The Easel

LACMA landed Kirschner’s ‘Dancer with Necklace’ through skill, happenstance

Public galleries sometimes acquire major works in surprising ways. Ernst Kirchner, a leader of the German Expressionist movement, created the vibrant Dancer With Necklace prior to the First World War – before the mood of German artists had started to darken. The journey of this important piece from being a family “doll” to its acquisition into a public collection entails more than a little luck.