A new book launch will honour Hans Hess, the curator who introduced German Expressionism to Leicester during World War II.
Born in Erfurt, Germany, in 1907, Hess fled Nazi persecution and arrived in England in the 1930s. In 1944, he became assistant keeper of art at Leicester Museum and Art Gallery, where he helped curate Mid European Art—a landmark exhibition featuring artists like Kandinsky, Klee, and Franz Marc, whose works were banned by the Nazis.
Picture: shows Rote Frau by Franz Marc, one of the first four works to come to Leicester’s gallery from the Hess family with the 1944 exhibition.
On Saturday 28 June at 5.30pm, Manifesto Press will launch Hans Hess: Volume One – Art in the 19th Century and Volume Two – Art in the 20th Century at the Leicester Museum. The free, ticketed event will include exclusive access to the museum’s German Expressionist gallery.
Joanna Jones, head of arts and museums, called Hess “a remarkable person” and praised Leicester’s role as a “beacon of cultural defiance” during the war. Assistant city mayor Vi Dempster added that Hess’s legacy reflects Leicester’s long tradition of welcoming refugees.
His daughter, Anita Halpin, noted the significance of the museum’s now leading collection of German Expressionist works, a testament to her father’s impact.
Books will be available for purchase, with a paid bar open throughout the evening. Tickets can be booked via Leicester Museums’ website.
