The lady in fur (the gallerist Signe Schultz)
Signed Lotte Laserstein and dated 1941. Paper laid on panel 107 x 86 cm. We thank Anna-Carola Krausse for the information regarding the work.
Purchased directly from the artist by the current owner at the exhibition at Skälby Manor in Kalmar, 1983.
Skälby gård, Kalmar, "Mitt liv", 1983.
Moderna Museet, Malmö, "A divaded life", 6 May - 8 October 2023, cat. no. 41.
Moderna Museet, Stockholm, "A divaded life", 11 November 2023 - 14 April 2024, cat. no. 41.
Exhibition catalogue, Moderna Museet, Stockholm, "A Divided Life", 11 November 2023 - 14 April 2024, illustrated on full page p. 113.
In the exhibition catalogue for “A Divided Life”, Moderna Museet, Iris Müller-Westerman writes about the painting in question: ‘The gallerist Signe Schultz (1894-1960) is portrayed from the front, sitting cross-legged in an armchair. She is wearing her outerwear and beret, and looks as if she is about to go somewhere. Beneath her thick, open fur coat is an elegant crimson dress. With one hand in the coat pocket and the other hanging over the armrest, Signe Schultz looks a little tense and hesitant. Her gaze does not seek out the viewer, but remains unapproachably introspective. The artworks in the room tell us about the environment she is in. With great skill, Laserstein evokes the soft brown texture of the fur, emphasising Signe's jewellery: the ring, bracelet and earrings. The drawings hanging on the wall behind the art dealer form a grid that emphasises her figure and frames her head. Here sits a confident, ambitious businesswoman about to leave her gallery.
Since 1928, Signe Schultz had run Galerie Moderne at Nybrokajen in Stockholm together with her sister Alice Lagerbjelke. An invitation to exhibit her work in the Swedish capital enabled Lotte Laserstein to leave Germany in 1937, taking many of her most important works with her. The sisters' exhibition invitation would prove to save Laserstein's life.