1902
Born in Berlin on 11 June
1915
Starts at the boarding school of Schulpforta in Thuringia Shows early interest in modern art, makes first attempts at painting
1921
Receives high school diploma in Schulpforta and returns to Berlin
Begins apprenticeship at the bookstore Gsellius in Berlin and paints in his leisure time
1924
Introduces himself with three paintings to Carl Hofer at the Hochschule für Bildende Künste, Berlin
1927
Becomes a student of Hofer’s master class; receives his own studio at the academy
First museum acquisition of a painting (“Landschaft Promenade”, Provinzial-Museum, Hanover)
1928
Ends his studies at the Hochschule, travels to Paris
1931
Receives the Staatspreis from Preußische Akademie der Künste, followed by a nine-month scholarship at the Deutsche Akademie in Villa Massimo, Rome (October 1931-June 1932)
1932
Meets with the art dealer Günther Franke in Munich, who begins to promote Nay’s art
Marries Helene “Elly” Kirchner in Berlin
1933
Nay’s painting “Liebespaar” is scorned as a “Masterpiece of Ugliness” in an article against Modern Art by the National Socialists published in the “Völkische Beobachter”
1934
Travels to the Baltic Sea. Meets Erich Meyer, Alfred Hentzen, Werner Haftmann and Ernst Gosebruch, the director of the Folkwang-Museums in Essen who was removed from his office in 1933 by the National Socialists
1937
Ten works of public ownership are confiscated during the National Socialists’ “Entartete Kunst” (Degenerate Art) operation. The works “Fischerboote an der Hafenmole” and “Fischerdorf Teju auf Bornholm” are exhibited in the exhibition “Entartete Kunst” in Munich
C. G. Heise asks his friend Edvard Munch to financially support the stay of Nay in Norway. Munch agrees and Nay goes to Norway in the summer, visits Munch in Skojen near Oslo and then travels for several months to the Lofoten Islands, where he stays in Svolvaer, Stamsund, Eggum and Reine and creates watercolors. After his return, the “Lofoten Paintings” are created in his Berlin studio
1938
Second trip to the Lofoten Islands
1940
Serves in the military as an infantryman, first in the South of France, then in Brittany. While off duty, Nay works on small watercolors and drawings
1942
Nay is transferred to Le Mans to work as a cartographer
Creates his first gouaches
1943
Visits Kandinsky on a business trip to Paris
Visits Ernst Jünger in Le Mans in May
Nay’s studio in Berlin is destroyed by bombs
1945
In May, Nay is released by the US army. With his apartment in Berlin is destroyed, he moves to Hofheim/Taunus, where he finds a studio with the help of Hanna Bekker vom Rath. The so-called “Hecate Paintings” are created
1949
Begins work on the “Fugal Paintings”
1951
Moves to Cologne
1952
Begins work on the “Rhythmic Paintings”
1954
Works on large-scale watercolors during his stay in Løkken, North Denmark
Begins work on the “Disc Paintings”
1955
Receives Lichtwark-award of the Freie und Hansestadt Hamburg
Publishes the manifesto “Vom Gestaltwert der Farbe”
1956
Receives the Grand Award for painting of North Rhine-Westphalia
Creates a large mural for the Chemical Institute of the University of Freiburg
1957
Prints a series of color aquatints at Georges Visat in Paris
1958
First trip to New York
1959
Travels to the island Mykonos, where he creates watercolors
1960
Receives the Guggenheim Award, German Section
During the summer he creates watercolors on the island Ischia
1962
Travels to New York, Washington D.C., Boston
During the summer he travels again to Ischia
1963
Starts to work on the “Eye Paintings”
Travels to New York, Chicago, San Francisco, Los Angeles and Mexico
1964
During the summer he creates watercolors on the island Mykonos
1965
During the winter of 1964/65 he develops the characteristic style of his “Late Paintings”
During the summer he creates watercolors on Crete
1967
During the summer he works on watercolors in Italy and Bavaria
Receives the order to create a ceramic mural for the casino of the Center for Nuclear Research in Karlsruhe
1968
In early April, Nay creates his last painting “Weiß-Schwarz-Gelb” in three variations
E.W. Nay dies in Cologne on April 18, 1968
SELECTED EXHIBITIONS
1947
Ernst Wilhelm Nay – Bilder, Gouachen, Zeichnungen, Galerie Dr. Werner Rusche, Cologne
E. W. Nay, Galerie Franz, Berlin
1948
Ernst Wilhelm Nay - Bilder des Jahres 1947, Galerie Dr. Werner Rusche, Cologne
1950
E. W. Nay, Kestner-Gesellschaft, Hanover
1952
E. W. Nay, Haus am Waldsee, Berlin
1954
Ernst Wilhelm Nay - Bilder, Gouachen, Aquarelle und Zeichnungen von 1927-1954, Galerie Der Spiegel, Cologne
1955
Nay - Gemälde, Aquarelle, Zeichnungen 1951-1955, Kestner-Gesellschaft, Hanover
Ernst Wilhelm Nay, Kleemann Galleries, New York
1957
E. W. Nay, Galerie Der Spiegel, Cologne
1958
Ernst Wilhelm Nay, Kleemann Galleries, New York
E. W. Nay – Peintures, Aquarelles, Gravures au sucre 1938-1958, Galerie Les Contemporains, Brussels
E. W. Nay, Galerie Günther Franke, Munich
1959
E. W. Nay, Kunstverein für die Rheinlande und Westfalen, Düsseldorf
Ernst Wilhelm Nay, Kleemann Galleries, New York
1960
Willi Baumeister - Ernst Wilhelm Nay, Kunsthalle Basel, Basel
E. W. Nay – Gemälde, Aquarelle, Zeichnungen von 1932 bis heute, Frankfurter Kunstkabinett Hanna Bekker vom Rath, Frankfurt
E. W. Nay, New London Gallery, London
1961
E. W. Nay - Bilder, Aquarelle, Zeichnungen, Galerie Der Spiegel, Cologne
1962
Ernst Wilhelm Nay, Knoedler Gallery, New York
E. W. Nay – 60 Jahre, Museum Folkwang, Essen
1964
Ernst Wilhelm Nay, Knoedler Gallery, New York
Ernst Wilhelm Nay, Knoedler Gallery, Paris
Ernst Wilhelm Nay, Westfälischer Kunstverein, Münster
E. W. Nay – Aquarelle von 1963 und 1964, Galerie Günther Franke im Arco Palais, Munich
1965
E. W. Nay, Galerie Günther Franke, Munich
1966
E. W. Nay – Bilder und Grau-Aquarelle 1965/66, Galerie Der Spiegel, Cologne
E. W. Nay, Württembergischer Kunstverein, Stuttgart; Akademie der Künste, Berlin; Städtische Kunsthalle, Mannheim
1967
E. W. Nay, Museum des 20. Jahrhunderts, Vienna
Nay, Galerie Günther Franke, Munich
Ernst Wilhelm Nay, Galerie im Erker, St. Gallen
1968
E. W. Nay, Galerie Günther Franke, Munich
Nay – Last Paintings, Knoedler Gallery, New York
1969
E. W. Nay, Wallraf-Richartz-Museum, Köln; Nationalgalerie, Berlin; Städelsches Kunstinstitut, Frankfurt a. M.; Kunstverein in Hamburg, Hamburg
1970
E. W. Nay – Bilder aus den Jahren 1935-1968, Museum Städtische Kunstsammlungen, Bonn
Nay, Galerie Günther Franke, Munich
Ernst Wilhelm Nay – Ölbilder, Gouachen, Frankfurter Kunstkabinett Hanna Bekker vom Rath, Frankfurt
1972
Nay, Kölnischer Kunstverein, Cologne; Kunsthalle, Bremen
1973
50 Jahre Galerie Günther Franke, Nay - Bilder, Aquarelle, Gouachen, Zeichnungen, Graphik aus der Sammlung und Galerie Günther Franke, Galerie Günther Franke, Munich
1976
Nay – Un Maestro del Color - Obras die 1950 a 1968, Museo de Arte Moderno, Instituto Nacional de Bellas Artes, Mexico City
E. W. Nay – Das kleine Format, Zeichnungen aus Le Mans 1942-44 und Hofheim 1945-51, Galerie Meyer-Ellinger, Frankfurt
Nay – Zeichnungen, Jahrhunderthalle Höchst, Höchst; Neue Galerie, Kassel; Kunsthalle, Tübingen; Galerie Der Spiegel, Cologne; Schloß Detmold, Lippische Gesellschaft für Kunst, Detmold
1977
Ernst Wilhelm Nay - Aquarelle und Gouachen, Staatliche Graphische Sammlung, München; Staatliche Kunsthalle, Karlsruhe
1979
E. W. Nay – Arbeiten auf Papier: Skizzen, Aquarelle 1949-1967, Galerie Meyer-Ellinger, Frankfurt
1980
E. W. Nay – Bilder und Dokumente, Germanisches Nationalmuseum, Nürnberg; Haus der Kunst, München; Bayer AG, Erholungshaus, Leverkusen; Wilhelm-Hack-Museum, Ludwigshafen a. Rh.; Neue Galerie, Kassel
1981
Ernst Wilhelm Nay, Galerie Orangerie-Reinz, Cologne
E. W. Nay – Zeichnungen, Städtisches Museum Schloß Morsbroich, Leverkusen
1985
Bilder kommen aus Bildern – E. W. Nay 1902-68, Gemälde und unveröffentlichte Schriften aus vier Jahrzehnten, Museum Haus Lange, Krefeld; Westfälischer Kunstverein, Münster; Kunstverein in Hamburg, Hamburg
1987
Ernst Wilhelm Nay - Ölgemälde, Aquarelle, Zeichnungen, Galerie Sander, Darmstadt
1990
Ernst Wilhelm Nay - Lofotenbilder. Ausstellung zu Ehren von Carl Georg Heise (1890-1979), Overbeck-Gesellschaft, Lübeck
Ernst Wilhelm Nay Retrospektive, Museum Ludwig in der Josef-Haubrich-Kunsthalle, Cologne; Kunsthalle, Basel; Scottish National Gallery of Modern Art, Edinburgh
1991
Ernst Wilhelm Nay - Paintings and Works on Paper, Fischer Fine Art, London
1994
Ernst Wilhelm Nay - Die Hofheimer Jahre 1945-1951, Städtische Galerie im Städel, Frankfurt; Museum der bildenden Künste, Leipzig
1995
Nay - Uhlmann, Antes – Stöhrer, Galerie Orangerie-Reinz, Cologne
1998
Ernst Wilhelm Nay, Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam; Gemäldegalerie Neue Meister, Dresden; Wilhelm-Lehmbruck-Museum, Duisburg
Zwei Freunde: E. W. Nay und Hans Uhlmann – Bilder und Skulpturen, Berlin, Brusberg Galerie
E. W. Nay, Galerie Orangerie-Reinz, Cologne
2000
E. W. Nay – Aquarelle, Gouachen, Zeichnungen, Kunsthalle in Emden, Saarland Museum, Saarbrücken
Ernst Wilhelm Nay – Die Druckgraphik, Kunstverein Göttingen,Kulturamt der Stadt Göttingen, Göttingen; Städtisches Kunstmuseum Spendhaus Reutlingen
2002
Ernst Wilhelm Nay – Bilder und Originalmanuskripte, Galerie Aurel Scheibler, Cologne
E. W. Nay – Späte Bilder, Galerie Sander, Berlin
E. W. Nay – Werke auf Papier, Galerie Fred Jahn, Munich
Nay – Variationen, Retrospektive zum 100. Geburtstag, Kunsthalle der Hypo-Kulturstiftung, Munich; Kunstmuseum, Bonn)
2004
E. W. Nay – Aquarelle und Gouachen 1937-68, Graphische Sammlung, Pinakothek der Moderne; Folkwang Museum, Essen; Musée d'Art Moderne et Contemporain, Strasbourg
2007
Ernst Wilhelm Nay. Early Drawings – Late Paintings, Galerie Karsten Schubert, London
2008
New Acquisitions – E. W. Nay: Weiße Quelle, 1963, Tate Modern, London
2009
Ernst Wilhelm Nay 1902–1968, Schirn Kunsthalle, Frankfurt; Haus am Waldsee, Berlin
2010
Ernst Wilhelm Nay – Scheibenbilder, Galerie Thomas Modern, Munich
Nay – Papierarbeiten, Galerie Fred Jahn, Munich
2012
Ernst Wilhelm Nay: Arbeiten auf Papier, Michael Werner Kunsthandel, Cologne
Ernst Wilhelm Nay, Michael Werner and Mary Boone Galleries, New York
Ernst Wilhelm Nay: Das Polyphone Bild. Gouachen, Aquarelle, Zeichnungen, Kunstmuseum Bonn, Bonn
2015
Auswahl. Gemälde - Skulptur - Zeichnung, Galerie Michael Werner, Märkisch Wilmersdorf
2016
Flora, Fauna and Other Forms of Life, Michael Werner Gallery, London
2019
SIGHTINGS | Positions of Art from Germany, Nanjing University of the Arts, Nanjing, China
Ernst Wilhelm Nay: Arbeiten auf Papier, Michael Werner Kunsthandel, Cologne
2022
E.W. Nay: Retrospektive, Hamburger Kunsthalle; Museum Wiesbaden
2023
E.W. Nay: Retrospektive, MKM Museum Kuppersmuhle of Modern Art, Duisburg
Extreme Tension: Art Between Politics And Society 1945–1990, Neue National Galerie, Berlin