In the 40th episode of our "Reading the Art World" podcast, Megan Fox Kelly speaks with the Guggenheim's Megan Fontanella, Curator of Modern Art and Provenance, about her beautifully researched book "Gabriele Münter: Contours of a World," published by Guggenheim Museum Publications, distributed by Artbook DAP.
Our conversation reveals the life and art of Gabriele Münter, a pioneering German Expressionist whose bold use of color and form helped define early modernism—yet whose place in art history has long been understated. Fontanella traces Münter's path from her early photographic work during travels in the United States (1898-1900) to her vibrant paintings that reimagined landscape, still life, and portraiture through radical simplification and expressive color.
We discuss Münter's role as cofounder of Der Blaue Reiter (The Blue Rider), the influential collective that included Vasily Kandinsky and other progressive artists who pushed the expressive potential of color and symbolic form. Fontanella shows how Münter developed her distinctive visual language—one that sought to "convey an essence" rather than imitate reality—offering a lyrical alternative to the pure abstraction that dominated much of early Modernism.
One of the most compelling parts of our conversation addresses Münter's actions during World War II, when she hid major works by herself and other Blue Rider artists in the basement of her home in Murnau, Germany, protecting them from Nazi confiscation. This act of quiet courage preserved a vital chapter of modern art history. Fontanella reflects on how women artists of Münter's generation have been systematically undervalued, and how recent scholarship is finally restoring Münter to her place in the modernist canon.
For anyone interested in German Expressionism, the recovery of women artists' legacies, or the collaborative networks that shaped the early 20th-century avant-garde, this episode offers essential insights into an artist whose vision continues to inspire—and whose work deserves far greater recognition.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Megan Fontanella is Curator of Modern Art and Provenance at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum. She is recognized as an expert in provenance research with a focus on World War II spoliation issues. Fontanella graduated from Dartmouth College with a BA in art history and received her MA from the Courtauld Institute of Art, London, where she specialized in late 19th-century French art.
ABOUT THE EXHIBITION
"Gabriele Münter: Contours of a World" is on view at the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum, New York, from November 7, 2025 through April 26, 2026. The exhibition presents over fifty paintings across three Tower galleries, alongside nineteen photographs Münter captured during her extended stay in the United States. Learn more here: https://www.guggenheim.org/exhibition/gabriele-munter
PURCHASE THE BOOK
https://www.guggenheimstore.org/gabriele-munter-contours-of-a-world
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"Reading the Art World" is a live interview and podcast series with leading art world authors hosted by art advisor Megan Fox Kelly. The conversations explore timely subjects in the world of art, design, architecture, artists and the art market. They are an opportunity to engage further with the minds behind these insightful new publications.
Megan Fox Kelly is an art advisor and past President of the Association of Professional Art Advisors who works with collectors, estates and foundations.
Music composed by Bob Golden
