1896
To Paris with Hugo von Tschudi: Manet's “Winter Garden” and Degas
The new director of the Old National Gallery, Hugo von Tschudi, took Liebermann to Paris as an adviser on acquisitions; he talked Tschudi out of buying Manet's “Winter Garden”, fearing that even a naturalistic picture could cause a scandal in Berlin at the time. Through Tschudi Liebermann met Edgar Degas, and with the Prussian government's consent he was made a knight of the Legion of Honour.
1896
Oxford and London: Whistler
Liebermann spent ten days in Oxford, where his brother Felix was awarded an honorary doctorate, and in London he met James McNeill Whistler, whose etchings in the manner of the old masters made a great impression on him.
1897
Jubilee exhibition for his 50th birthday at the Academy
For his half-century the Academy of Arts gave Liebermann an entire hall: 30 paintings, 9 drawings, 3 lithographs and 19 etchings. He was awarded a large gold medal and the title of professor of the Academy.
1897
Employed by: Academy of Arts, Berlin
1898
President of the Berlin Secession
When the jury of the Great Berlin Art Exhibition, chaired by Anton von Werner, rejected a work by Walter Leistikow, Leistikow called on independent artists to unite, and Liebermann was elected president of the association. He appointed the gallerists Bruno and Paul Cassirer as secretaries, and his fame secured the Secession public interest.
May 1899
First exhibition of the Berlin Secession
Liebermann invited artists from the Munich, Darmstadt and Stuttgart secessions, as well as Arnold Böcklin, Hans Thoma, Max Slevogt, Lovis Corinth and the Worpswede painters. The show was an unexpectedly loud success with strong sales, and the heated discussions around it drew public attention to the fine arts; the result was surpassed in 1900.