Maria Caspar-Filser

Caspar-Filser worked between 1878 and 1968 across painter and university teacher. This article rests on 3 published texts and 1 scholarly references drawn from named institutional registers. Every statement below returns to a source shown in the evidence panel; where the record is silent or divided, the article says so instead of resolving it.

Maria Caspar-Filser studied at State Academy of Fine Arts Stuttgart and Academy of Fine Arts, Munich. Training under Friedrich von Keller, Gustav Igler and Ludwig von Herterich is recorded. The recorded working language is German. The field of work recorded is painting. Employment is recorded with Academy of Fine Arts, Munich. Work by Maria Caspar-Filser is recorded in the collections of Art Museum of Estonia, Bavarian State Painting Collections, Neue Nationalgalerie, Museum Ulm and Kulturhistorisches Museum Rostock. Distinctions recorded are Commander's Cross of the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany and full professor.

• Name — Maria Caspar-Filser • Born — 7 August 1878 • Birthplace — Riedlingen, Kingdom of Württemberg, German Empire • Died — 12 February 1968 • Place of death — Brannenburg, Bavaria, West Germany • Spouse — Karl Caspar • Field — Painting • Education — State Academy of Art and Design, Stuttgart Academy of Fine Arts, Munich • Movement — Impressionism, Expressionism • Awards — Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany • Website — maria-caspar-filser.com

Maria Filser grew up in rural southwestern Germany. She studied at the State Academy of Fine Arts Stuttgart and the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich. She married the painter Karl Caspar, who had been a childhood friend and neighbour, in 1907 and took the name Caspar-Filser. In 1909 she became a member of the Deutscher Künstlerbund (German Association of Artists). In 1913, she was the only woman among the founding members of the artists' association Münchener Neue Secession. In 1925 she became the first German woman painter to be awarded the title of professor. She taught at the Academy of Fine Arts in Munich. In 1928 she took part in the Venice Biennale. Caspar-Filser primarily painted flowers, gardens and landscapes, influenced equally by Impressionism and Expressionism. The Nazis considered Caspar-Filser's paintings "degenerate" and began to persecute her. In 1933 she lost her professorship. In 1936, Caspar-Filser's paintings were removed from an exhibition at the Neue Pinakothek. In the wake of the Degenerate Art Exhibition in Munich on 19 July 1937, her artworks were removed from all museums and public collections and many were destroyed. That same year (some sources say the year was 1944, after her Munich house was destroyed in a bombing raid), Nazi hostility caused her to relocate with her family to Brannenburg, where she lived until her death. In 1947, Caspar-Filser became the first recipient of the Prize in Visual Arts of the City of Munich. A year later she again participated in the Venice Biennale. In 1950 she was one of the founding members of the re-established Deutscher Künstlerbund. In 1951 she became a member of the Bavarian Academy of Fine Arts. In 1952, she was awarded the Upper Swabian Art Prize, jointly with her husband. In 1959, she became the first woman painter to be awarded the Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany. She was awarded the Medal of the City of Paris at an exhibition at Musée National d'Art Moderne in 1961. In 1962, she was awarded the Culture Prize of the City of Rosenheim. Her brother Benno Filser worked as a publisher in Augsburg and Munich. An exhibition of her paintings – the first in more than two decades – was held at Hohenkarpfen Art Museum, from March to July 2013. The exhibition was organized in cooperation with the city of Ochsenhausen and took place in the Ochsenhausen monastery.

Maria Caspar-Filser was recorded at birth as Maria Filser. Her recorded language was German.

Maria Caspar-Filser worked in painting. Her work is associated with Impressionism and Expressionism. She was employed by Academy of Fine Arts, Munich. She belonged to Bavarian Academy of Fine Arts, Deutscher Künstlerbund, Austrian Association of Women Artists and Berlin Secession.