ALKERSUM / FÖHR.- Like a breath of fresh air – that is how artists experienced the new stylistic direction of Impressionism, which emerged from France in the 1860s. Fleeting atmospheres of light, new leisure activities or impressions from travels were captured with rapid brushstrokes painted directly on the canvas in radiant colours in the open air. These principles quickly spread and also led to a profound transformation of painting in northern Europe.

This travelling exhibition particularly focuses on the paintings of Dutch, German and Danish Impressionists. In cooperation with the Museum Singer Laren and Lower Saxony’s Landesmuseum Hannover, more than 80 exquisite paintings and oil studies have been selected for presentation, including works by artists such as Anna Ancher, Lovis Corinth, Isaac Israels, Johan Barthold Jongkind, Jo Koster, Max Liebermann, Peder Severin Krøyer and Max Slevogt. Their motifs stand in the shifting light of different seasons and times of day – painted at home or during their travels, in the garden or at the beach, in the country or in the city. The individual variations which can be grouped under the broad term “Northern Impressionism” reveal themselves. The thematic presentation invites us to move beyond national borders and explore commonalities and differences in Impressionism’s reception in the north.

The exhibition simultaneously celebrates the 15th anniversary of the MKdW’s founding, and Karin Prien – Schleswig-Holstein’s Minister of Education, Science and Culture – serves as its patron.

In 2009, the non-profit Museum Kunst der Westküste was endowed by the entrepreneur, Prof. Dr. mult. h.c. Frederik Paulsen, whose family is from Alkersum on the island of Föhr. Centrally located in the village of Alkersum, it builds on the history of “Grethjens Gasthof”, the former village inn where artists from Germany and Denmark as well as islanders used to stop by even in the nineteenth century. The idea of bringing this social and artistic meeting place to life again was behind the founding of the museum and the new construction of the present-day museum restaurant and café.

The museum makes the high-quality West Coast Art Collection accessible to the public, while at the same time providing an attractive architectural setting for the presentation of selected loans from Germany and abroad. As a result of its ambitious exhibition programme the museum has quickly developed into a cultural beacon with international reach.