Max Beckmann, German, 1884-1950; “Self-Portrait 1950,” 1950; oil on canvas; 55 1/8 x 36 inches, framed: 66 15/16 x 48 x 3 3/16 inches; Saint Louis Art Museum, Bequest of Morton D. May 866:1983
What gives a work of art its “modern” edge? It is less a matter of chronology than of attitude—an eagerness to rethink old rules, to push into untested terrain, and to confront the complexities of the present.
A new exhibition at the Saint Louis Art Museum takes this idea as its starting point, inviting visitors to explore thirty examples of German art and design that embody this restless spirit.
Every piece in the exhibition comes from SLAM’s celebrated collection.
Opening on November 7 with an evening celebration in Sculpture Hall (4–8 p.m.), “Always Modern: German Art and Design from the Collection” remains on view through March 15 in Gallery 235 and the Sidney S. and Sadie M. Cohen Gallery 234.
The exhibition spans a period stretching from the late nineteenth century through the decades after World War II.
Across paintings, drawings, prints, sculptures, furniture and design objects by sixteen prominent artists, the show maps a period of dramatic artistic reinvention.
“Even though many of these works were created more than a hundred years ago, they still feel uncannily up-to-date,” remarks Melissa Venator, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Assistant Curator of Modern Art at SLAM.
“Their makers were breaking boundaries in their own time, and their work continues to challenge us now. Whether through ideas, aesthetics or function, they remind us that modernity is not something fixed in the past but an ongoing exchange about how art interprets—and intervenes in—the world.”
Divided into six thematic groupings, Always Modern guides viewers through the major turning points of German modernism.
It begins with Max Klinger’s symbolist print cycle Eve and the Future, then moves into the psychological intensity of Max Beckmann’s self-portraits and the raw energy of Expressionist painting.
Additional sections highlight the graceful stylization of Jugendstil and the revolutionary outlook of the Bauhaus, where teachers and students experimented with new ways of weaving art into everyday life.
A group of postwar works then connects these earlier movements to the artistic revitalization of the 1980s, suggesting that innovation is a continuous thread running across generations.
SLAM holds one of the most extensive and varied collections of twentieth-century German art in the United States—including the largest grouping of Beckmann paintings anywhere in the world.
This strength underpins Always Modern and resonates with another major exhibition on view this fall: “Anselm Kiefer: Becoming the Sea,” the first comprehensive U.S. survey of Kiefer’s work in over two decades.
SLAM acquired its first Kiefer piece, Brennstäbe (Fuel Rods), in 1987 as part of a mission to build a robust representation of contemporary German art and to create continuity across German artistic history.
Today, the museum’s holdings include more than 2,500 works by artists from Germany, Austria, and Switzerland, with a particularly strong representation of German Expressionism.
Modernity is not defined simply by an era or an aesthetic—it represents a mindset driven by daring innovation, imaginative thinking, and an active response to the world around us.
Always Modern brings this spirit to life through exceptional examples of German art and design drawn from the Museum’s distinguished holdings.
Featuring works created between 1880 and the decades after World War II, the exhibition presents paintings, prints, drawings, sculptures, and design objects by sixteen key figures, revealing how modernism continues to provoke thought and stir emotion.
Divided into six thematic sections, Always Modern follows essential turning points in Germany’s artistic evolution.
Visitors will encounter Max Klinger’s visionary print series Eve and the Future, Max Beckmann’s intense and introspective self-portraits, the bold dynamism of Expressionist painting, and the refined technical craft of Jugendstil and the Bauhaus.
The exhibition concludes with postwar works that hint at the artistic renewal of the 1980s, connecting the innovations of earlier generations with more recent creative developments.
Rather than offering a purely historical survey, Always Modern encourages viewers to consider how German modern art and design remain vibrant forces today—pushing boundaries, sparking new perspectives, and reshaping how we interpret our world.
Always Modern: German Art and Design from the Collection is organized by Melissa Venator, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation Assistant Curator of Modern Art.
