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Anne Ratkowski-Wanger Collection

 Collection
Identifier: AR 6326

Scope and Content Note

Much of this collection consists of Arthur Segal's correspondence with Braun, Ratkowski, and a few others, including with some of his students. Many of these letters were written while in exile in Mallorca and London. Also present is Segal's unpublished poetry manuscript Cosmogenie. The remainder of the collection is comprised of a few photographs and of various small groups of Anne Ratkowski-Wanger's post-war correspondence, including correspondence with her son Andreas, correspondence with the Jewish Museum Berlin regarding the whereabouts of some of Ratkowski's pre-war artworks, and correspondence about exhibitions of Ratkowski's artworks.

Dates

  • Creation: 1920-1994

Creator

Language of Materials

This collection is in German and English.

Access Restrictions

Open to researchers.

Access Information

Collection is digitized. Follow the links in the Container List to access the digitized materials.

Use Restrictions

There may be some restrictions on the use of the collection. For more information, contact:

Leo Baeck Institute, Center for Jewish History, 15 West 16th Street, New York, NY 10011

email: lbaeck@lbi.cjh.org

Biographical Note

Anne Ratkowsi-Wanger was born Anneliese Ratkowski on March 3, 1903 in Berlin.

From 1920-1938, she was married to the painter Nikolaus Braun (born January 17, 1900 in Berlin; died 1950 in New York City). Her son, Andreas (later Andy Duncan-Brown), was born on Nov. 12, 1930 in Berlin.

Anne Ratkowski and Nikolaus Braun were members of the November Group (Novembergruppe), a loose union of radical artists, which was created in December 1918 in Berlin under the impression of the November revolution (other members included the painters Lyonel Feininger, Wassily Kandinsky and Paul Klee). Both burned their works before escaping Nazi Germany in 1938.

Anne Ratkowski went to Belgium, where she survived in hiding, and where she married Paul Wangenheim. After World War II, the couple emigrated to the United States and changed their name to Wanger. Anne Ratkowski settled in New York City. She died in 1997.

Arthur Segal was born in Iaşi, Romania in 1875. As a member of an older generation of avant-garde artists, he was a teacher and mentor to Braun and Ratkowski. With them and several other artists he founded the November Group (Novembergruppe) of politically radical artists in Berlin, but he already had a long history in the Avant-Garde. He had namely already exhibited with the groups Der Blaue Reiter and Die Brücke, and had been a founding member of the Neue Sezession in Berlin; during the 1920s he showed work at the Cabaret Voltaire. He was also active as a teacher and wrote several books. Because of his Jewish background, he was no longer permitted to exhibit in Germany under Nazi rule, so he fled first to Mallorca and then to London. In London he set up an art school, and died there in 1944.

Extent

0.25 Linear Feet (9 folders.)

Abstract

Much of this collection consists of Arthur Segal's correspondence and his unpublished manuscript poem Cosmogenie. Other materials include photographs and some of Anne Ratkowski-Wanger's correspondence.

Related Materials

There are several works by Anne Ratkowski in the LBI Art Collection.

Separated Materials

Photographs have been removed to the LBI Photograph Collection.

A portrait of Anne Ratkowski-Wanger (call number F 55492) has been removed to the LBI Photograph Collection.

A copy of an issue of Berliner Forum (1986 v. 5) entitled Das Jüdische Museum Berlin: eine Abteilung des Berlin Museums by Veronika Bendt has been removed from folder 7 (Correspondence--Jewish Museum Berlin). Please use the copy available in the LBI Library.

Title
Guide to the Anne Ratkowski-Wanger Collection, 1920-1994  AR 6326
Status
Completed
Author
Processed by Timothy Ryan Mendenhall
Date
© 2010
Language of description
English
Script of description
Latin
Language of description note
Finding aid written in English.

Revision Statements

  • January 05, 2012 : Links to digital objects added in Container List.

Repository Details

Part of the Leo Baeck Institute Repository

Contact:
15 West 16th Street
New York NY 10011 United States