(Milwaukee, WI) The Haggerty Museum of Art, Marquette University will present the exhibition German and Austrian Art of the 1920s and 30s: The Marvin and Janet Fishman Collection from April 11 through June 16, 2002. The exhibition opens on April 11 with a 6 p.m. lecture in the Museum by James T. Demetrion, former director of the Smithsonian's Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, Washington D.C. A reception from 7 to 9 p.m. at the Haggerty Museum follows the lecture.

German and Austrian Art of the 1920s and 1930s: The Marvin and Janet Fishman Collection will feature 80 works from one of the most important private collections of early twentieth century art from Germany and Austria. The Paintings and drawings in the exhibition date largely from the Weimar Republic (1919-1933), and represent the Neue Sachlichkeit or "new Objectivity" movement.

Neue Sachlichkeit works reveal the new sobriety and matter-of-factness reflecting the general mood and aftermath of World War I. It is frequently characterized by a satirical social realism. The cruelty and senselessness of the war are recurrent themes along with desperation, exploitation, and death. In their attempt to present reality, Neue Sachlichkeit painters revived such nineteenth-century painting genres as the landscape, townscape and portrait.

The artists featured include Otto Dix, George Grosz, Felix Nussbaum, Egon Schiele and Ludwig Meidner, all of who are now considered major figures of the period. Other artists included are Albert Birkle, Josef Scharl, Rudolf Fuhrmann, Karl Hubbuch and Bruno Voigt, all artists working in Germany following World War I. The Fishman's appreciation of these artists has resulted in a collection that is unique in America.

Marvin and Janet Fishman have been serious collectors since the late 1960s. They began focusing exclusively on German Art in the 1970s. The exhibition follows a major gift by the Fishmans in 2001 of nine paintings and one charcoal drawing from their collection to the Haggerty Museum.

"The Haggerty Museum is pleased to present the Fishman's collection and provide the Milwaukee community the opportunity to understand and appreciate an important and previously neglected period of art," says Dr. Curtis L. Carter, director of the Haggerty Museum.

The opening speaker, James T. Demetrion served as the second director of the Hirshhorn Museum and Sculpture Garden, the Smithsonian's museum of modern and contemporary art, which opened in 1974. He has been described as "one of the most level headed, clear thinking directors in the museum field." He is a specialist in German and Austrian Expressionism and has focused on the work of Egon Schiele. Throughout his career, he has curated major exhibitions of early twentieth century artists.

The exhibition is jointly sponsored by the Goethe House of Wisconsin in cooperation with Marvin and Janet Fishman.

The Haggerty Museum of Art is located at North 13th St. and West Clybourn Avenue on the campus of Marquette University. Museum hours are Monday - Wednesday, Friday - Saturday, 10 am-4:30 pm; Thursday, 10 am-8 pm; and Sunday, noon-5 pm. Free parking is available in the Mary B. Finnigan Parking Lot (enter on 11th St. through Marquette Lot J). For more information on the exhibition or the Haggerty Museum, contact John Gardner at 414/288-3657.