Max Liebermann was a German painter and printmaker, and one of the leading proponents of Impressionism in Germany.
Beginning in 1920 he was president of the Prussian Academy of Arts. On his 80th birthday, in 1927, Liebermann was celebrated with a large exhibition, declared an honorary citizen of Berlin and hailed in a cover story in Berlin's leading illustrated magazine.
But such public accolades were short lived. In 1933 he resigned when the academy decided to no longer exhibit works by Jewish artists. Although Liebermann had been famous, his death was not reported in the media, now controlled by the Nazis.