Tower of Mothers
Date1938
Label TextKollwitz first won acclaim as a printmaker in Berlin in the 1890s, before turning to sculpture in 1910. Inspired in part by her commitment to the workers' movement, her images focused on the human figure as an expressive form. This World War II era piece makes a powerful anti-war statement by focusing on the intense faces and gestures of women who want to keep their sons from war.
Object number58.82
Provenance[Galerie Alex Vomel, Dusseldorf, Germany]; purchased from gallery by Seattle Art Museum (Silver Anniversary Fund), August 5, 1958
Exhibition HistoryTacoma, Washington, Tacoma Art League, "Contemporary Sculpture," 1960
Tacoma, Washington, Tacoma Art League, "German Expressionists," 1962
Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, "Five Installations on the Fourth Floor: Unpretty Pictures", opened June 26, 1997
Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, "Anselm Kiefer and Germanic Tradition",
June 4, 1999 - January 2, 2000
Seattle, Washington, Seattle Art Museum, "The Art of Protest" April 27, 2000 - January 21, 2001
Published ReferencesMcCausland, E. "Kathe Kollwitz," in PArnassus, FEbruary 1937, pp. 20-25Credit LineSilver Anniversary Fund
Dimensions11 1/4 x 11 1/4 x 11 1/2 in. (28.58 x 28.58 x 29.21 cm)
MediumBronze
Object number: 68.90