Käte Traumann Steinitz created this woodcut, a view of the River Spree, while studying art in Berlin under teachers including Käthe Kollwitz and Lovis Corinth. Here she transforms a relatively bleak winter landscape into a picturesque view that turns the repetition of bare trees and bridge arches into decorative elements.
In 1917 Steinitz moved with her family to Hanover, where she befriended the Dada artist Kurt Schwitters. Steinitz and Schwitters remained lifelong friends, and collaborated on projects including children’s books, librettos, and festivals. Steinitz emigrated to the United States to escape Nazism, eventually settling in Los Angeles, where she worked as a librarian for Dr. Elmer Belt’s distinguished Leonardo da Vinci collection, now at UCLA. On the occasion of her eightieth birthday, LACMA organized an exhibition of her work.
Exhibition Label: Women’s Work: Art by Women in Germany, 1900–1933, 2021, Erin Maynes.
