International experts on German modernism will convene for a one-day symposium to celebrate the scholarship and pedagogical practice of Dr Shulamith Behr (1946-2023), treasured colleague, mentor, teacher and friend to so many in the Courtauld community and beyond. Behr’s outstanding contribution to the understanding of modern experience through art — in Expressionism, in the apperception of exile, in excavating the critical role of women artists for modernism — is underscored through a set of meticulous research practices and inquiries she pursued with rigour across a range of media and theoretical framings. In tribute to Behr’s impact and legacy, a roster of seven renowned scholars of German art in an expanded field will present a range of papers covering pre-war, war-time, and post-war subjects written for this occasion, followed by further discussion in panels and question and answer sessions.
Join us as we reflect upon some of the artists, topics and questions that most interested Shulamith Behr, as scholars offer insight and further the history of art through the lens of her thought. Following the formal proceedings, there will be time for tributes to her legacy and contributions in the field.
Convenors
Dr Robin Schuldenfrei, Tangen Reader in 20th Century Modernism
Dr Glenn Sujo, artist, writer, educator
Programme
Wed. 20 March 2024
Welcome
Introduction, Dr. Robin Schuldenfrei, Courtauld Institute of Art
Panel One
Imaging the Maternal: The Shadow of Death in the Art of Käthe Kollwitz
Professor Dorothy Price, Courtauld Institute of Art
Working Through Woodcut: Ernst Barlach and Käthe Kollwitz in the Aftermath of WWI
Dr. Niccola Shearman, Independent Art Historian, London
The ‘Arboreal Expressionism’ of Karl Schmidt-Rottluff
Professor Christian Weikop, Modern and Contemporary German Art, University of Edinburgh
Art in Exile, Ludwig Meidner, and Holocaust Knowledge
Dr. Michael Tymkiw, Reader in Art History, University of Essex
Discussion panel, questions
Break
Panel Two
Grete Ring (1887-1952): Dealing in Modernism from Berlin to British Exile
Dr Lucy Wasensteiner, author and Director, Liebermann Villa, Berlin
Outside the Canon: Else Meidner in Exile
Dr. Ines Schlenker, Independent Art Historian
The Revealed Hand: Cathartic Marks as Evidentiary Witness
Dr. Glenn Sujo, Artist, Writer, Educator
Discussion panel, questions
Close
Reception
Tributes, speakers
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