The Jewish Museum in New York is presenting "Paul Klee: Other Possible Worlds," the first U.S. museum exhibition to solely explore Paul Klee’s creative output from the final decade of his life (1930s) preceding his death in 1940. This exhibition, on view from March 20 to July 26, 2026, focuses on Klee's response to the rise of fascism in 1930s Europe, tracing his departure from the Bauhaus and his experiences with political upheaval.
The exhibition features around 100 paintings and drawings, including some earlier works like his iconic "Angelus Novus" (1920) to provide broader context. It highlights how Klee's lifelong individuality and imagination became a form of resistance against Nazi ideology and persecution, particularly after his art was deemed "degenerate" and he was dismissed from his position at the Düsseldorf Academy in 1933.
Key sections of the exhibition include "National Socialist Revolution Drawings," presenting a series depicting violence and Klee's attempts to grapple with fascism's impact, and a series of paintings using decaying fruit to mock Aryan superiority. Another section, "Is Europe Limping or Am I?," addresses Klee's personal struggles, including his self-portrait "Struck from the List" (1933). The final section, "Leap Year," showcases works from his last years characterized by simpler colors and symbolic imagery reflecting themes of death, morality, and identity, such as "(Untitled) Last Still Life" (1940).
