German-speaking émigrés, art, and modernism in twentieth-century Britain

Abstract

This thesis examines the careers of the German-speaking artists who arrived in Britain in the 1930s, after the rise of National Socialism led to them leaving central Europe. It explores this diaspora through the experiences of three artists: the ceramicist Lucie Rie, the mixed media artist Kurt Schwitters, and the religious muralist Hans Feibusch. These individuals created art that existed outside of the dominant strands of artistic production in Britain. Their careers will be traced through artwork they produced; their engagement with individuals and networks; their relationships to the spaces and locations they worked from; the ways in which they were impacted by gender; and their influence and legacy. It argues that the experiences of émigré artists were disparate, but that those who arrived with social and financial privilege were the most likely to successfully carve a space for themselves, and to rebuild their careers in Britain. Creating art that was functional or served a purpose beyond art for art’s sake was another factor that helped many to find a place in the British art scene. Émigré artists did not change the course of British modernism, which was already set in motion, but they did diversify it.