Expert meeting Marlow Moss
Date: January 28, 2026
Location: Kunstmuseum Den Haag
Guide Publication: “Expert Meeting Marlow Moss”
Marlow Moss. Photo / foto W.S. Nijhoff (Stephen Storm). Coll. Literatuurmuseum Den Haag © Estate of / erven Marlow Moss; Literatuurmuseum Den Haag.
As one of the few women active and recognized in avant-garde circles, and as a member of the Paris-based artists’ association Abstraction-Création, Moss developed a distinctive formal language bridging painting and sculpture. Through her rigorously rhythmic compositions, geometric reliefs, and innovative use of the double line in Constructivist painting and sculpture, she sought a universal order of colour, line and space.
For a long time, her practice remained in the shadows of art history — not least because of persecution, exile, the loss of many works, and her queer identity.
On 28 January 2026, an expert meeting was held at Kunstmuseum Den Haag on the English artist Marlow Moss (1889-1958). The occasion was the recent acquisition of a suitcase containing more than a hundred sketches by this artist and their presentation in the museum.
Marlow Moss. A suitcase full of sketches / een koffer vol schetsen. Exhibition / tentoonstelling. Kunstmuseum Den Haag, 2026. © photo / foto: Florette Dijkstra.
Four guest speakers shared their different perspectives on the acquisition of the sketches, the way they fit within Moss’s oeuvre, and the relationship between that oeuvre and the artist’s personality. The lectures were followed by a discussion with the audience and a panel discussion involving curators from Dutch museums with works by Moss in their collections.
The sketches
The approximately 100 sketches were found in Marlow Moss’s estate. They consist mainly of preliminary studies for paintings, reliefs, and sculptures, full of calculations. Many of these preliminary studies never resulted in a work— or at least, no such works have been found. Other sketches are preliminary studies for drawings: miniature versions of works later executed in larger formats.
In addition, the sketches include a series of watercolor and ink drawings reminiscent of the ‘automatic drawings’ of the Surrealists. Figurative representations can sometimes be recognized in this series.
More detailed information about the sketches can be found in the publication (and accompanying PDF).
See below some of the sketches gathered in the suitcase:
![Marlow Moss, [drawing / tekening], 1947. Coll. Kunstmuseum Den Haag. © Estate of / erven Marlow Moss;
Kunstmuseum Den Haag.](https://moed.online/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/14-scaled-1965x1545.jpg "14")
![Marlow Moss, [drawing / tekening]. Coll. Kunstmuseum Den Haag. © Estate of / erven Marlow Moss; coll. Kunstmuseum Den Haag.](https://moed.online/wp-content/uploads/2026/04/16-1-scaled.jpg "16")
Image 1: Marlow Moss, [drawing / tekening], 1947. Coll. Kunstmuseum Den Haag. © Estate of / erven Marlow Moss; Kunstmuseum Den Haag.
Image 2: Marlow Moss, [drawing / tekening]. Coll. Kunstmuseum Den Haag. © Estate of / erven Marlow Moss; Kunstmuseum Den Haag.
Publication
The four guest speakers brought together their lectures into a publication in order to revive the discussion about Marlow Moss and her work, just as the expert meeting itself did. The PDF can be downloaded via the link on this page.
For printed copies, please email: [email protected]
€10 + shipping costs (€3.95 for the Netherlands)
With contributions by:
Clairie Hondtong – Curator in Training at Kunstmuseum Den Haag
Lucy Howarth – Lecturer in Visual Communication at UCA Canterbury
Florette Dijkstra – Visual artist and author of Moss’s biography De Sprong in het licht: Marlow Moss (1889-1958)
Rosemarie Buikema – Professor emeritus of Art Culture and Diversity at Utrecht University, projectleader of Moed.online
Marlow Moss, [‘snippers’]. Coll. Literatuurmuseum Den Haag © Estate of / erven Marlow Moss; Literatuurmuseum Den Haag. © photo / foto Florette Dijkstra.
Creating Space: The Constructivist Marlow Moss
an exhibition at the Georg Kolbe Museum, Berlin, 02. April 2026 – 26. July 2026
Curated by Dr Lucy Howarth and Dr Elisa Tamaschke.
With contributions by Marlow Moss, Leonor Antunes, Tacita Dean, Florette Dijkstra and Ro Robertson.
From the press release:
The Georg Kolbe Museum presents a significant exhibition of sculptures by the constructivist Marlow Moss (1889–1958). It is the first major showing of this groundbreaking artist in Germany— bringing a key figure of abstract art into the spotlight.
The Georg Kolbe Museum presents it in an exhibition, bringing together for the first time the remaining sculptures by Marlow Moss. The show is complemented by paintings, drawings, photographs, films, and archival material that together convey an impressive picture of Moss’ artistic vision and eventful life.
The contemporary artists Leonor Antunes (b. 1972), Tacita Dean (b. 1965), Florette Dijkstra (b. 1963) and Ro Robertson (b. 1984) contribute their own artistic perspectives to the exhibition, opening up different connections to Moss. The vibrant dialogue between the artworks creates a compelling encounter between past and present.
The exhibition brings together loans from major museums and archives in the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, Switzerland, France, the USA and Germany, as well as from numerous private collections.
A bilingual catalogue (German/English) will be published by Hirmer Verlag.
The opening took place on 1 April 2026 from 6 p.m. onwards.