About the Exhibition
It is one of the most important bequests of the past decades: the photographer and philanthropist Ulrike Crespo of Frankfurt left more than 90 outstanding paintings and works on paper to the Städel Museum. Spanning modern and international post-war art, the bequest includes outstanding works by Wassily Kandinsky, Franz Marc, Otto Dix, Max Ernst, Fernand Léger, Jean Dubuffet, Cy Twombly, and many others.
The Städel Museum honoured Ulrike Crespo’s impressive gesture with an exhibition titled “Tokens of Friendship: Ulrike Crespo’s Gifts to the Städel Museum”. From 24 November 2021 to 6 March 2022, selected works from the bequest entered into dialogue with works from the Städel’s collection. A total of 72 works were on view, including 44 from the Ulrike Crespo bequest. The donated individual works and workgroups formed an excellent complement to the collection of the museum. They enhanced existing holdings and close gaps—including those left behind by the Nazi confiscation of artworks within the framework of the ‘degenerate art’ campaign. In the exhibition, selected ‘new arrivals’ and works from the Städel’s collection thus corresponded and correlated with one another to the mutual enrichment of both.
Curator: Dr. Regina Freyberger (Head of Prints and Drawings from 1750, Städel Museum)
Discover the works of the exhibition in the Digital Collection.
Film
