In 1997 and 2001, the Kupferstich-Kabinett Dresden received two parts of the written bequest of Elfriede Schulze-Battmann (1910-2001), the sister of the artist Wols (Wolfgang Otto Schulze, Berlin 1913-1951 Paris). Wols stands as one of the most significant figures in the interwar avant-garde and post-war modernism. In photography, he is regarded as an important representative of New Vision (Neues Sehen) and Surrealism, and in painting as a pioneer of Art Informel. His multifaceted artistic work as a photographer, painter and printmaker began after emigrating to France in 1932
As part of her Wols archive, Elfriede Schulze-Battmann also left the Kupferstich-Kabinett Dresden the world's largest collection of Wols' photographic works with over 1,000 modern prints. These works are separate from the written bequest and have been integrated into the Kupferstich-Kabinett's collection. In 1982, Elfriede Schulze-Battmann had already donated 47 of the Modern Prints, most of which were created in the 1960s and 1970s.
The donation and bequest of Elfriede Schulze-Battmann formed the basis for the selection of works for the exhibition and the accompanying catalog Wols' Photography: Images Regained, in which the Dresden Kupferstich-Kabinett comprehensively presented Wols' photographic oeuvre for the first time. Additional stops of the exhibition included the Martin-Gropius-Bau in Berlin and the Musée d'Art moderne de la Ville de Paris in 2014.
In addition to personal documents, the archive's written bequest includes letters with curators and institutions of European post-war modernism regarding various solo and group exhibitions of Wols' work. These include significant projects such as documenta 1 and 2 or the 1958 Venice Biennale, the 1978 exhibition Wols Photograph and the important retrospective Wols. Paintings, Watercolours, Drawings, Photographs, Prints in Zurich and Düsseldorf in 1989/90. A detailed list can be found in the Findbuch.
DThe Wols archive is available upon request. Please contact: bjoern.egging@skd.museum
