Art, intrigue, Nazis and World War II are the subject of a forthcoming exhibit at the Cincinnati Art Museum (CAM).
Paintings, Politics and the Monuments Men: The Berlin Masterpieces in America — on display July 9-Oct. 3 — will take visitors through a lesser-known period of art history via the "Berlin 202." These 202 paintings, which were originally on display in the State Museums of Berlin, were extracted from salt mines by the U.S. Army after World War II.
The works then went on a 14-city journey across America in 1948-49 in what the CAM says became the "first blockbuster art exhibition of our time." More than 2.5 million guests viewed the 16th- to 18th-century works before they were returned to Germany.
The paintings play into a larger story about Nazis and their systematic looting of precious artworks, monuments and other pieces of history during World War II, as well as the ethics of America's "temporary transfer" of the German-owned paintings out of that country.
“This exhibition offers a valuable look into a landmark event in the history of art and 20th-century geo-politics,” says Peter Johnathan Bell, curator at the Cincinnati Art Museum, in a press release. “The fate of the ‘Berlin 202’ and the broader context of how art was used in the World War II era has affected how we think about ownership and value and cultural patrimony, and how we look at art today.”
Four of the paintings removed from the salt mines — and lent by the State Museums of Berlin — will be the focus of the exhibit, including Sandro Botticelli’s “Ideal Portrait of a Lady.” The CAM will also be displaying work by artists in the "Berlin 202" from their permanent collection.
In addition to art, the CAM show will also explore the history of the "Monuments Men" (you may have seen the George Clooney movie with the same name).
Toward the end of the war, Allied forces sought to recover and protect the artworks and monuments across Europe that had been stolen by the Nazis. A group of museum curators and art historians — dubbed the “Monuments Men” — became responsible for returning the pieces to their rightful owners after the war. They worked for the Monuments, Fine Art, and Archives program, which began in 1943 under the Civil Affairs and Military Government Sections of the Allied armies.
Cincinnati’s own “Monuments Man,” Walter Farmer, will also be featured. Farmer was the first director of the Wiesbaden Central Collecting Point in Germany, where artwork was gathered after the war, documented and prepared for return to its rightful owners. He was also "responsible for assembling 'Monuments Men' from across Europe to draft the Wiesbaden Manifesto, a document protesting the shipment of (the Berlin 202) paintings to the U.S.," says the CAM.
Paintings, Politics and the Monuments Men was originally set to open in June 2020 but was delayed because of the pandemic. Tickets will be available to purchase soon at cincinnatiartmuseum.org/visit. Members can see the exhibit for free. Limited and advanced online registration may be required to ensure social distancing and community wellness guidelines.
*An earlier version of this story said the paintings went on their American tour in 1945. It was 1948-49.
