German Expressionism

The notion of a major exhibition of German Expressionist art for Australia has been in our minds for well over five years. Added impetus to the idea was provided in 1984 when the Art Gallery of New South Wales purchased Kirchner’s Three Bathers, that Gallery’s first German Expressionist painting and one which quickly took its place as an exemplary work of a movement which had such impact not only in Europe but also in Australia. Strangely, though, the art of the German Expressionists had never been shown to an Australian public in any even marginally comprehensive way. This exhibition is, therefore, in our view long overdue and very welcome.

It would not, however, have happened without the constant enthusiasm and support of, firstly, the Goethe Institute in Sydney and, secondly, the Department for Cultural Relations, Federal Foreign Office in Bonn. Once agreement in principle had been obtained, in 1987, Prof. Paul Vogt, then Director of the Museum Folkwang in Essen, was charged with overall curatorial responsibility. We owe a considerable debt of gratitude to Prof. Vogt for his work and for enlisting the support of the appropriate authorities and the proposed lending institutions in Germany.

Sourced from: Edmund Capon et al., German Expressionism: The Colours of Desire, International Cultural Corporation of Australia Limited, 1989, p. 6