exhibition

Jun 30, 2026

FRITZ! in July with THANK YOU and Bauhaus women photographers

2026-06-30T12:04:40-04:00June 30th, 2026|Newsletter|Comments Off on FRITZ! in July with THANK YOU and Bauhaus women photographers

Dear friends, First of all: THANK YOU! A heartfelt thank you to those of you who responded so generously to help us continue and expand our work, and a heartfelt thank you to the anonymous sponsor who matched the donations. With your support, we will continue to bring to you buried art treasures and the stories of their creators in historical context. And now we are heading for the 250th birthday of the United States of America! Founded on the basis of an idea, we celebrate the double helix of American DNA: the Jeffersonian embrace of the enlightenment and Adam's emphasis not only on reason, but also on religion and tradition. We celebrate America as a work in [...]

Jun 28, 2026

The Extraordinary Life of Edith Tudor Hart –
Émigré, Photographer and Secret Agent
Book talk by Daria Santini, London (United Kingdom)

2026-07-15T13:51:50-04:00June 28th, 2026|, , |Comments Off on The Extraordinary Life of Edith Tudor Hart –
Émigré, Photographer and Secret Agent
Book talk by Daria Santini, London (United Kingdom)

In her talk, Daria Santini presents her new biography of the Austrian-British photographer and Soviet agent Edith Tudor Hart (1908–1973). At the centre of a wide and vibrant circle of predominantly Central European artists, architects, designers, scientists, intellectuals and political activists in 1930s and 1940s London, Tudor Hart combined a successful career as a photographer with a clandestine role as a communist agent. This remarkable dual identity forms the basis of a compelling and dramatic life story. Image above: Edith Tudor Hart, London ca 1935. Born in Vienna into a secular, social-democratic Jewish family deeply rooted in the progressive culture of the city that became known as 'Red Vienna', Edith Tudor [...]

Jun 2, 2026

FRITZ ASCHER SOCIETY Newsletter June 2026

2026-06-09T07:08:31-04:00June 2nd, 2026|Newsletter|Comments Off on FRITZ ASCHER SOCIETY Newsletter June 2026

Dear Friends, This month, the FIFA Soccer World Cup kicks off, and this year it is hosted in North America, with games - among them the final - being played "just across the bridge" in New Jersey. What does that have to do with us? Well, in 1916, the artist Fritz Ascher drew soccer players into one of his sketchbooks - most probably from direct observation. He captured a dramatic moment, when a player holds a shot on goal. He catches the ball with his hands, which identifies him as the opponent's goal keeper - regular players are not allowed to touch the ball with their hands. Fritz Ascher, Soccer Players, ca. 1916. Black ink [...]

May 24, 2026

Visibility Practices: Women Photographers of the Bauhaus
Presentation by Carla Maria Huttenloher, Berlin (Germany)

2026-05-24T20:47:10-04:00May 24th, 2026|, |Comments Off on Visibility Practices: Women Photographers of the Bauhaus
Presentation by Carla Maria Huttenloher, Berlin (Germany)

In this presentation, Carla Maria Huttenloher will bring women’s photographic agency to the forefront of the Bauhaus story, uncovering the rich and long-underexplored links between their lives and their powerful bodies of work. Image above: Grit Kallin-Fischer, Self-portrait with cigarette, around 1928. Courtesy Bauhaus-Archiv Berlin . REGISTER HERE Women have worked behind the camera since photography’s beginnings, but their contributions have been sidelined in art‑historical narratives. The Bauhaus offers a clear case: during the Weimar Republic women engaged with and shaped photographic modernism in multiple ways, yet their work is insufficiently acknowledged to date. In the 1920s and early 1930s, the social figure of the New Woman — ideologically linked to greater [...]

Apr 27, 2026

Stolen Jewish Legacies:
The Fate of Eugen Spiro and His Looted Collection
Presentation by Anne Uhrlandt, Munich (Germany)

2026-05-21T07:16:30-04:00April 27th, 2026|, , |Comments Off on Stolen Jewish Legacies:
The Fate of Eugen Spiro and His Looted Collection
Presentation by Anne Uhrlandt, Munich (Germany)

In this online lecture Anne Uhrlandt will present the forgotten story of once prominent German Jewish artist and collector Eugen Spiro (April 18, 1874, Wrocław - September 26, 1972, New York City). During her two-year research project, Uhrlandt reconstructed the artist’s biography and the fate of his looted collection by bringing together evidence and sources from numerous international archives. Two case studies about specific stolen objects highlight the dramatic events following both s the Nazi government ‘s expulsion of Spiro from his profession, robbing him of his sources of income, and the theft of his art collection, which included both his own works of art and works of art by other artists. The case studies demonstrate the potential of [...]

Feb 13, 2026

Who Will Draw Our History?
Women’s Graphic Narratives of the Holocaust, 1944-1949
Presentation by Rachel Perry, PhD

2026-03-05T07:21:05-05:00February 13th, 2026|, , |Comments Off on Who Will Draw Our History?
Women’s Graphic Narratives of the Holocaust, 1944-1949
Presentation by Rachel Perry, PhD

In this talk, art historian and curator Rachel Perry discusses ten graphic narratives of their experiences of Nazi persecution created by women immediately after liberation. Lacking photographs of what they witnessed and endured, these "first responders" used visual storytelling to counter perpetrator and liberator sources and represent maternal loss, sexual violence, forced labor, and bodily trauma—experiences rarely recorded in canonical Holocaust testimony. Drawing on archives across Europe, Israel, and the United States, this talk recovers marginalized stories that predate Art Spiegelman's Maus by decades. Featured Artists: Lea Grundig (1906-1977), Luba Krugman Gurdus (1914-2011), Mária Turán Hacker (1886-1967), Edit Bán Kiss (1905-1966), Regina Lichter-Liron (1920-1995), Ella Liebermann-Shiber (1927-1998), Ágnes Lukács (1920-2016), Zsuza Merényi (1925-1990), [...]

Feb 3, 2026

FRITZ ASCHER SOCIETY Newsletter FEBRUARY 2026

2026-02-04T06:26:33-05:00February 3rd, 2026|Newsletter|Comments Off on FRITZ ASCHER SOCIETY Newsletter FEBRUARY 2026

Dear Friends, As the snow doesn't seem to melt here in New York, we slowly move towards the Jewish holiday of Purim. So in our next talk, we will focus on the German-born Israeli artist Jacob Pins who depicted clowns repeatedly. We will explore how he portrayed the clown, a figure between tragedy and comedy, between self-identification and stage, within his larger oeuvre, within the Israeli society and beyond: Wednesday, February 11, 12:00pm ET online Jacob Pins (1917-2005): The Art of Laughter and Tears Presentation by Ori Z Soltes, PhD Georgetown University, Washington (DC) REGISTER HERE Jacob Pins, Dance of Death, 1957. Color woodcut, 995 x 597 mm. Forum Jacob Pins, [...]

Nov 25, 2025

FRITZ ASCHER SOCIETY Newsletter DECEMBER 2025

2025-11-28T14:22:03-05:00November 25th, 2025|Newsletter|Comments Off on FRITZ ASCHER SOCIETY Newsletter DECEMBER 2025

Dear Friends, It is almost Thanksgiving here in the US. And I thank you for being part of our community. Your interest and engagement, your questions and comments, your ideas and support have helped shape who we are today. And it's been a productive year - not over yet! - with wonderful long-term and new partners. I'll address the exhibitions and other projects another time. In 20 virtual and in-person events we have discovered and discussed incredible art - some created in harrowing circumstances. We have commemorated and celebrated the art and their creators, who can inspire us all. The decisions they were confronted with and their life stories are as relevant as ever. Thank you to the [...]

Oct 28, 2025

FRITZ ASCHER SOCIETY Newsletter NOVEMBER 2025

2026-01-05T06:30:29-05:00October 28th, 2025|Newsletter|Comments Off on FRITZ ASCHER SOCIETY Newsletter NOVEMBER 2025

Dear Friends, It is getting chillier outside! Perfect to visit an exhibition or sit down at your computer with a hot cup of coffee or tea, or lunch, and listen to one of our virtual events: This month, we celebrate two Austrian-born artists: costume designer Ruth Morleyon her 100th birthday (November 19 virtual event), and ceramist Vally Wieselthier, whose work is on view at the Austrian Cultural Forum New York (featured exhibition). We commemorate the so-called Kristallnacht (The night of broken glass) - the coordinated series of violent anti-Jewish pogroms that took place throughout Nazi Germany, Austria, and the Sudetenland on November 9–10, 1938. As fewer and fewer Holocaust survivors live among us, we continue to focus on [...]

Sep 29, 2025

FRITZ ASCHER SOCIETY Newsletter OCTOBER 2025

2026-01-04T06:01:04-05:00September 29th, 2025|Newsletter|Comments Off on FRITZ ASCHER SOCIETY Newsletter OCTOBER 2025

Dear Friends, September isn't over yet, and our programming isn't either, with the virtual event about the architect of the Knesset, Ossip Klarwein, re-scheduled to happen tomorrow. For the Jews among us, the High Holy Days will dominate this month, a time to pause, to look inward, and to recommit ourselves to the values of compassion, justice, and peace. At the Fritz Ascher Society, we continue to feature untold stories of artists marginalized and persecuted by the German Nazi regime, and inspire conversations and discussions of high relevance today. To watch the stories told in past events, you can visit our YouTube channel @fritzaschersociety, or our online exhibition IDENTITY, ART AND MIGRATION, which now includes the artist Samson [...]

Sep 2, 2025

FRITZ ASCHER SOCIETY Newsletter SEPTEMBER 2025

2025-12-29T06:24:44-05:00September 2nd, 2025|Newsletter|Comments Off on FRITZ ASCHER SOCIETY Newsletter SEPTEMBER 2025

Dear Friends, Happy September! This month, we continue our exploration of the work and life of the German-born artist Samson Schames (1898-1967), who we first discussed on August 27th - you can find the link to the recording below. On September 17th, our virtual event will focus on friends and family. By then, the exhibition at the Leo Baeck Institute in New York will have opened, and the publication date of the addition of Samson Schames to our online exhibition "Identity, Art and Migration" will be announced. But first, we'll start with the Hungarian-born artist Theodore Fried: WEDNESDAY, September 3, 12:00PM EDT online Theodore Fried (1902-1980): In Hiding and Beyond  Presentation by Sofia [...]

Jul 29, 2025

FRITZ ASCHER SOCIETY Newsletter AUGUST 2025

2025-11-09T06:20:57-05:00July 29th, 2025|Newsletter|Comments Off on FRITZ ASCHER SOCIETY Newsletter AUGUST 2025

Dear Friends, Immediately after Adolf Hitler’s ascent to power in Germany in 1933 the Nazi government started persecuting Jews. Within months, tens of thousands of Jews left Germany. But soon emigration slowed considerably as visas became impossible to obtain. About 10,000 children were saved by leaving the country on a Kindertransport to Great Britain between December 1, 1938 and September 1, 1939. Later this month, we are screening the documentary My Knees Were Jumping; Remembering the Kindertransports and feature a discussion with Melissa Hacker, the film director. There were also individuals who stood up against the Nazi regime by saving people from persecution. Did you know that Aristides de Sousa Mendes saved artist Tamara DE LEMPICKA's daughter and stepdaughter? [...]