Mann mit Mission

Alexander Dorner was a pivotal figure in the early 20th-century museum reform movement. Initially a museum director in Hanover-where he organized groundbreaking exhibitions with El Lissitzky and László Moholy-Nagy-he then emigrated to Providence, Rhode Island, in 1937. Ines Katenhusen examines Dorner's life and work within the disparate contexts of the Weimar Republic, the Nazi era, and his exile in the United States. From the perspective of his attempts at integration-both successful and unsuccessful-she addresses broader issues regarding the influence of institutional frameworks and the limits of progressive-liberal engagement with one's times. Grounded in contemporary biographical scholarship, this publication makes a contribution to the social, cultural, and intellectual history of the first half of the 20th century.

• A contribution to the social, cultural, and intellectual history of the first half of the 20th century, grounded in contemporary biographical scholarship
• A study of historical curatorial practice in both Germany and the USA
• Research on exile as a phenomenon, focusing on concepts of assimilation and acculturation