Chronology

1904

On April 27, sculptor and painter Pamina Liebert-Mahrenholz was born into a well-to-do Jewish family living in Wilmersdorf, Berlin. Her full name at birth was Pamina Liebert. Her parents, Siegfried and Bertha Liebert, named her after the daughter of the Queen of the Night in Mozart’s opera “The Magic Flute”.

1916

Pamina’s first sketch (at age 12, sketched from memory) was “Bridge in Tiergarten”, in Berlin.

1917

On December 26, Pamina’s father Siegfried died in Berlin at age 70.

1920

Pamina graduated at age 16 from Hohenzollern Lyceum (where her main interests had been French, English, drawing and art appreciation) and apprenticed to a local high-class milliner until 1928 but did not enjoy it. Fashion was of no interest her – she was far more fascinated by sculpture. At age 16 she stayed on after class at school to draw other students who sat for her. Pamina’s 1994 autobiographical profile states, “The human body has always fascinated me in its variety and has never stopped inspiring me to further exploration right from the time when as a very young child I made a female torso with plasticine.”

*1920

Hitler’s party program proposed to exclude Jews from citizenship, holding public office and working for the media. These were part of the party’s 25-point Program.

1922

Pamina became engaged around age 18 to Rolf Mahrenholz (age 20). Rolf was born on August 3, 1902 in Königsberg, East Prussia, and had arrived in Berlin in 1920-21 from Kiel to study photography at the studio of a leading portrait photographer.

*1927

The first signs of Nazi discrimination appeared against modernist artists. For example, Otto Dix was an early target by the DKD (Deutsche Kunstgesellschaft Dresden) who worked to re-establish what they considered to be “truly Germanic art”. ¹

1928

1928

Pamina created her first portrait sculpture.

1931

Pamina submitted a sculpture to a competition of United State Schools of Fine and Applied Arts in Berlin, undoubtedly encouraged by Prof. Klimsch, and won a prestigious bronze medal.

*1932

Elections were held in Germany on July 31, in which the Nazi Party captured 37% of the vote. Vicious attacks by Nazi Storm Troopers (the paramilitary “SA”) on innocent people and on police throughout Germany had been an influential precursor, and would have alarmed Pamina.²

1932

Pamina was awarded the Prix de Rome for her large standing carved wooden sculpture “Mirium”, which she created in Prof. Klimsch’s master studio at the United State Schools of Fine and Applied Arts in Berlin. Elevated to a master student with her own studio, she could not accept the award (which would normally have been a lengthy all-expenses-paid period of study in Rome) due to the risk of Nazi identification. She made a life-size copy of “Mirium” but it was later stolen for auction by the Nazis, along with most of her sculptures, and Nazi oppression forced her to abandon her master studio.

*1933

This year marked a dark turning point in Germany, with some pivotal events profoundly impacting its political, social and cultural landscape – and, therefore, Pamina. On January 30, Hitler was appointed Chancellor of Germany. Law changes allowed the imprisonment of Nazi opponents, suppression of dissenting publications, and curtailing freedoms such as speech and property ownership. Hitler was enabled to rule by emergency decree for four years, effectively creating a legal dictatorship (later in the summer, the Nazi Party established itself as Germany’s sole legal political entity.) Boycott Day encouraged open violence against Jews and Jewish businesses. Jews and political opponents were banned from professions like teaching, law, medicine and music.

*1933

In Mannheim on April 4, the Nazis presented “Images of Cultural Bolshevism”, an early version of their “degenerate art” exhibitions, ridiculing avant-garde art as “un-German”. Nazi book burnings commenced on May 10, targeting works by Jewish authors. In September, Joseph Goebbels, the Nazi Minister for Propaganda, established the Culture Chamber to control the arts and media, restrict “Jewish-inspired” art forms, and permit only Nazi-approved artists to practice. This posed a severe threat to Pamina’s sculpting career. ³

*1933

Rolf too was affected by legal changes applying to those married to Jews. In addition, his photography business Modellhaus Mahrenholz in Berlin was now endangered, since his business partner and brother Harald, who was openly gay, faced additional risks from the Nazis’ persecution of the gay community. It became clear to Pamina, Rolf and Harald that they had to develop a plan to leave Germany.

1934

So on May 3, Pamina and Rolf arrived in Southampton from Germany for a 14 week visit, in contemplation of future emigration to England due to the ever-increasing discrimination in Germany. The prospect of emigration ending up wrecking both of their artistic careers would have been daunting. Pamina began to favour Hampstead as a future place to live in London, known for its modernist artist community. Eventually, Hampstead became her long-term post-war home with Rolf.

1934

On July 30, Pamina’s Identity Book or Registration Certificate was issued by Britain at Bow Street, London.

*1934

The Reich Flight Tax had originally been introduced in December 1931. This tax had to be paid by any citizens fleeing Germany (or planning to), if they had assets or income above certain thresholds, to prevent them from moving money out. The tax rate on total assets increased from 20% to 65% in August 1934, and now applied to those with modest wealth or relatively high income (in October 1936 it increased further to 81%.) ⁴

1934

In November, Pamina’s life-sized tinted plaster sculpture, “Reclining Nude”, was featured in the Berlin Academy of Arts’ Autumn Exhibition – this was her first of 25 lifetime exhibitions. It meant that the Academy would accept her future works as well. Despite the risks under the Nazi regime, her “Reclining Nude” was prominently displayed in the same large gallery room in which a large Max Liebermann self-portrait had been displayed just three years earlier (Liebermann was Pamina’s idol). Pamina had struck gold and her sculpting career would surely have had a distinguished trajectory from that point. However, the Nazis put an end to that. As a result, this exhibition marked her last pre-war public display, and she subsequently chose to maintain a low profile in Berlin for safety reasons.

1934

The Berlin Academy of Arts’ Autumn Exhibition went on to Glasgow in late December or the following month, before returning to Berlin. Pamina’s “Reclining Nude” would have been featured.

1935

On May 4, Pamina and Rolf travelled by boat from Bremen to Southampton, to stay in Fitzjohn’s Avenue in Hampstead, London for more than 3 months and prepare for eventual emigration to Britain.

*1935

On September 15, the Nuremberg Law for the Protection of German Blood and German Honour was enacted. Amongst other things, it stripped Jews of their German citizenship.

*1935

There were developments in Britain too that could affect Pamina. On October 2, the Seven and Five Abstract Group held the first all-abstract exhibition in Britain at London’s Zwemmer Gallery. This symbolized an early British appetite for the abstraction approach that became a major influence on Pamina’s later painting style.

*1937

In July, two officially-sponsored exhibitions were held in Munich: one on “degenerate art” (“Entartete Kunst”: modern art, seen by 2 million visitors) and the other on “Aryan art” (the Great German Art Exhibition, seen by far fewer.) Before 1937, Goebbels had collected modern art himself, but he quickly rid himself of it when he learned of Hitler’s views. Very few “degenerate art” works actually came from Jewish artists. Many exhibited works were forced to be donated or simply looted by Nazis. Later, vast numbers of such works were burned on March 20, 1939.

1937

Rolf, whose reputation in Germany was built as a photographer of women (including Germany’s former royal family – the Hohenzollern), was asked to photograph Goebbels’ wife, Magda. He refused, which added pressure for him to emigrate swiftly, leaving his renown as a photographer behind.

1938

Rolf (on January 1) and his mother Helene Mahrenholz (on January 21) emigrated from Germany to England, seemingly for a holiday but with no intention of returning. Rolf’s brother Harald had already moved to London a few months earlier, building on his successful career in Germany as a fashion designer. They brought some of Pamina’s sculptures with them to London – fortuitously, Rolf had photographed many of the others left behind, in case they got lost when Pamina tried to emigrate. He secured a work permit as a colour photographer, allowing him to stay in Britain as a refugee.

*1938

On March 11, Germany invaded Austria.

*1938

The Law on the Confiscation of Products of Degenerate Art was passed on May 31, to legalize the expropriation of artworks (such as those in the “degenerate art” exhibitions) without compensation and to establish a legal basis for their sale. Subsquently, an international art auction of some of the most prominent of the “degenerate” paintings and sculptures was held in Lucerne, Switzerland on June 30, 1939, from which the Nazis profited. The auction even featured such artists as Chagall, Gauguin, Liebermann, Matisse, Picasso, and van Gogh. ⁵

*1938

In the summer, the Exhibition of Twentieth Century German Art was held in London’s New Burlington Galleries. It showcased works by notable German, Austrian, and Czech artists, aiming to restore the reputation of those maligned by the Nazi regime’s 1937 Degenerate Art exhibition in Munich. This event introduced modern German art to the British audience, contrasting the Nazi’s negative portrayal of these art styles. Previously, modern German art was relatively unknown in Britain. ⁶

*1938

Kristallnacht occurred on November 9. Jewish homes, schools, hospitals, businesses, and synagogues were vandalized, and many Jews were murdered. There were mass deportations to concentration camps. By now it had become almost impossible for potential Jewish emigrants to find a country willing to take them. On December 3, a new decree forced all Jewish businesses to be “Aryanized”, and Jews were to sell properties, businesses and stocks to non-Jews, often at below-market values. Three weeks earlier, Jews had been barred from working or selling goods or services at any establishment. In January of the following year, Hitler declared that if there is a world war, the Jewish race in Europe would be annihilated.

*1939

In Britain on March 1, the Free German League of Culture was established in London to represent German refugees and address the British interest in German culture. It rapidly gained members and organized several exhibitions featuring German, Austrian, and Czech art. Most refugee artists, such as Pamina, stayed in Britain post-war, gaining citizenship and integrating into British society. (Pamina probably attended some of the later exhibitions before her internment in July 1940.) ^{7 8}

1939

Pamina’s 1939 diary entry reveals she had a studio (“atelier”) in Berlin. Having begun a sculpture of her best friend Sylvia von Köppen in 1938, they met often from February 1939 until Pamina’s emigration to Britain in June, to complete the sculpture’s cast. By then it was probably too late to be put into the lift-van containing her packed possessions. So the cast would have either accompanied her en route to Britain or been retained by Sylvia until she gave it back to Pamina after the war. Either solution was a blessing, given the loss of all those other sculptures.

1939

In April, Pamina’s mother Bertha travelled by train from Berlin to Antwerp, Belgium, to stay with her step-daughter Ellen Herz and Ellen’s children Theo and Renée, with no intention of returning to Germany.

1939

On May 12, Pamina’s new German passport was issued in Berlin.

1939

At last, Pamina managed to flee safely to Britain after obtaining her British work permit. Her journey first took her to Antwerp on June 22 to reunite with her family. She then travelled on June 30 by boat to Dover where she was met by Rolf, and they proceeded to London Victoria Station. They stayed overnight at nearby Lansdowne House (close to Harald Mahrenholz’s eventual Curzon Street residence). Pamina was only given a £10 allowance. All her possessions, packed in a lift-van in Berlin and bound for London, never reached her – they were confiscated and auctioned by the Gestapo with no explanation, including almost all her sculptures. And the two properties she and her mother owned in Berlin, which were inherited from her father, had been sold under duress in February, with their proceeds probably subject to the 90% Reich Flight Tax.

1939

On July 23, Pamina visited her mother Bertha, her half-sister Ellen Herz, and Ellen’s children Théo and Renée in Antwerp, Belgium. Pamina returned to London on August 25. Tragically, this was the last time Pamina saw Bertha, Ellen, and Renée, as they were later murdered in concentration camps. Théo survived his concentration camp (Buchenwald) by successfully escaping.

*1939

Germany’s invasion of Poland on September 1 marked the beginning of World War II. Pamina recorded hearing air raid sirens on September 3 and 6. During this period, the Reich Flight Tax increased to 96%.

*1940

By January 1940, Britain started rationing food items like butter, sugar, and bacon. In May 1940, Germany invaded Belgium and Holland, causing deep concern for Pamina about her Jewish relatives in Antwerp, after that city surrendered on May 18. The evacuation of 338,000 Allied troops to England from Dunkirk began on May 26, 1940. On May 29, the first female “enemy alien” internees arrived on the Isle of Man for their internment – arrests were typically conducted by police in the morning, with detainees often not informed about their destination or the duration of their detention.

1940

On June 19, Pamina was interned in Holloway Women’s Prison, London, as an “enemy alien”, despite being a refugee from Nazi oppression. This internment lasted four weeks.

*1940

The Battle of Britain began on July 10.

1940

On July 13, Pamina wrote (in the first of many letters written during internment to her half-brother’s wife): “I had no clay to work and therefore took some bread. The likeness is amazing even in this material. Two girls admired it very much.”

1940

On July 18, Pamina was transferred from Holloway Prison to the Rushen Camp in the Isle of Man. She was classified as a “Class A alien”, indicating high-risk enemy aliens to be interned for the duration of the war. Her classification may have been influenced by the fact that her father-in-law, Ernst Mahrenholz, was a senior officer in the German Army. This “Class A alien” classification was rare, affecting less than 1% of enemy aliens. All enemy alien internees faced the risk of potential deportation back to their country of origin if the Nazis were to successfully invade Britain. ⁹

1940

On the same day as Pamina was transferred to the Isle of Man (July 18), her mother-in-law Helene was also interned there as a “Class A alien”. She was regarded by the British authorities as a Nazi sympathizer. ¹⁰

1940

On August 8, Pamina wrote: “They want me to teach at a class for sculpture, I think it over.” There is no evidence of her agreeing.

*1940

The Blitz began on September 7, with London under German Luftwaffe bombardment for 57 days and nights, likely impacting Rolf and Harald who were in London until their internment in early October.

1940

On October 9, Rolf was interned in Peel Camp, Isle of Man. (Pamina later wrote, “A denunciation, arising it seems from a confusion over his name with another similar, led to his internment”.) Harald was initially interned at Huyton Camp, and then moved to Peel Camp to join Rolf. Both were also classified as “Class A aliens.” Pamina chose not to join Rolf in a married camp, thereby limiting their meetings to once a month, usually in Collinson’s Café in Port Erin. ¹¹

1940

On December 18, Pamina wrote: “I make an angel out of plaster too and am going to carve in wood a small thing, but I feel mostly rather unable to do much and only with a lot of energy.”

1941

On January 30, Pamina wrote: “I wished everybody would know like me, how difficult life is outside and what it means to stand all the troubles. I simply shall be in despair when released, because I have no means nor even a bed where I could sleep, coming back. You have something like a home still left. I never dream of getting one again.”

*1941

On April 15, Belfast faced a massive Luftwaffe attack, killing nearly 1,000. Previous bombing tests occurred there on April 7. The Isle of Man internees, including Pamina, likely heard these bombings across the Irish Sea, underscoring the war’s gravity and the possibility of Britain’s surrender.

1941

In April, Rolf was moved from Peel Camp to an unknown camp during its temporary closure. Harald was moved from Peel to Hutchinson Camp during this period. ¹²

1941

On May 8, Pamina moved to Imperial building, Port Erin (still part of Rushen Camp for women.) ¹³

1941

On May 23, Pamina wrote that a woman had agreed to pose each evening for head sculptures. She wrote: “The portrait is good, but waiting to be cast in plaster. I hope to be able to do this work soon.” She added: “I am slowly getting up and better. Didn’t think a person would be able to lose still more of a weight one hasn’t got. Skin and bones walking by themselves. I am not able to do even my room. I don’t feel like depending always on others, believe me, it is no fun.”

1941

On May 31, Pamina noted hearing distant bombing noises, likely from Liverpool where over 600 Luftwaffe bombers had caused extensive destruction. She was appointed as a firewatcher in her Camp.

1941

On June 16, Pamina, accompanied by Rolf and Helene, attended a tribunal at the Douglas Court House on the Isle of Man. There, the Home Office Advisory Committee informed Pamina and Rolf that they were still classified as “Class A” aliens, indicating they would still be interned for the duration of the war. In her letter writing, she said: “We never did anything that could have been wrong. It is simply a mistake.”

1941

On August 17, Pamina mentioned in a letter that she had started creating miniature sculptures of cats using plaster.

1941

On September 12, Pamina wrote: “I should like to get out before winter starts. I couldn’t stand one more, I am afraid.“ Unfortunately, she did have to remain interned for 12 more months.

1942

On February 23, Rolf’s brother Harald left the Isle of Man, to soon live with his mother Helene at 2, Wetherby Gardens, London when she left the island on March 13.

1942

In early Spring, Rolf left the Isle of Man, perhaps in late February or early March when Harald and Helene left. He found work at the London studio of portrait photographer Karl Schenker in Dover Street, Mayfair – he had known Schenker in Berlin pre-war. Rolf almost certainly now moved in with Helene and Harald in London.

*1942

On June 3, every Jew in Belgium was required to wear a six-cornered Yellow Star on black clothes (as had been required from September 1, 1941 for Jews in the German Reich, except for Jews of mixed marriage). This effectively made Bertha (Pamina’s mother) and Pamina’s half-sister Ellen (plus Ellen’s two children) targets for Nazi abuse unless they went into hiding.

1942

In September, Pamina left the Isle of Man for Cleve House in Hampstead, London, to become live-in housekeeper for her half-brother’s wife (to whom Pamina had been writing letters during internment). Starting from the beginning of her internment, she and Rolf lived apart continuously for at least eight years. Finally she and Rolf reunited and settled into Flat 9, Cleve House, Hampstead, where they lived for the rest of their lives (except for their further separation from 1958 to 1961.)

1942

Pamina received what would be the final letter from her mother Bertha in Antwerp. The letter was dated September 24 and acknowledged Pamina’s release from internment. Pamina was later led to believe that Bertha was murdered in late 1942 (it was actually in January 1943 in Auschwitz.)

1942

In September, Pamina started to work in a lampshade factory, followed by batching kindling wood in a muddy barn. Later she moved on to work in a more congenial jeweller’s shop. Unable to return to sculpture due to its high costs, starting in 1946 she became employed as a restorer of high-class china until at least 1962, using her artistic skills. She also volunteered part-time at the World Jewish Congress.

1944

On April 29, Pamina’s bronze statuette, “Girl Kneeling”, was featured in the Summer Exhibition of the Royal Academy of Arts, London. She sculpted under the name Pamina Mahrenholz.

*1944

D-Day occurred on June 6, when Allied forces landed in Normandy.

*1944

From June 13, Germany began to launch thousands of Germany’s V1 Doodlebug jet-powered flying bombs, with their terrifying sounds, aimed mostly at London and Antwerp.

1944

In August, Rolf began firewatch duty in London roughly every ten days until the end of November, to warn others if fires were started when workers were using blowtorches to cut and weld metal.

*1944

On September 4, Antwerp was liberated by the British. Pamina would not yet have known whether Bertha, Ellen, Théo and Renée were still alive.

*1945

On January 28, the end of the Battle of the Bulge signified the retreat of the German army back into Germany. From March 29, no further German bombs landed in Britain. And on April 30, Hitler commited suicide.

*1945

May 8 was VE Day, celebrating victory in Europe.

1945

Nazi policies had severely impacted Pamina’s and Rolf’s wealth and income, and Pamina was forced now to acknowledge the reality of the high cost of sculpting. She chose to diversify into painting in Britain, while also drawing her pay as a restorer of fine china, and explored new styles in painting and drawing, attending life classes at the Camden Institute in London with a goal of gradually developing her own unique approach. She initially worked in a studio space provided by a friend, and later rented studios in various London locations, including Cavendish Avenue, Hall Road, Holmes Road, and Priory Road. During this time, she also began offering individual sculpture tuition. Her actual purchase of a studio only occurred much later, in 1982.

1946

Pamina and Rolf became fascinated by Jiddu Krishnamurti. Post-war, despite living apart, they saw his presentations annually at Brockwood Park, Hampshire, and kept numerous notes from his many lectures they attended. They were drawn to his teachings of peacefully removing divisions between all human beings, regardless of nationality and sectarian beliefs.

1947

Pamina was granted British nationality.

1947

The Amadeus Quartet, originally known as the Brainin Quartet, was formed. Pamina was deeply inspired by their music and energy, which significantly influenced her creative work. She first saw them perform in 1965, leading her to create numerous paintings and drawings of the quartet in the following years.

1948

On May 1, Pamina’s sculpted portrait “Amanda” was featured in the Annual Exhibition of the Royal Academy of Arts, London. She sculpted under the name Pamina Liebert. Her brother-in-law Harald Mahrenholz also had one painting accepted for that exhibition.

1948

In November, Pamina (on behalf of herself and her presumed deceased mother Bertha) initiated restitution claims against individuals and the German government, continuing this effort until 1961. She faced challenges in reclaiming their valuable properties in Berlin’s centre and west end. Post-war efforts to locate these properties were met with responses indicating their non-existence. Pamina was also unclear about the status of her lost art, including the only copy of her award-winning sculpture “Mirium” that had disappeared when her possessions (including almost all her sculptures) were confiscated and auctioned under the Nazi regime.”

1949

On March 21, Rolf became a British citizen.

*1951

In May, the Festival of Britain, organized by the Arts Council of Great Britain, featured the exhibition 60 Paintings For 1951, emphasizing contemporary British painting and showcasing contributions from former émigré artists. These artists, having assimilated into British society, were recognized and accepted as British artists, with their work often distinguished by richer colours and a freer combination of feeling, colour, and gesture. This acceptance extended to teaching posts and awards, reflecting the integration and acceptance of refugee art which was not subject to Britain’s general hostility towards modern art at that time. ¹⁴

1952

On November 7, Pamina received confirmation of her mother Bertha having been deported from Belgium (actually in January 1943 to Auschwitz). In 1945 she had already learned that her half-sister Ellen, and Ellen’s son Théo and daughter Renée, had been deported from Antwerp in September 1943. Later she would discover that Ellen and Renée died in a Nazi concentration camp, but that Théo, of whom she had created several sculptures, had successfully escaped from a concentration camp and was living again in Belgium.

1955

On April 30, Pamina’s bronze statuette “Seated Girl” was featured in the Annual Exhibition of the Royal Academy of Arts, London. From now on, she sculpted and painted under the name Pamina Liebert-Mahrenholz.

1955

Pamina’s bronze statuette “Seated Girl” was featured in an exhibition of the Royal Glasgow Institute of Fine Arts.

1956

On November 25, Pamina’s sculptures “Seated Girl” and “Girl Kneeling” were featured in the Contemporary Jewish Artists Exhibition sponsored by Zion House, Hampstead, London.

1957

On May 4, Pamina’s terracotta statuette “Seated Girl” was featured in an exhibition of the Royal Academy of Arts, London.

1958

On May 3, Pamina’s terracotta statuette “Marc” was featured in the Annual Exhibition of the Royal Academy of Arts, London. The subject must have been Mark Herbert (co-executor of Pamina’s estate) seated on a stool, which was sold at this exhibition.

1958

On September 15, Pamina’s “Portrait of Rolf Mahrenholz”, “Standing Figure”, “Girl Seated”, and “Girl doing her Hair” were featured in the Sculpture Exhibition in Woodstock Gallery, London.

1958

Pamina again separated from Rolf, this time until at least 1961. Several of his letters revealed his yearning to win her back.

1959

Until now, Pamina’s artistic journey in Britain had seen her increasingly exhibiting her sculptures, with six such shows in the 1950s. Meanwhile she was also exploring painting and drawing, with her style evolving from a classical approach to more experimental styles, as seen in her numerous sketchbooks and many completed artworks.

1962

On March 11, Helene Mahrenholz died at age 84 in London. She had been cared for by Pamina despite their strained relationship, as Rolf and Harald were not fully trusted to assist. Pamina’s marital stress, partly due to conflicts with Rolf’s family, started to ease after Helene’s death, and by the mid-1980s Pamina and Rolf’s relationship was observed to be strong.

1965

In December, Pamina consulted a dermatologist about her serious stress-related skin condition. She had suffered similar problems regularly since 1939. The dermatologist’s report linked this condition to the Nazi persecution she had experienced.

1970

By now, Pamina’s painting style, originally classical like her sculptures, had evolved into a more mature and abstract approach, particularly evident in her depictions of nudes. Her work during this period also involved creating many subjects in series, where the most notable example involved her capturing the essence of the Amadeus Quartet from different perspectives (beginning with a Cubist-style “Amadeus” painting in 1969.)

1972

On September 19, Pamina’s paintings “Lake Annecy” and “Resting” were featured in the Annual Mixed Exhibition, Ben Uri Art Gallery, London. This marked the start of her exhibiting paintings and drawings to make a living, instead of sculptures alone. The Ben Uri Art Gallery was one of Britain’s most prominent galleries exhibiting works by refugee artists.

1974

Pamina was now facing financial struggles due to the high inflation in Britain, which significantly reduced the real value of her fixed monthly restitution payments from Germany. This year marked the beginning of an eight-year phase of double-digit inflation rates. Her financial well-being depended on remaining in the same tiny fixed-rent flat during the final four decades of her life – her studios had to be rented, not purchased.

1977

On June 13, Pamina’s artworks were extensively featured in a solo exhibition at Camden Institute, London.

1978

On September 28, Pamina’s “Darnius Church” was featured in the Annual Mixed Exhibition, Ben Uri Art Gallery, London.

1978

In October, Pamina’s art was featured in an exhibition London Artists from Germany, at the German Embassy in London. The Catalogue included three of her paintings, one sketch, and two of her sculptures (including “Reclining Nude”.)

1980

Even into her 80s, Pamina was continuing to participate in artist workshops in London and elsewhere.

1980

On June 13, Pamina’s art was featured in the Open Exhibition, Ben Uri Art Gallery, London.

1981

On February 12, Pamina’s art was extensively featured in a solo exhibition Paintings, Drawings, Sculpture by Pamina Liebert-Mahrenholz at Ben Uri Art Gallery, London (curated by Agi Katz).

1982

In October, Pamina finally purchased a basement studio on West End Lane, Hampstead, which she kept until her death. It was a five minute walk from her flat, although by her mid-90s she could no longer manage that walk except by wheelchair.

1983

On July 3, Pamina featured in an exhibition at Camden Arts Centre – a major solo retrospective on her works. The works that sold were “Reclining Nude 1”, “Project”, “Crouching Girl”, “Eastbourne”, “Standing Figure”, “Multi-coloured Torso”, and “Grey Abstract”.

1983

On October 26, Pamina’s art was featured in the exhibition Selected Works from the Permanent Collection, Ben Uri Art Society, London.

1986

Pamina’s art was featured in the exhibition Kunst im Exil in Grossbritannien 1933-45, held at the Neue Gesellschaft für Bildende Kunst. This exhibition was in Berlin, Oberhausen and Vienna, before travelling to London.

1986

On August 20, the Art in Exile in Great Britain 1933-45 exhibition at Camden Arts Centre featured some or all of these works of Pamina: “Baroness Dagi von Lewinski“, “Seated Girl“ (late 1940s), “Three Standing Figures” (1950s) and “Seated Figure“ (1950s). Pamina’s husband, Rolf Mahrenholz, was also featured for his photography.

1987

On June 15, Pamina’s sculpture “Kneeling Girl” was featured in an exhibition in the John Denham Gallery in the group show Bildende Künstler im Exil.

1987

On September 13, Pamina’s “Floating in Space” and “By the Water” were featured in the Open Exhibition, Ben Uri Art Society.

1988

On October 17, Pamina’s art was extensively featured (together with photographic works by Rolf) in a solo exhibition Paintings, Drawings, Sculpture of Pamina Mahrenholz. Refinement in Colour Photography, Rolf Mahrenholz at Ben Uri Art Society, London.

1991

On October 9, Rolf died at age 89. In 1994, ten of Rolf’s photographic portraits were added to the National Portrait Gallery’s collection in London. ¹⁵

1992

On September 13, Pamina’s art was featured in the Open Exhibition, Ben Uri Art Society, London.

1993

On June 10, Pamina’s art was featured in the exhibition German Refugee Artists in England at the German Embassy in London. This was her final lifetime exhibition, at age 89.

1993

Pamina created her final sculpture, “Cuddling Couple”.

1994

On July 22, Harald Mahrenholz died at age 89.

1998

Pamina created her final painting at age 93, “Reclining Nude”, based on her 1960 sculpture of the same name.

2004

On April 27, Pamina celebrated her 100th birthday.

2004

On September 21, Pamina died in her bed around 3 p.m., and her funeral took place on September 30.

2008

On September 26, Pamina’s art was extensively featured in the Two Berliners: Pamina Liebert-Mahrenholz and Margaret Marks exhibition at the Boundary Gallery, London (curated by the late Agi Katz.) Before founding her Boundary Gallery, Agi Katz had been curator at London’s Ben Uri Art Gallery for six years from 1980, where she had curated Pamina’s solo exhibition in 1981 – that led to Agi developing a close connection with Pamina over a period of many years.

2009

On January 21, Pamina’s “Impressions of the Amadeus String Quartet No. 1” and terracotta sculpture “Reclining Female Nude” were featured in the exhibition Forced Journeys: Artists in Exile in Britain c. 1933–1945, Ben Uri Gallery, London, as well as in a touring version in 2009-10.

2010

On April 10, Pamina’s art was featured in Sayle Gallery, Isle of Man. This was Ben Uri Gallery’s touring exhibition Forced Journeys: Artists in Exile in Britain c. 1933–1945, with a revised focus on artists interned in the Isle of Man. The exhibition was timed to mark the 70th anniversary of the opening in May 1940 of the Isle of Man internment camps.

2010

In June, Pamina’s art was featured in Williamson Gallery, Birkenhead, England. This again was Ben Uri Gallery’s touring exhibition Forced Journeys: Artists in Exile in Britain c. 1933–1945, with a focus on artists interned in the Isle of Man.

2017

On March 29, Pamina’s sculpture “Reclining Female Nude” and painting “Self-Portrait” were featured in the exhibition Refugees: The Lives of Others – German Refugee Artists to the UK, Ben Uri Gallery and Museum, London.

2018

On January 20, Pamina’s painting “Self-Portrait” was featured in the exhibition Exodus: masterworks from the Ben Uri Collection at the Bushey Museum, Bushey, England.

2018

On October 8, Pamina’s art was featured in the exhibition Finchleystrasse: German artists in exile in Great Britain and beyond 1933-1945, at the German Embassy, London (curated by Ben Uri Gallery and Museum).

2020

In November, Pamina’s works “Self-Portrait”, “Reclining Female Nude”, and “Two Female Nudes” were featured in Art UK’s Oil Painting in Public Ownership Project.¹⁶

2023

In June, Pamina’s “Self-Portrait” was part of a special selection from the Ruth Borchard Collection of self-portraits, for Ben Uri Gallery and Museum’s presentation Works – Immigrant Artists and Stories from the Ruth Borchard Collection.