The Felix Nussbaum Foundation was founded in Osnabrück in 2001. It has as its patron Hubert Schlenke and it is also supported by the City of Osnabrück. The foundation’s aim is threefold: to preserve for the coming generations the works of Felix Nussbaum and of other artists who were subjected to exile and who offered resistance to the regime during the years between 1933 and 1945; to study and elucidate these works in a scientific and academic way; and to make the complete œuvre available to the public by means of exhibitions and publications. The exhibiting of all the artist’s works, that are available, in the Felix-Nussbaum-Haus in Osnabrück is the way in which this aim is especially being striven after. By the purchasing of more and more works of Felix Nussbaum, the Felix Nussbaum Foundation plays an important role in the extending of the art collection on display in the Felix-Nussbaum-Haus.
In the more or less 25 years that have elapsed since the publication of the first catalogue raisonné of Felix Nussbaum, a veritable wealth of the artist’s pictures has unexpectedly come to light. The result of this enrichment is that it seemed very worthwhile to bring out a brand new picture index of the entire collection. By giving this project its support, the Felix Nussbaum Foundation hopes to make the œuvre of Nussbaum accessible to a broad section of the public. And, in so doing, it intends to give yet another impetus to even more people so as to make them wish to explore and come to grips with the artist’s work.
We would like to take this opportunity of expressing our special thanks to Anne Sibylle Schwetter who, during her time as a trainee at the Felix-Nussbaum-Haus in Osnabrück, carried out the revising and updating of the index. This task constituted a project of almost three years’ work that was performed with great commitment and a good helping of circumspection. The final part of Anne Sibylle’s work involved the preparing and monitoring of an online database. Our thanks also go out to Mechthild Achelwilm and Florian Heumann, who offered support to this project while following a programme of work experience.
And a very special thank-you is also directed towards the institutions and the private owners of works, towards the auction houses and galleries, people who have contributed invaluable help to the project with information and details regarding the collection of the Nussbaum works of art. Finally we would like to express our thanks to the cousins of the artist, Auguste Moses-Nussbaum and Shulamith Jaari-Nussbaum. We are delighted that they, too, support this project and its being made available as an online database.
Felix Nussbaum Foundation, managing director
Felix-Nussbaum-Haus, director