CURATOR'S PERSPECTIVE: "DETROIT'S MASTERPIECES OF GERMAN EXPRESSIONISM"

Presented by: Salvador Salort-Pons, Ph.D., head of the European art department and The Elizabeth and Allan Shelden Curator of European Painting at the Detroit Institute of Arts
October 19, 2012
Frist Center for the Visual Arts
The Detroit Institute of Arts (DIA) is the repository of one the most comprehensive collections of German Expressionist art in America. It includes a number of paintings, sculptures, prints, and drawings, which were mainly acquired during the first half of the twentieth century thanks to the guidance of Director William Valentiner. In his lecture, Salvador Salort-Pons, head of the european art department at the DIA, walks you through some of the museum's Expressionist masterpieces. Dr. Salort-Pons explains how the DIA became the pioneering institution in America in this area of art collecting, describes the role of Valentiner and Detroit patrons in this endeavor, and illustrates how the DIA provided support to the German artists who were being defamed in their own country at the dawn of World War II.
This program was held in conjuction with German Expressionism from the Detroit Institute of Arts, on view at the Frist Center from October 19, 2012 through February 10, 2013.