The Histories of Heckel's Triptych, “To the Convalescent Woman” (1912-13)

Lynette Roth, Daimler Curator of the Busch-Reisinger Museum, Harvard University

Neue Galerie New York is honored to present the triptych To the Convalescent Woman (1912-13) by Brücke Expressionist artist Erich Heckel, on special loan from the collection of the Busch-Reisinger Museum at Harvard University, for the exhibition “Erich Heckel” from October 9, 2025 through January 12, 2026. To mark the opening of the exhibition, we are delighted to welcome Lynette Roth, Daimler Curator of the Busch-Reisinger Museum, for an in-depth discussion of this masterful work, which portrays Siddi Riha, the artist’s model and future wife, convalescing after a long illness, across three canvases. The painting prompts examinations of Heckel’s work across media, the relationship between expressionism and African and Oceanian visual and material culture during Germany’s colonial period, the infamous Nazi “degenerate art” campaign, and the reception of modern German art in the United States during and after World War II.

This talk is presented as part of the Fall 2025 Lecture Series, which features a range of scholars with expertise on the art and design of Austria and Germany.

About the Speaker

Daimler Curator of the Busch-Reisinger Museum, Harvard Art Museums, Lynette Roth oversees the only museum in North America dedicated to the study of all modes and periods of art from central and northern Europe, with an emphasis on German-speaking countries. A specialist in modern and contemporary art, Roth’s publications and exhibitions have focused on the intersection of art and politics and the work of Max Beckmann, August Sander, and the Cologne Progressives. Recent projects at the Harvard Art Museums include Inventur–Art in Germany, 1943–55 (2018), White Shadows: Anneliese Hager and the Camera-less Photograph (2022), Made in Germany? Art and Identity in a Global Nation (2024) and Edvard Munch: Technically Speaking (2025). Roth earned her Ph.D. in the History of Art from Johns Hopkins University (2009) and her B.A. in interdisciplinary studies and German languages and literature from the University of Michigan (1998).