Spotlight: German Masterworks from the Kellen Foundation

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Neue Galerie New York is delighted to spotlight a selection of extraordinary German Expressionist paintings from the Anna-Maria and Stephen Kellen Foundation, shown in tandem with related works from the extended collection of the museum.

The origins of Expressionism in Germany are linked to two cities: Dresden and Munich. The group from Dresden was known as the Brücke (Bridge). Formed in 1905 by architecture students, its members included Erich Heckel, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Hermann Max Pechstein, and Karl Schmidt-Rottluff. With their exuberantly painted and colorful canvases, the Brücke artists sought to bring greater directness and intensity to the art of their time. The German Expressionist group from Munich was known as the Blaue Reiter (Blue Rider). Established in 1911 by a loose circle of artists, including Vasily Kandinsky, August Macke, Franz Marc, and Gabriele Münter, their work is also characterized by exuberant use of color.

The Kellen Foundation is a philanthropic entity that supports many important organizations, especially in medicine, education, and arts and culture, in New York and abroad. The four featured masterworks in this presentation from the Kellen Foundation are: Lyonel Feininger's Lehnstedt (1917), Erich Heckel's Park in Dangast (1908), Ernst Ludwig Kirchner's The Reaper (1919-20), and Franz Marc's Fighting Cows (1911).

Works from the Neue Galerie's holdings on view include Vasily Kandinsky's Murnau: Street with Women (1908), Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Tightrope Walk (1908-10), August Macke's Strollers at the Lake II (1912), Gabriele Münter's Woman in Garden (1912), Hermann Max Pechstein's Young Woman with Red Fan (ca. 1910), and more.