ABSTRACT
The exhibition of Twentieth Century German Art opened in a London where the market for German modernism was slowly on the rise. By 1938, London was gradually emerging as an alternative to cities in Europe for the buying and selling of German modernist art. The level of critical interest in German modernism was also experiencing growth at this time. The London organizers were also able to source works directly from scores of German emigres, based across Europe in the early months of 1938, revealing the exhibition as one of the largest-scale emigre projects of the period. Twentieth Century German Art opened its doors to the public on 7 July 1938, standing today as a major early showcase of German modernism in the English-speaking world. Contemporary press responses also illustrate that Twentieth Century German Art was immensely popular in Britain. The application of provenance research to the Twentieth Century German Art exhibits has proved a highly fruitful approach.
