Provenance research conducted at the Brücke-Museum laid the groundwork for Biographies of Modern Art: Collectors and Their Works, an exhibition that shifts the focus from the artworks’ provenances to the biographies of their former owners.

The show introduces eight Jewish collectors who supported and promoted the Brücke artists: art historian Rosa Schapire, art critic Max Osborn, the collector Rosy Fischer, the salonnière Elsa Glaser, economist Hans Heymann and his brother, the writer Walther Heymann, banker Hugo Simon and art dealer Victor Wallerstein. Biographies of Modern Art commemorates these visionary individuals, and their commitment to the Brückeartists as well as to German Modernism.

The exhibition traces the paths of these collectors’ life journeys, featuring artworks, documentary materials and film interviews with descendants and art professionals. Varied stops made by the artworks that were once in their possession are also addressed. The presentation is accented by a contemporary mural created for the exhibition by artist Sophie von Hellermann.