The life and activities of the art dealer Wolfgang Gurlitt (1888 – 1965) are closely intertwined with the beginnings of the Lentos Kunstmuseum: for the museum, the Gurlitt Collection is a legacy that is as brilliant as it is problematic. The exhibition casts light on the turbulent life of the passionate collector and controversial art dealer Wolfgang Gurlitt, who was involved in deals with looted art during the National Socialist era.
Having been made honorary director of the Neue Galerie der Stadt Linz (today: Lentos Kunstmuseum) in 1946, he put on more than a hundred exhibitions. In 1952/53 the City of Linz acquired what was to become the core of the new museum’s collection – 84 paintings, 33 drawings and a Kubin collection – works Gurlitt had managed to protect from the ravages of war. Since 1999, Linz has restituted thirteen works from the Gurlitt collection to the lawful heirs of their pre-War Jewish owners. The exhibition provides insights into the history of these objects and the fate of their persecuted owners.
Putting on display works that include paintings and graphics by Lovis Corinth, Oskar Kokoschka, Alfred Kubin, Jeanne Mammen, Max Pechstein, Egon Schiele, this comprehensive, painstakingly researched and multifaceted exhibition tells the story of Gurlitt’s international activities as an art dealer, publisher and a tireless networker in touch with museums and artists.