The Salonnière Elsa Glaser
Isabel Fischer
Curator of Collection, Brücke-Museum
Early Years
Elsa Glaser was born in Breslau (now Wrocław, Poland) on 7 May 1878. Her father, Hugo Kolker (1845‒1915), was a successful businessman who ran a chemicals and grease manufacturing business that, alongside other products, was responsible for producing the very first artificial silk. Elsa had no siblings and enjoyed the full attention of her parents, Hugo and Renate “Nathalie” Kolker (née Glaser). Unaffected by material concerns, Elsa was able to follow her intellectual and cultural interests, and she received a comprehensive education typical of upper-middle-class circles. Nevertheless, her options were limited as a woman living in the German Empire. Despite Elsa’s exceptional intelligence and cultural interests, later repeatedly confirmed by her contemporaries, she was neither permitted to study – only a few universities admitted women at this time – nor to pursue a professional career.
Her Marriage with Curt Glaser – A Life Shared for Art
In 1903, at 25, Elsa married her same-aged cousin Curt Glaser, who had previously completed his medical degree. Their love of art was mutual, although it is very likely that Elsa was the one who inspired her husband to pursue a career as an art historian. With financial support from her family, Curt was able to study art history and embark on a museum career. Curt and Elsa Glaser’s lives together were shaped by art, intellectual exchange and trips of discovery. Their marriage remained childless, which gave the couple greater independence in their endeavours. They travelled a lot, especially in the early years of their marriage, for example, to Japan in 1911, where they spent several months. Elsa Glaser was curious by nature and possessed a thirst for knowledge. She picked up new things quickly, including the Japanese language and culture. She also spoke fluent French and translated Joachim Gasquet’s book about Paul Cezanne into German.This “good translation” 1 also garnered praise from art historian Rosa Schapire, with whom Glaser shared a commitment to modern art.
Collecting Art
Collecting art was one of the passions Elsa Glaser shared with her husband Curt. Their private art collection contained important works of Classical Modernism, primarily by Edvard Munch but also by the Brücke artists. Elsa Glaser’s role during the assembling of the significant collection was often overshadowed by her husband, who had the necessary contacts as a curator at Berlin’s Kupferstichkabinett (Museum of Prints and Drawings) and later as director of the Staatliche Kunstbibliothek (Art Library). Collecting art with her husband had always been a joint endeavour, and Elsa Glaser was involved in both the choices and the finances. She also assisted her father when he was acquiring his collection. Elsa opened a path for Hugo Kolker to contemporary art and helped him to secure works by Edvard Munch: “Now, Mrs Glaser, an only daughter, would like to help her father buy another large Munch painting. The lady contacted me to ask you, Mr Munch, about the painting Arbeiter im Schnee (Workers in the Snow). … She is very tasteful and lives entirely for art”, the Munch supporter and collector Albert Kollmann wrote to the artist. Elsa Glaser thought highly of Munch and visited him in Oslo in 1913 with her husband. They became friends with him. Munch used the visit to paint two portraits of her. Elsa Glaser maintained personal contact with Munch and other artists, including Max Pechstein and Henri Matisse. The extent of her involvement in artistic circles was indicated not least by her assistance, together with Curt Glaser, in organising a Matisse exhibition in 1913 at Fritz Gurlitt’s art salon and her close contact with the artist. 2
Hostess of a Lively Salon Culture
Elsa Glaser was an extroverted and communicative person who attained renown as a hostess of Berlin salons in the 1920s. Starting in 1925, Monday evening events took place at the Glasers’ spacious book and art-filled apartment, to which writers such as Robert Musil and artists including Max Beckmann were invited, along with museum professionals and gallerists. “Elsa Glaser was spontaneous and unconventional and could be unrestrained to the extent of what was possible, yet she was also enthusiastic and talented to a rare degree”, remarked her friend, the publicist Karl Scheffler, who frequently attended these evenings. Most guests allowed themselves to be “set in motion by her”. It was because she kept the conversations going and lent them the proper esprit, even if or possibly because she did not always adhere to conventions and could steer the conversation to less comfortable things. Many people appreciated the intellectual exchange with her, and she was, in fact, much like art dealer Hugo Perls described her: “a great source of inspiration in art and philosophy”.
Elsa Glaser struggled increasingly with health problems by the second half of the 1920s. Her hearing steadily deteriorated until a hearing aid barely helped. She had other physical ailments as well. Elsa died on 10 July 1932 at the age of only 54, following a severe illness. In a speech at the gravesite of the deceased, Karl Scheffler commented: “That’s how you’ll be remembered ‒ still moving our innermost feelings because your spirit moved so beautifully.” In Scheffler’s words, she was “Unforgettable!”
Further Literature:
Lynn Rother and Max Koss, “‘Oh, You Are a Scientist!’ Elsa Glaser and Art History”, in: The Collector Curt Glaser: From Champion of Modernism to Refugee, eds. Anita Haldemann and Judith Rauser, Berlin: Deutscher Kunstverlag, 2022, pages 14-19.
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1Rosa Schapire, “Bücher über die bildenden Kunst”, in Der Kreis. Zeitschrift für künstlerische Kultur, 7, 1930, Heft 12, pp. 712‒716, here p. 712.
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2See Anja Breloh, Der Kunstbesitz der Familie Kolker aus Breslau. Eine Spurensuche, 2024, p. 34.