by the wealthy German-Jewish shoe manufacturer Alfred Hess and his wife Tekla.
Significantly, Leicester Museum and Art Gallery acquired four works from the exhibition as it closed, including Franz Marc’s iconic 1912 painting ‘Rote Frau’ (Red Woman).
Since then, Leicester’s collection of German Expressionist art has grown to include over 550 items, through purchases, gifts and bequests. Notable highlights including the 1955 bequest of the art historian Dr Rosa Schapire of works by Karl Schmidt-Rottluff, and the stunning gift of over 60 artworks presented by Michael Brooks in 2009.
‘German Expressionism: The Leicester Museums and Galleries’ Collection’ details the origins and development of the acclaimed collection and explores artworks in the collection by renowned Expressionist artists including Franz Marc and Wassily Kandinsky, founders of the influential Der Blaue Reiter (The Blue Rider) group, as well as Paul Klee, Gabriele Münter, Lyonel Feininger and Lotte Laserstein.
City Mayor Peter Soulsby said, said: “Leicester’s German Expressionism collection is internationally acclaimed and a fantastic resource for the city – one that is available for everyone to visit, free of charge, at Leicester Museum & Art Gallery.
“This new book tells the fascinating story of how this collection was founded in Leicester towards the end of the Second World War and serves as a timely reminder how lucky we are to have these works available in the city for the people to enjoy.”
The illustrated book was funded by an anonymous donor and is edited by James Glennie and Nicola Stratton Tyler. It is the first full study of Leicester’s internationally important German Expressionist Collection in print since 1978.
‘German Expressionism: The Leicester Museums and Galleries’ Collection’ will be on sale, priced £24.50, at Leicester Museum and Art Gallery and via the ART UK shop from Friday 20 September 2024. All profits from the book will support Leicester’s museums service.
And people can find out more about the collection without the crowds at an out of hours tour at Leicester Museum and Art Gallery. The guided tours will take place on Saturday mornings before the museum opens, on the following dates:
- Saturday 19 October 2024, 10-11am
- Saturday 23 November 2024, 10-11am
- Saturday 1 March 2025, 10-11am
Tickets cost £15 and must be booked in advance at www.leicestermuseums.org/whats-on/
Four artworks from Leicester’s renowned German Expressionist collection are currently on loan to the Tate Modern in London as part of a major new exhibition called ‘Expressionists: Kandinsky, Münter and the Blue Rider’, which runs until Sunday 20 October 2024.