past exhibition
Paradise Lost: A Double-Sided Mystery by Max Pechstein
November 25, 2016–March 27, 2017
Max Pechstein
German, 1881–1955
Stilleben mit Akt, Kachel und Früchten, 1912–1913
oil on canvas, 38 7/8 x 39 in. (99 x 99 cm)
Henry Melville Fuller Fund in honor of Susan E. Strickler, Director of the Currier Museum of Art, 1996–2016, 2016.8
© 2016 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / Pechstein Hamburg / Tökendorf / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn.
The Currier Museum has recently acquired at international auction an important and unusual early 20th century painting. The work by German artist Max Pechstein (1881-1955) is a rare example of a double-sided painting. Painted back-to-back on a single piece of canvas, the two images seem to form a unified narrative, as revealed by new research at the museum. This new acquisition will be the centerpiece of this special exhibition of German expressionist works in the Currier collection, including several other new acquisitions.
Despite its significance, the painting has never before been studied closely. It appears that the landscape on one side and the still life on the other are not independent works, but form two parts of a combined story. Kurt Sundstrom, curator at the Currier Museum, suggests that the landscape might be a depiction of the Garden of Eden, while the still life with a woman may show the Temptation of Eve. Together, the two sides form a modern retelling of a biblical story.
Max Pechstein
German, 1881–1955
Stilleben mit Akt, Kachel und Früchten, 1912–1913
oil on canvas, 38 7/8 x 39 in. (99 x 99 cm)
Henry Melville Fuller Fund in honor of Susan E. Strickler, Director of the Currier Museum of Art, 1996–2016, 2016.8
© 2016 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / Pechstein Hamburg / Tökendorf / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn.
Verso: Kurische Waldlandschaft, 1912–1913
oil on canvas, 38 7/8 x 39 in. (99 x 99 cm)
Henry Melville Fuller Fund in honor of Susan E. Strickler, Director of the Currier Museum of Art, 1996–2016, 2016.8
© 2016 Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York / Pechstein Hamburg / Tökendorf / VG Bild-Kunst, Bonn.
upcoming exhibitions
past exhibitions
Archived material on past exhibitions can be explored further here, and recent past exhibition catalogues are available through the museum shop.
artist in residence
Our Artist-in-Residence (AIR) program invites artists to live and work at the museum. While in residence, artists consider the collection and community, and refresh our perspectives on the role of the museum. The program is central to the Currier Museum’s mission of connecting our audiences with art and creative thinking, whether of the past or the future. We hope to learn from our visiting artists – and be surprised by their perspectives.
Artists working in all media participate in the AIR program, which has three main components: 1) an open call to support emerging artists making socially engaged art; 2) an invitational through which artists are selected to develop special projects, commissions, or exhibitions; and 3) artist-led, community-centered public art projects in the city of Nashua, NH.
Open Call for Artist in Residence Applications
Our annual open call is currently live from October 1 – December 1, 2022. Artists who share the museum’s goal of positively impacting communities through the transformative power of art are encouraged to apply to this residency.