Dear Friends,
What a whirlwind of a month this was, with the opening of the important new Fritz Ascher exhibition, “Love and Betrayal – The Expressionist Fritz Ascher from New York Private Collections” at the House of the Graphic Collection, Augustinermuseum in Freiburg im Breisgau (Germany).
This is the first exhibition that focusses on works on paper created by Fritz Ascher before 1933. In this most immediate and intimate medium, we discover the cheerful and thoughtful artist who was part of the avant-garde in what was then the most exciting cultural city in the world and who spontaneously recorded his thoughts, ideas and experiences on paper, or worked on pictorial themes or compositions.
The exhibition is on view until March 2, 2025.
Exhibition curators Rachel Stern and Jutta Götzmann, Photo Patrick Seeger
And the next exhibition is coming up, in Portland, Oregon (check our website if you can’t wait until January!), while we are actively developing exhibitions into 2030.
We also have plans for virtual events into March.
We are tremendously grateful for you, our community. The sheer number of you coming to and listening to our virtual events confirms our belief in the importance of this free program, and with it the importance of historic truth and commemoration and its relevance for our lives today and our efforts to shape a better future for us all. We very much appreciate this being such an active community, with your questions and feedback, and your ideas for new events.
But here is the thing: We need the financial support of those of you who can do so. Every dollar helps, really. But you can also financially support a virtual event or an in-person lecture, panel discussion or conference, and commemorate someone while doing so. There are larger projects as well, like an upcoming exhibition or exhibition catalogue. Less sexy needs like operating costs or financing staff positions and/or interns are very real as well.
I am happy to sit down with you and discuss your interests and possible ways to combine our visions. You can reach me at stern@fritzaschersociety.org.
You can also just:
The Fritz Ascher Society is a not-for-profit 501(c)3 organization. Your donation is fully tax deductible.
In December, our online presentations continue to focus on visionary women, and they are both from Czechia:
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 4, 12:00PM ET
GERTRUD KAUDERS, JEWISH ARTIST FROM PRAGUE
(1883-1942): SURPRISES, ENIGMAS, OPPORTUNITIES
PRESENTATION BY SIMON DURING, BRISBANE (AUSTRALIA)
Gertrud Kauders, Portrait of a Woman, N.D.
In July 2018, as workmen were demolishing a house on Prague’s outskirts they were astonished to be deluged by works of art falling from a ceiling. Nobody had known that the works were hidden there. The art turned out to be that of Gertrud Kauders who had hidden the contents of her whole studio in the house of a friend before being deported first to Theresienstadt and then to Majdanek where she was murdered on arrival in May 1942.
Kauders was a serious and inventive artist, quite well known in Prague’s art world of the time. She worked in oils, pencil, crayon, watercolour and gouache. Now her work is held by museums around the world.
In this presentation, great nephew Simon During will speak about the discovery and distribution of Gertrude Kauders’ works and think about what they mean to us today.
WEDNESDAY, DECEMBER 18, 12:00PM ET
BEHIND THE GLASS:
THE VILLA TUGENDHAT AND ITS FAMILY
BOOK TALK BY MICHAEL LAMBEK
Family Photo behind Tugendhat House, Bryn (Czechia). Copyright David Zidlicky
The Villa Tugendhat, designed by Mies van der Rohe in 1928, is an icon of architectural modernism and a UNESCO World Heritage site. Michael Lambek will tell the true story of the large family connected to it, who rose to prominence through industrial textile manufacturing.
The presentation traces the transformations in the life of the family, from their roots in a Jewish ghetto to part of the wealthy bourgeoisie in the Austro-Hungarian Empire to adaptation in interwar independent Czechoslovakia and flight in the face of Nazi invasion. Michael Lambek examines the generation born in the first decade of the twentieth century, especially Grete Tugendhat – Lambek’s maternal grandmother – who commissioned, inhabited, championed, and relinquished the distinctive modern house.
If you missed our November online event about Felka Platek, you can watch the recording here:
Please donate generously to make our work possible. THANK YOU.
If you want to commemorate loved ones by making a contribution to a specific event or project, please contact me at stern@fritzaschersociety.org.
The Fritz Ascher Society is a not-for-profit 501(c)3 organization. Your donation is fully tax deductible.
Sending our warmest wishes for a joyful and peaceful Thanksgiving season,
In gratitude,
Rachel Stern
Executive Director
