Käthe Kollwitz (Konigsberg, Prussia 1867–1945 Moritzburg, Germany), Brot! (Bread), 1924, Charcoal on paper, The Dorothy Braude Edinburg (Class of 1942) Collection 1980.126

Already an accomplished artist, Käthe Kollwitz became an anti-war activist after her son died during World War I (1914-1918), in order to capture the despair felt by impoverished families in postwar Germany. In this preparatory sketch for an International Workers Aid poster, a mother passes a piece of bread behind her back to the crying child on the right, having already given the rest to the other child still begging for more. With pleading expressions the two children look up at their mother, who slumps over and covers her face in despair. This emotional and highly political drawing reveals how Kollwitz channeled her experience as both an artist and mother into the role of activist, working towards an end to the suffering of Germany’s children.

During the summer of 2021, Eleanor P. DeLorme Intern Rachel Beaton (‘21) curated a series of six acquisitions donated by members of the Friends of Art at the Davis, with a focus on the theme of motherhood. Over the course of the 2021-2022 academic year, the Davis will present each artwork individually for a time period of two months. By addressing topics as varied as war, prosperity, intimacy, and reverence, these artworks grapple with the image of the mother as a complex—and often conflicted—figure in both art history and the artists’ personal lives.