A Journey Out of Darkness:
Leicester’s Collection of German Expressionist Art
31st October 2009 –
3rd May 2010
(Extended due to popular demand)
New Walk Museum & Art Gallery
PLEASE NOTE: THIS EXHIBITION HAS NOW CLOSED
The exhibition is now closed, but a new permanent re-display of a selection of our German Expressionist artworks will open in September 2011.
'A Journey Out of Darkness' is a stunning exhibition of over 100 artworks, which explores the development of Leicester’s German Expressionist Art Collection.
The collection, which began in 1944 amidst the darkness of war with paintings saved from destruction in Nazi Germany, now numbers over 350 artworks, the first and largest of its kind in the UK.
The initial collection began with works acquired from a groundbreaking exhibition, ‘Mid-European Art’ which took place at New Walk Museum & Art Gallery in 1944.
The exhibition featured works from private collections which were brought to England for safe keeping from the Nazis by artists and private collectors. Expressionist art was a revolutionary art form pivotal in the evolution of modern art but which was attacked and outlawed in Hitler's Germany.
Leicester Arts & Museums Service are celebrating the 65th anniversary of this exhibition by showing some of their finest examples of German Expressionist art, with additional works which prefigured or were influenced by Expressionism.
The exciting works selected to grace the exhibition are a testament to the energy, breadth and enduring quality of the collection. Included in the exhibition are works by Marc, Kandinsky, Münter, Heckel, Schmidt-Rottluff, Kirchner, Kollwitz, Dix, Feininger and Grosz.
To see the A Journey of Darkness exhibition being installed visit the image gallery.
An audio guide is available in the exhibition foyer, with Simon Lake, Senior Curator of Art, analysing each work of the exhibition. The audio guide is also available on the website, visit our Podcasts to listen or download.
To accompany A Journey Out Of Darkness, Leicester Arts & Museums Service is also delighted to announce a stunning new gift of German Expressionist artworks, presented in 2009 by Leicester born Michael Brooks.
Address:
New Walk Museum & Art Gallery
53 New Walk
Leicester
LE1 7EA
Telephone: +44 (0)116 225 4900
Email: museums@leicester.gov.uk
