William Sommer,
one of America’s great modernists,
will be the subject of WOLFS long
overdue retrospective this spring.
Sommer, a master lithographer by
trade, was also the most well-known
and highly respected artist in
Cleveland at the turn of the last
century. Inspired by the avant-garde
Europeans, Sommer created his
own shocking palette highlighting a
remarkably prolific career, often
using his rural milieu to create brilliant
modern compositions.
The core of the exhibition is derived
from the 60-year collection of Martin Lerner, an art historian and former curator best known for
his tenure as the Senior Curator of Indian and Southeast Asian Art at the Metropolitan Museum
in New York City, a position he held from 1972 until his retirement in 2003. This collection began
during Lerner’s tenure at the Cleveland Museum of Art, where he was first introduced to
Sommer’s work, and continued throughout his life.
