Ottilie W. Roederstein, born to German parents in Zurich in 1859, was one of the leading painters in the German-speaking world during her lifetime. She also enjoyed early recognition in Paris. As one of the few women artists of her time, she successfully dedicated her entire life to art and led an unconventional but respected existence in Germany together with her partner, the gynecologist Elisabeth H. Winterhalter.

Although Roederstein’s early work adhered to the conventions of the academy, the painter increasingly opened herself up to other currents in her more mature work and in the 1920s found her way to an austere, objective visual vocabulary. Despite her international reputation as a portraitist and painter of still lifes, Roederstein fell into obscurity almost immediately after her death in 1937. Now, after several decades, the Kunsthaus Zürich and the Städel Museum in Frankfurt am Main are presenting the first monographic show of her work, accompanied by this comprehensive catalogue.

OTTILIE W. ROEDERSTEIN (1859–1937) had fought for her success: not only against the resistance of her parents, who did not want such a “dubious” activity for their daughter, but also against the numerous prejudices of that time. Like her friend Elisabeth H. Winterhalter, she fought for equal rights for women. She opened a teaching studio that was also for female students.