Edvard Munch, Workers in the Snow

Edvard Munch (1863-1944) was a painter born in Loten, Norway. As a young person, he studied art in Paris, until 1892 when he was noticed internationally and invited to do an “monographic” exhibition in Berlin. Munch showcased 55 canvases in Berlin, and quickly received negative feedback from conservative critics who considered the exhibit a “scandal”. Due to such feedback, Munch’s first exhibition was closed by the Union of Artists in Berlin, and his reputation struggled. Instead of giving up, Munch began to work harder, when young progressive critics began to defend his work. Soon after these reviews, he was invited to show his “controversial” work in exhibition spaces and his reputation was restored. With his art gaining more traction, he stayed in Berlin for two years.

Due to this turn of events, he made the executive decision to stay in Berlin, and would exhibit his works in private galleries and on his own. Munch stayed in Berlin for the better part of 2 decades, where he continually improved his reputation and eventually became noticed throughout greater Germany. Part of growing his audience meant people in Breslau particularly admired his works. Here, his works began to be added to private collections such as: two landscapes in the collection of Leo Lawin, prints in the collection of Carl Sachs and one canvas in the possession of Art History Professor Richard Muther, one of Munch’s first and most adamant supporters. Perhaps most notably Munch’s art landed in the private collection of Hugo Kolker. With Kolkers collection, Munch’s landscape from Kragero was shared in the fourth contemporary art exhibit in Breslau of 1911. Kolker also shared over 30 other works of art, ranging from Picasso and Matisse canvases to the Silesian Museum of Fine Arts. Kolker was even one of the first monographers on a Curt Glasser piece. Curt Glasser, was married to Elsa Kolker, daughter of Hugo. Because of their proximity to Hugo Kolker, Munch was family friends with them, and thus Curt and Elsa were portrayed by Munch many times. The Kolkers family correspondence with Munch is preserved today in the Munch Museum in Oslo. Munch also portrayed Kathe Perl- the daughter of Bruno Kulker and the niece of Hugo Kulker, who was an art dealer and historian. “Workers in the Snow”, reminds us of the connections Munch made in his time in Breslau.

After Hugo Kolkers death, his wife Natalia Kolker had possession of this painting. When Natalia died in 1921, the painting became their daughter Else’s.