Kimbell Art Museum presents Modern Art and Politics in Germany 1910–1945: Masterworks from the Neue Nationalgalerie, Berlin

A powerful new exhibition at the Kimbell Art Museum, showing until June 22, explores how modern German artists responded to war, repression and revolution through bold and enduring works.

Through “Modern Art and Politics in Germany 1910–1945: Masterworks from the Neue Nationalgalerie, Berlin” — open now through June 22, 2025 — the Kimbell Art Museum presents a rare and emotionally charged window into the power of art during one of Europe’s most volatile eras.

“The works in this exhibition are powerful, masterful,” said George T. M. Shackelford, deputy director of the Kimbell Art Museum, in a recent press release. “And the stories that they tell about their turbulent times are gripping.”

Spanning more than 70 paintings and sculptures, many of which have never been seen in the U.S. before, the exhibition is a collaboration with Berlin’s Neue Nationalgalerie, Germany’s revered museum for modern art. The featured artists include Max Beckmann, Hannah Höch, Otto Dix, George Grosz, Wassily Kandinsky, Horst Strempel, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner, Paul Klee, Käthe Kollwitz, Gabriele Münter, Emil Nolde and Christian Schad.

From empire to aftermath

The exhibition unfolds in six thematic chapters, beginning with Expressionism. Think bold colors and raw emotion, the kind of visual rebellion that challenged the conservative tastes of the German Empire and Kaiser Wilhelm II. Works like Kirchner’s Self Portrait with a Girl (1914–15) and Nolde’s Pentecost (1909) can finally be explored in person.

From there, visitors are ushered into the cooler, more cynical gaze of the 1920s with the Neue Sachlichkeit, or New Objectivity. This movement embraced precise draftsmanship and razor-sharp realism — a reaction to both Expressionism and the trauma of World War I. Schad’s 1928 painting Sonja serves as an unforgettable icon of this style.

When art became political

But perhaps the most striking moments come in the sections where art and politics crash together. In the gallery titled Politics and War, Grosz’s satire piece Pillars of Society (1926) mocks the corrupt, the complicit and the comfortable. Strempel’s Night Over Germany (1945–46), structured like a Christian altarpiece, mourns the moral collapse of a nation.

During Hitler’s regime, many of the artists featured in this exhibit were banned, exiled or worse. Their works were labeled Entartete Kunst, or “degenerate art,” and purged from museums. Yet their creativity endured. The show closes with an epilogue gallery titled Before and After, which reflects on that resilience. Beckmann’s Self Portrait in a Bar (1942), painted while in exile, is tinged with loneliness and quiet defiance. And Salvador Dalí’s Portrait of Mrs. Isabel Styler-Tas — painted in Beverly Hills of all places in 1945 — nods to a surreal world changed forever.

A once-in-a-lifetime moment

“This is the first special exhibition we’ve ever done at the Kimbell focused solely on German painting and sculpture from this period,” says Kimbell director Eric Lee. “It’s a profound opportunity—for the museum and for Fort Worth.”

Beyond the deeply personal human narratives, the show also highlights how Germany, at one point, was a hub for international avant-garde movements. Works by Picasso, Léger and Kokoschka rub shoulders with Kandinsky, Klee and members of the Bauhaus, inviting us to reimagine Germany not only as a place of conflict but also of innovation and connection.

The “Modern Art and Politics” catalog describes this exhibition as, “the most important gathering of works from the distinguished modern art museum in Berlin ever presented in the United States.”

Plan your visit

“Modern Art and Politics in Germany 1910–1945” runs through June 22, 2025. Admission to the Kimbell’s permanent collection is always free, and admission to special exhibitions is half-price all day on Tuesdays and after 5 p.m. on Fridays.

Whether you’re an art lover, a historian or a casual museumgoer, this is one show you don’t want to miss.

This story was developed in partnership with Kimbell Art Museum by 360West’s branded content team. For more information, visit kimbellart.org.