MONTREAL, CANADA.- An outstanding collection of photographs, donated to the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts in 2003 by Toronto collectors Sir Neil and Lady Elizabeth Shaw, is featured through January 7, 2007, in the exhibition Germaine Krull: The Monte Carlo Years. It presents a series of 155 photographs taken between 1935 and 1940, in and around Monte Carlo and the Côte d’Azur. Born in western Prussia, Germaine Krull (1897-1985), a committed nonconformist, was an accomplished and highly influential photographer who continually sought out new forms of artistic _expression. Following the outbreak of World War II, she fled Paris and opened a studio in Monte Carlo. Through her photographs, she illustrated the many facets of this exclusive resort town: its magnificent location between the mountains and the sea, its villas and gardens, its casino and its sporting and cultural events.

In addition to running her studio, Krull headed the photography department at the Monte Carlo Casino, which gave her access to various official activities and to the members of high society who visited the Côte d’Azur at that time. Her photographs depict royalty, aristocrats, wealthy vacationers and artists, including Serge Lifar, Arturo Toscanini and Francis Picabia. She photographed performances – dance, theatre and music – along with architecture, nightlife and occasionally, scenes from daily life. She covered sporting events, sailing, tennis and auto racing, which comprise the main themes in the series featured in the exhibition: the Nations Cup, the Menton Lawn Tennis Club, the Macomber Cup (sailing), the Monte Carlo car rally and the Monaco Grand Prix.

In 1999-2000, Krull was the subject of major retrospective exhibitions at the Folkwang Museum, Essen, and at the Haus der Kunst, Munich, the Kunsthal, Rotterdam, the Musée national d’art moderne, Centre Pompidou, Paris (Germaine Krull : l’art d’être moderne); and the San Francisco Museum of Modern Art (Germaine Krull: Photographer of Modernity).

In addition to the presentation of the exhibition Germaine Krull: The Monte Carlo Years, the support of Sir Neil and Lady Elizabeth Shaw enabled the Museum to publish a 160-page catalogue. It contains reproductions of the 230 photographs in this collection. The texts were written by Kim Sichel, Guest Curator of the exhibition. Ms. Sichel will be giving a lecture, in English, entitled “Germaine Krull, Photographer of Modernity,” on Tuesday, October 17 at 4 p.m.

The donation of this archive makes the Montreal Museum of Fine Arts one of the leading repositories of Germaine Krull’s work, along with the Folkwang Museum, Essen, which is home to the Krull estate.

Diane Charbonneau, Curator of Photography and Contemporary Decorative Arts is responsible for the organization of the exhibition Germaine Krull: The Monte Carlo Years.