A new exhibition titled "Queer Modernism. 1900 to 1950" opens at the Kunstsammlung Nordrhein-Westfalen in Düsseldorf, Germany, featuring over 130 works by 34 artists from Europe and the United States. The show highlights queer contributions to modernism during the first half of the 20th century, a period of both sexual liberation in cosmopolitan centers and persecution under fascism. Works include Lotte Laserstein's "I and My Model" (1929/30) and Ludwig von Hofmann's "The Source" (1913), once owned by Thomas Mann.
The exhibition matters because it is described as the first major show of its kind in Europe, if not worldwide, addressing the historical marginalization of queer artists from the modernist canon. By recovering overlooked works and narratives, it broadens the understanding of modernism and challenges long-standing prejudices, while also confronting themes of discrimination and resistance, particularly during the Nazi era.