Anita Rée

Born into a Jewish family of Hamburg merchants Anita Rée (1885-1933) was however baptized and raised as a Lutheran. In 1906, she met Max Liebermann, who recognized her talent and encouraged her to continue her artistic career. In 1912–1913, she studied with Fernand Léger in Paris.

From around 1914, Anita Rée gained recognition as a portrait painter. In 1921, she toured the Tyrol. From 1922 to 1925, her primary residence was in Positano, Italy.

1922-1925

She returned to Hamburg in 1926 and helped found an association of women artists. In 1930, she received a commission to create a triptych for the altar at the new Ansgarkirche in Langenhorn. The church fathers were not happy with her designs, however, and the commission was withdrawn in 1932 over "religious concerns". Meanwhile, the Nazis had denounced her as a Jew and the Hamburg Art Association called her an "alien".

She committed suicide in 1933, partly as a result of having been subjected to such hostility and continuing harassment by antisemitic forces, partly due to disappointments on the personal level. In 1937, the Nazis designated Rée's work as "Degenerate art" and began purging it from museum collections.

1921

1920