August Macke Drawing 'Ernte' Returns to Mönchengladbach Museum

The Museum Abteiberg in Mönchengladbach has reacquired the drawing 'Ernte' (1911) by expressionist artist August Macke (1887–1914), which was confiscated in 1937 as part of the Nazi 'Degenerate Art' campaign. The purchase was supported by the Kulturstiftung der Länder with a grant of €33,333. The work originally belonged to the Walter Kaesbach Stiftung collection, which formed the basis of the museum's modern art holdings. Walter Kaesbach (1879–1961), an art historian born in Mönchengladbach, served as director of the Städtisches Museum in Erfurt (1920–1924) and later as director of the Kunstakademie Düsseldorf until his dismissal in 1933. He was a promoter of Expressionism. Most of the Kaesbach collection was seized in 1937; three works have been reacquired since 1945. The drawing was located through a research project in cooperation with the Forschungsstelle 'Entartete Kunst' at the Freie Universität Berlin. The charcoal drawing, created in September 1911 during a stay in the Black Forest, features reduced facial details and distinctive linework typical of Macke's style. It depicts an unusual rural harvest scene, as Macke primarily painted urban subjects. The work is believed to be a study for a now-lost painting of the same title. Additional funding was provided by the Ministerium für Kultur und Wissenschaft des Landes Nordrhein-Westfalen.