, Paula Modersohn-Becker moved to Paris, leaving her husband and stepdaughter to pursue her artistic ambitions. Her prolific career produced 734 paintings and nearly 1,400 works on paper within a decade. Despite her success, Modersohn-Becker is relatively unknown in the U.S., making her retrospective at the Neue Galerie significant. Known for leading expressionism in Germany and creating the first nude self-portrait by a woman, her works often depicted women and children with fertility symbols, breastfeeding scenes, and powerful still lifes. After returning to her husband in Germany and becoming pregnant, she tragically died of a postpartum embolism in 1907. Her art reflects her journey of self-discovery and the struggle for authenticity in a rapidly changing world, highlighting the complex relationship between motherhood, creativity, and personal identity. 🚀




















