Verklärung from Die Schaffenden. Signed Lithograph by Milly Steger (1881-1948), LGBT German Expressionist and sculptor by Milly Steger (1881-1948)

[Germany. Verlag Gustav Kiepenheuer. 1918]. Lithograph. One of 125 copies printed. Signed lower right, in pencil, by the artist. Overall sheet size 16 x 12 inches. Blind-stamped at lower left: "Die Schaffenden," Unconserved: toned; various creasing; short tears to margins; several small perimeter paper losses; good.

A large print from Die Schaffenden, a periodical in portfolio format, by the LGBT German artist Milly Steger (1881-1948) featuring an expressive, dynamic composition with multiple nude figures intertwined. The abstracted figures with distorted limbs and faces amplify the artwork's dramatic turmoil, suggesting a theme of human struggle.

Born Emilie Sibilla Elisabeth Johanna Steger, the German sculptor Milly Steger honed her craft at the Düsseldorf Academy under Karl Janssen before joining Berlin's thriving artistic milieu, subsequently teaching at the Women's Academy at the Society of Berlin Artists. Her sculptures, often grand and female-centric, drew from Art Nouveau and Expressionism, garnering acclaim at exhibitions like the Great Berlin Art Show. Navigating the male-dominated art world, Steger had a notable career, though her oeuvre was later eclipsed by the era's upheavals. Steger had a "remarkable career for a woman in the Weimar Republic, [and] is surely a representative of a forgotten generation of artists of this period." (Eazel; Kuntsmuseum Basel)

Notes: This is sheet 28 from the third folder of the first volume of Die Schaffenden. Eine Zeitschrift in Mappenform (The Creators. A Magazine in Folder Form) by Paul Westheim, and issued by Gustav Kiepenheuer between 1918 to 1930. Ref. eazel | Artists | Milly Steger accessed online.