The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (VMFA) in Richmond has announced the return of a significant watercolor by German artist Ernst Ludwig Kirchner to its Ludwig and Rosy Fischer Collection. The artwork, titled “Im Bett liegender Mann (Selbstbildnis),” was restituted to the descendants of the Fischer family by Dr. Annemarie and Prof. Dr. Günther Gercken through their representatives in Berlin, Germany, in July 2025. The Fischer heirs subsequently donated the piece to VMFA through a gift-purchase arrangement.
Alex Nyerges, Director and CEO of VMFA, stated, “The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts is honored to continue its stewardship of Ludwig and Rosy Fischer’s extraordinary collection of German art. We are delighted that this important and profoundly personal watercolor has been returned to the Fischer family and that it joins other important works by Kirchner in the museum’s Fischer Collection.”
Ludwig and Rosy Fischer were prominent collectors based in Frankfurt who assembled a major collection of German Expressionist art between 1905 and 1925, focusing on artists from the Die Brücke movement. Their sons inherited about 500 works in 1926. Following the rise of the Nazi regime, new laws forced Ernst Fischer out of his university position due to his Jewish heritage; he left Germany with part of the collection in 1934 for Richmond, Virginia. Max Fischer fled Germany in 1935 after more restrictive race laws were enacted but could only take a few artworks with him; many others were presumed lost or stolen.
After Max’s death in 1954, Ernst continued efforts to track down missing pieces from his brother’s share. Renewed attention on restitution for Nazi-era losses has led to several rediscoveries.
In 2009, VMFA acquired the Fischer Collection as the last refugee collection of German Expressionism to enter a U.S. museum via an agreement with Anne Fischer, Ernst’s widow. Since then, four artworks have been returned to VMFA’s collection as part of ongoing restitution efforts: “Sand Hills at Grünau” by Kirchner was restituted by MoMA in New York in 2015; “Siblings (Geschwister)” by Erich Heckel arrived in 2020; “Taunus Road” by Kirchner joined in 2021; and now “Im Bett liegender Mann.”
Eva Fischer Marx commented on behalf of her family: “Having grown up in a home surrounded by these incredible works of art, it was a natural decision to send any restituted works to VMFA, to rejoin the Ludwig and Rosy Fischer Collection at the museum. By reuniting this watercolor with the rest of the collection, we honor our grandparents’ vision and our parents’ dedication to sharing these works with the public.”
Ludwig and Rosy Fischer focused on collecting portraits—especially self-portraits—that expressed character through bold color and form rather than traditional likenesses.
Kirchner’s watercolor is a study for his painting “Selbstbildnis als Kranker (Der Kranker),” held at Munich’s Pinakothek der Moderne museum. The work reflects themes developed during what scholars call Kirchner’s “crisis” years around World War I.
Dr. Sarah Eckhardt, Associate Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art at VMFA said: “The medium of watercolor produced the sense of a quickly executed, dynamic composition, even if it was a carefully considered image of his illness… Each work from Max’s portion of the collection which has rejoined the larger Ludwig and Rosy Fischer Collection at VMFA deepens our understanding of Ludwig and Rosy Fischer’s vision as collectors and expands our ability to tell their family’s story. We are thrilled to add this work to the collection thanks to the generosity of the Fischer family.”
A major exhibition featuring works from the Fisher Collection is planned after completion of VMFA’s expansion project.
VMFA remains one of America’s largest comprehensive art museums with more than 50,000 artworks spanning over six millennia—including significant collections such as Fabergé objects outside Russia—and offers free general admission every day.
For further details about provenance research or visiting information see https://www.vmfa.museum/.
