KÜNSTLERHAUS EXTER/JULIUS EXTER'S HOUSE

Description

The Künstlerhaus Exter, with its landscaped garden, stands in Feldwies, a district of the municipality of Übersee in the Chiemgau, and is an established part of the region’s cultural landscape.

The building originates from a farmhouse more than 500 years old. In 1902 Julius Exter acquired the historic "Stricker" estate, converted it into living and working quarters and carried out further alterations until 1917 before taking up permanent residence there. Julius Exter’s life at the Exter House ended on 16 October 1939 from heart failure. At the end of 1972 his daughter transferred the estate and the property to the Freistaat Bayern in return for a life annuity; the Bayerische Schlösserverwaltung has been responsible for the site ever since.

The former smallholding now serves as a gallery and museum. As an architectural monument the ensemble is recorded with the Bayerisches Landesamt für Denkmalpflege. The solid residential section features two neo-Gothic Lauben and bears the year 1826 on the ridge purlin; the part of the building formerly used for agricultural purposes was converted into a studio in 1904. Since 1980 the building has been used for museum and exhibition purposes.

Large additional holdings of Julius Exter’s works are housed in the Altes Schloss on Herrenchiemsee and thus document the artistic output to which the house is dedicated.