Rudi’s Pictures! The Seitz Theatre Collection

Rudi Seitz (1930–2002) is one of Frankfurt’s many unknown collectors. After training in the municipal administration, he went to work for the Städtische Bühnen (municipal stages) in 1951 and soon became an influential member of the dramaturgy staff. From 1971 to 1983 he organized the German contribution to the Prague Quadrennial, an international theatre exhibition taking place every four years since 1967, from 1972 onward as member of the Department of Culture under Hilmar Hoffmann. His widely diverse dedication to stagecraft and his friendship with theatre artists inspired him to collect designs for stage sets and costume figurines. Presenting a selection of these designs, which have been in the holdings of the Historisches Museum since 2011, the exhibition pays tribute to Seitz as a theatre enthusiast who untiringly championed the cause of art and artists.