More Women! Works on Paper by Bremen Artists   22.07. – 08.11.2026

More Women! Works on Paper by Bremen Artists

Paula Modersohn-Becker enjoys worldwide fame today. But who knows her fellow artists who were also active in the Bremen art scene in the first half of the 20th century: Clara Rilke-Westhoff, Marie Bock, Anna Plate, Margarethe von Reinken, Agnes Sander-Plump, Dora Bromberger, Elisabeth Noltenius, Gustava Tölken and Olga Bontjes van Beek?

As part of a research project, the Kunsthalle Bremen has examined its collection of drawings by Bremen artists more closely and made a remarkable discovery: In contrast to the male-dominated collection of the Kunsthalle Bremen, the Kupferstichkabinett (Department of Prints and Drawings) holds a surprising number of works by female artists from Bremen: delicate pencil drawings, flowing watercolours, energetic charcoal sketches.

Systematically held back, the female artists fought back by networking. Until 1919, women were not allowed to study at state art academies, which severely hampered their education. In 1899, the women of Bremen founded the Bremen Women Painters' Association, and in 1928 they joined the ‘Association of German and Austrian Women Artists and Art Lovers’ (GEDOK).

The exhibition traces the connections between the artists and their roots in Bremen and the surrounding area: artists lived next door to each other in Worpswede, Fischerhude and Dötlingen. There they taught the next generation to paint and draw – deliberately distancing themselves from the academies. Artistic dynasties emerged, such as the Modersohn, Plump and Breling families. Ultimately, the acquaintances made in the artists' villages and at GEDOK developed into deep friendships.

All works from the ‘Handzeichnungen HB’ research project can be found in our Online Catalogue.

Catherine Wilhelmine Marie Bock, Four Children on a Bridge

Pencil, 38,6 x 32 cm, Kunsthalle Bremen – Der Kunstverein in Bremen, © Estate Catherine Wilhelmine Marie Bock

 

Dora Bromberger, Still live with Peaches, vor 1935

Watercolour over a pencil sketch, Kunsthalle Bremen – Der Kunstverein in Bremen

 

Toni Elster, Bremen’s industrial harbour, before 1933

Coal and traces of chalk in black and red, 30 x 45,7 cm, Kunsthalle Bremen – Der Kunstverein in Bremen

 

Magda Koll, Hand study, c. 1920

Pencil and charcoal, 17,7 x 15 cm, Kunsthalle Bremen – Der Kunstverein in Bremen, © Nachlass Magda Koll

 

Louise Kugler, O Summer! from: The Seasons, before 1872

Watercolour over pencil, erased, 42,7 x 34,5 cm, Kunsthalle Bremen – Der Kunstverein in Bremen

 

Paula Modersohn-Becker, Reclining female nude with a baby in her arms, 1906

Charcoal, Kunsthalle Bremen – Der Kunstverein in Bremen

 

Elisabeth Noltenius,Standing Man (Studies for the etching Coffin on the Farmhouse Floor)

Black pen, 33,8 x 25,4 cm, Kunsthalle Bremen – Der Kunstverein in Bremen, © Rainer Noltenius

 

Anna Plate, Sliced Orange, 1932

Watercolour over pencil, 22,5 x 27,4 cm, Kunsthalle Bremen – Der Kunstverein in Bremen

 

Ida Ströver, Sitting male nude in profile

Black chalk, 44,8 x 27,4 cm, Kunsthalle Bremen – Der Kunstverein in Bremen

 

Gustava Tölken, The Lucky Heiress, c. 1955

Black chalk and pencil, watercoloured, 22,5 x 16 cm, Kunsthalle Bremen – Der Kunstverein in Bremen, © Estate Gustava Tölken

 

Else Wiegandt, Monkey, before 1933

Oil, 32,5 x 27,5 cm, Kunsthalle Bremen – Der Kunstverein in Bremen, © Estate Else Wiegandt

 

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