Leicester Expressionism

Red Woman, by Franz Marc, 1912

There are many reasons to visit the English mid-eastern town of Leicester. One of the less well known is, I would guess, its German Expressionist collection. 

"The story of Leicester’s internationally acclaimed collection of early 20th century German art is a fascinating combination, of wartime friendships, shared artistic and cultural passions and the vision and commitment of successive museum curators and directors.

"Alfred Hess, a wealthy Jewish manufacturer of Erfurt, Germany, had amassed an extraordinary collection of over 4,000 contemporary artworks before his death in 1931. A generous patron of the Erfurt Museum, he and his wife Tekla and son Hans welcomed both curators and artists to their home.

"The rise of fascism brought disaster. In 1933 the Hess home and business had to be sold and Hans fled to France while Tekla stayed in Germany, trying desperately to save the family collection. By 1937 she had managed to smuggle a few works out disguised as loans, some reaching Zurich and others sent to Hans, by now living in England. Tragically, most of the Hess collection disappeared during the Nazi years, but the surviving works played a seminal role in the 1944 exhibition.

"Since then, Leicester’s collection has grown through purchases, gifts and bequests, notable highlights including the 1955 bequest of the art historian Dr Rosa Schapire, of works by Karl Schmidt-Rottluff and the stunning gift of over 60 artworks presented by Michael Brooks in 2009."

The text above is from this website:
http://www.germanexpressionismleicester.org/