Member Lecture: Paula Modersohn-Becker — I Am Me

During her short life, Paula Modersohn-Becker (1876–1907) radically charted her own path, exploring the singular aspects of the feminine experience in a bold style that foreshadowed Expressionism. Her most striking works—large scale drawings and colorful paintings—are frank portrayals of childhood and images of the lived bodily experience of motherhood, pregnancy, and old age. Modersohn-Becker is especially acclaimed for her many self-portraits, including the first nude self-portraits known to have been made by a woman.

Despite Modersohn-Becker’s fame in Germany and her posthumous reputation as a feminist icon, Paula Modersohn-Becker: I Am Me marks her first museum retrospective in the United States. Hear from curator Jay A. Clarke for a deep dive into the life and work of this groundbreaking artist.