Max Liebermann Collection

Collection

Identifier: AR 847 / MF 683

Staff Only

Scope and Content Note

Materials found in this collection include an extensive amount of correspondence written by Max Liebermann to Max Lehrs, an art historian and the director of the Kupferstichkabinett in Berlin and Dresden. The letters were written between 1892 and 1934, mostly from Berlin and Wannsee. Prominent events of the time such as World War I, the revolutionary years after the war, German inflation and the rise of National Socialism are reflected in the correspondence. Liebermann also discusses art questions, exhibits and publications. All the letters are bound in an album. In addition, there are letters to Bruno and Paul Cassirer and letters on Liebermann's election as president of the Preussische Akademie der Kuenste.

The collection also contains various photocopies and transcripts of letters by Max Liebermann as well as materials about him such as clippings, family trees, exhibition catalogues, and photos of him, his studio and his works.

Also included is a manuscript by Julius Elias titled "Max Liebermann zu Hause (1847-1935)", which is a description of the painter's life at home. It was published by Paul Cassirer in Berlin in 1918. A copy is available in the LBI library r (f) ND 588 L52 E45.

Dates

Creation: 1847-1998

Creator

Liebermann, Max, 1847-1935 (Person)

Language of Materials

This collection is in German, English.

Access Restrictions

Open to researchers.

Access Information

Collection is digitized. Follow the links in the Container List to access the digitized materials.

Use Restrictions

There may be some restrictions on the use of the collection. For more information, contact:

Leo Baeck Institute, Center for Jewish History, 15 West 16th Street, New York, NY 10011

email: lbaeck@lbi.cjh.org

Biographical Note

Max Liebermann was born in Berlin in 1847. He first studied law and philosophy, but later turned to painting and drawing. He studied and worked in Weimar in 1869, in Paris in 1872, and in the Netherlands from 1876 through 1877. After residing and working in Munich for some time, he returned to Berlin in 1884 and was active there for the rest of his life. Although he was himself a rather conservative artist, he helped to found the Sezession, an organization of progressive artists in Berlin in 1899. In 1920, he was elected president of the Preussische Akademie der Kuenste. He resigned in 1933, after he was forbidden to paint and the academy decided to no longer exhibit paintings by Jewish painters. He died in 1935.