The Twentieth Century German Art Exhibition Answering Degenerate Art in 1930s London

This book represents the first study dedicated to Twentieth Century German Art, the 1938 London exhibitionthat was the largest international response to the cultural policies of National Socialist Germany and the infamous Munich exhibition Degenerate Art. Provenance research into the catalogued exhibits has enabled a full reconstruction of the show for the first time: its contents and form, its contributors and their motivations, and its impact both in Britain and internationally. Presenting the research via six case-study exhibits, the book sheds new light on the exhibition and reveals it as one of the largest émigré projects of the period, which drew contributions from scores of German émigré collectors, dealers, art critics, and from the ‘degenerate’ artists themselves. The book explores the show’s potency as an anti-Nazi statement, which prompted a direct reaction from Hitler himself.

Contents Introduction Chapter One: The Organisation of Twentieth Century German Art Chapter Two: Campendonk’s ‘Jumping Beast’: Neutrality and Resistance in Swiss Museums Chapter Three: Schmitt-Rottluff’s ‘Fishermen’s Houses’: Art and Status in Exile Chapter Four: Liebermann’s ‘The Potato Gatherer’: German Modernism, German Dealers and the London Art Market Chapter Five: Schwitters’ ‘The Golden Ear’: ‘Degenerate’ Artists as Lenders to London Chapter Six: Macke’s ‘Men on a Bridge’: Loans from the Reich Chapter Seven: Baumeister’s ‘Kneeling Group’: The British and Twentieth Century German Art Chapter Eight: The Reception of Twentieth Century German Art in Britain and Germany Conclusion Appendix One: Index of Twentieth Century German Art Exhibits Appendix Two: Index of Twentieth Century German Art Lenders Bibliography

Lucy Wasensteiner is Lecturer in Art History at the University of Bonn, and Associate Lecturer at the Courtauld Institute of Art in London.