January 2007
Nolde to Beckmann, Jorn to Richter
The Emden Kunsthalle in Northern Germany could very well be called the Nannen Kunsthalle, for it was indelibly shaped by Henri Nannen, founder and longtime editor-in-chief of Stern magazine. Nannen acquired a passion for collecting while studying art history in Munich from 1934 to 1938. His acquisitions followed only the dictates of his own taste, but Nannen built a solid collection of 20th-century art representing many theoretical trends. His donations to the Kunsthalle included pieces by expressionists, Blauer Reiter, New Functionalists, and Verists. In 2000, Munich gallery owner Otto van de Loo rounded out the museum’s offerings with a donation of more than 200 later works from artists who were members of such circles as Informel, COBRA and Spur. Part of the Emden Kunsthalle collection is now a guest of Munich’s Hypo-Kulturstiftung Kunsthalle with a display of more than 100 paintings, drawings, and sculptures. The exhibition’s title—Nolde to Beckmann, Jorn to Richter—speaks to its impressive span across the last century of art. The exhibition will run until April 15.
