Collection catalogue published 2024
Winner of the Midwest Art History Society’s 2025 Outstanding Catalog Award, Museum and Private Collections
The Saint Louis Art Museum is home to one of the largest and most diverse collections of German Expressionist paintings in the United States. Part collection catalogue, part state of the field, German Expressionism: Paintings at the Saint Louis Art Museum presents an ambitious new approach to German Expressionism through an object-based analysis of 48 paintings made by 25 different artists. As caretaker of these important works, the Museum is uniquely situated to demonstrate the scholarly potential immanent in the art object, as such—in its materials, techniques, and unique biography.
Each painting featured in the book is the subject of a scholarly entry filled with technical and research discoveries. A three-year technical analysis revealed forgotten verso paintings, overpainted compositions, and experimental materials. The result is a more inclusive narrative of the movement, in which the famous artists of the Brücke and Blue Rider groups appear alongside unfamiliar figures like Karl Hofer, Georg Tappert, and Josef Eberz.
Authors: Melissa Venator with Courtney Books, Simon Kelly, Molly Moog, and Lacy Murphy
Details: 304 pages, 199 illustrations; 10 x 12 inches, hardcover. Published by Saint Louis Art Museum. Production and design by Hirmer Publishers
