Barron S. et al. German Expressionist Sculpture. Los Angeles County Museum of Art

Los Angeles: Los Angeles County Museum of Art , 1985. — 236 p.German Expressionist sculpture occupies a distinguished place in the history of modern art. However, except for the work of two well-known German sculptors-Wilhelm Lehmbruck and Ernst Barlach-the significance, and in fact the very existence, of this body of work created in the first third of the twentieth century are largely unrecognized. It is the aim of the current exhibition and catalogue to begin to rectify this art historical oversight. More than one hundred and twenty examples of German Expressionist sculpture by thirty-three artists are presented, together with thirty related works of art on paper. Included are sculptures by artists recognized for their work in this medium-Ernst Barlach, Wilhelm Lehmbruck, Georg Rolbe, Renee Sintenis, Gerhard Marcks-as well as sculpture by such figures as Kathe Rollwitz, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Erich Heckel, Karl Schmidt-Rottluff, Emil Nolde, Max Beckmann, Egon Schiele, and Otto Freundlich, whose reputations are based on their painting and graphic oeu\Tes. A significant number of
works by lesser-known artists, who belonged to the second generation of Expressionism in the twenties- mong them Herbert Garbe, Conrad Felixmiiller, Paul Rudolf Henning, William Wauer are also examined. Included in the catalogue are examples of the artists' rich and varied writings as
well as evaluations by contemporary critics, scholars, writers, and poets. Seven essays and excerpts from contemporary texts, published in translation for the first time, highlight the German Expressionists' concern with particular materials and their attraction to African and Oceanic art. They also indicate the seriousness and passion with which the artists and writers of this movement addressed issues of importance to themselves and their art in the teens, twenties, and thirties.