During her short life, Paula Modersohn-Becker (1876–1907) radically charted her own path, exploring the singular aspects of the feminine experience in a bold style that foreshadowed Expressionism.
Her most striking works—among the more than 700 paintings, roughly 1,400 drawings, and eleven prints made across only 10 years—are frank portrayals of childhood and images of the lived...
During her short life, Paula Modersohn-Becker (1876–1907) radically charted her own path, exploring the singular aspects of the feminine experience in a bold style that foreshadowed Expressionism.
Her most striking works—among the more than 700 paintings, roughly 1,400 drawings, and eleven prints made across only 10 years—are frank portrayals of childhood and images of the lived bodily experience of motherhood, pregnancy, and old age. Modersohn-Becker is especially acclaimed for her many self-portraits, including the first nude self-portraits known to have been made by a woman. Beyond subject matter, her innovative style, which emphasized expression over representation, placed her at the forefront of experimental art in Europe at the turn of the century.
Despite her importance to art history and her posthumous place as a feminist icon, Modersohn-Becker has never been the subject of a museum retrospective in the United States. This exhibition marks her first full-scale museum presentation in this country. Showing the full range of her achievement over her career, tragically cut short by a postpartum embolism, the display includes more than 50 paintings, 15 large-scale drawings, and five etchings.
Book your tickets
1 option
The Art Institute of Chicago: Fast Pass
- Admission to the Art Institute of Chicago
- Bypass the general admission lines at the entrance
- Access to all galleries and non-ticketed exhibitions
- Free downloadable audio guide app with background stories behind the artworks
Other exhibitions at The Art Institute of Chicago
Hand-picked combinations
Combine The Art Institute of Chicago with other Chicago favorites. Some things are better together.
The Art Institute of Chicago
The Art Institute of Chicago is one of the oldest and largest art museums in the US, attracting approximately 1.5 million guests annually. It is home to some of the world's most famous paintings, including The Old Guitarist by Pablo Picasso, A Sunday Afternoon on the Island of La Grande Jatte by Georges-Pierre Seurat, Edward Hopper's Nighthawks, and Grant Wood's American Gothic, among countless other works.
Opening hours
Wednesday | Closed |
Thursday | 11:00 - 20:00 |
Friday | 11:00 - 17:00 |
Saturday | 11:00 - 17:00 |
Sunday | 11:00 - 17:00 |
Monday | 11:00 - 17:00 |
Tuesday | Closed |