‘Self as will-o’-the-wisp’
02 March until 08. June 2025

The Franz Marc Museum presents a comprehensive exhibition dedicated to the artist Elfriede Lohse-Wächtler (1899–1940), shedding light on her unique oeuvre and eventful life story. Featuring around 80 paintings and drawings from public and private collections, the exhibition offers a multifaceted overview of all phases of the artist’s work, whose distinctive visual language delves deeply into themes of identity, exclusion, and self-empowerment.

Insights into a Radical Artistic Vision

Lohse-Wächtler is regarded as one of the most significant female voices of the New Objectivity movement, with a body of work characterized by empathy and dynamism. In her brief creative career spanning less than two decades, she developed an independent and sensitive visual language that powerfully addresses themes such as suffering, desire, threat, and loneliness.

The exhibition showcases atmospheric scenes from Hamburg’s brothels and bars, unconventional character portraits, and striking self-portraits. Particularly notable are her works from the Hamburg years (1925–1931), which reflect the precarious living conditions and artistic intensity of this period. During this time, she created powerful works, confidently venturing into traditionally male-dominated spaces such as the harbor and St. Pauli.

The Life and Work of a Fearless Artist

At just 16, Lohse-Wächtler left her parental home and became active in Dresden’s avant-garde under the pseudonym “Nikolaus Wächtler” in 1918. She counted prominent artists such as Otto Dix, Conrad Felixmüller, and Otto Griebel among her friends. Her time in Hamburg marked a creative peak but was also fraught with personal crises, leading to her first hospital stay in 1929. Her powerful works often emerged in the face of existential threats—a story of self-empowerment that tragically ended with her murder in 1940 during the Nazi euthanasia program (Action T4).

This exhibition is the second venue in a collaboration with the Ernst Barlach Haus in Hamburg and the Kunsthalle Vogelmann in Heilbronn.

Elfriede Lohse-Wächtler (1899–1940), Lissy (detail), 1931, Private Collection, Städel Museum, Frankfurt am Main, Photo: Private