New Worlds: German and Austrian Art, 1890-1940

This magnificent book, the inaugural catalogue of the Neue Galerie New York, is the first book to bring to light the history of the works of fine and decorative artists of Germany and Austria between 1890 and 1940. Focusing on 26 visual artists and 18 decorative artists whose work is represented in the Neue Galerie New York collection, the catalogue offers an overview of their works and situates them within the history of their reception in twentieth-century America. It also tells the stories of the numerous museum officials, patrons, art dealers, and journalists who brought these artworks to the attention of the American public. The catalogue illuminates the little-known facts of German and Austrian artists' reception in America through biographies that describe the highlights of their lives and careers as well as their presentations in the United States. A variety of catalogue essays examine such topics as the cultural context within which German and Austrian Expressionism arose, public response to museum presentations of German art, formalistic issues in Austrian decorative arts, aesthetic quests in the German decorative arts, and key moments in the American reception of German and Austrian decorative arts. Featured artists include Peter Behrens, Wassily Kandinsky, Paul Klee, Gustav Klimt, Oskar Kokoschka, Wilhelm Lehmbruck, Adolf Loos, Egon Schiele, and Otto Wagner.