Master Drawings New York 2020 Shepherd W&K Galleries
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MASTER DRAWINGS NEW YORK 2020 January 24th through February 29th 2020 SHEPHERD W&K GALLERIES 58 East 79th Street New York, N. Y. 10075 Tel: 1 212 861 4050 Fax: 1 212 772 1314 [email protected] www.shepherdgallery.com GÜNTER BRUS * 1938 Ardning in der Steiermark DAS WILD REMINISZENZ ("THE GAME REMINISCENCE"), 1975 Pencil and colored pencil on paper, 11.7 x 8.3 inch (297 x 210 mm) titled, signed and dated Provenance Collection of H.R. Giger, Switzerland; Galerie Kunst & Handel, Graz; Private collection, Austria. Exhibition - Günter Brus. The Loneliness of the Late Classical Artist, W&K - Palais Schönborn-Batthyany, Vienna 25.09.-22.11.2019. Literature - Wienerroither/Kohlbacher/Grabner, Günter Brus. The Loneliness of the Late Classical Artist, W&K - Palais Schönborn-Batthyany (ed.), Vienna 2019, p. 109 (ill.). GÜNTER BRUS * 1938 Ardning in der Steiermark DIE ELEFANTENDUSCHE ("THE ELEPHANT SHOWER"), 25.4.1975/6 Coloured crayon on paper, 10.8 x 8.3 inch (275 x 210 mm) signed and dated on upper right Provenance Institutional collection, Vienna. Exhibition - Günter Brus. The Loneliness of the Late Classical Artist, W&K - Palais Schönborn-Batthyany, Vienna 25.09.-22.11.2019. Literature - Wienerroither/Kohlbacher/Grabner, Günter Brus. The Loneliness of the Late Classical Artist, W&K - Palais Schönborn-Batthyany (ed.), Vienna 2019, p. 107 (ill.). GÜNTER BRUS * 1938 Ardning in der Steiermark MENSCHENREISSVERSCHLUSS, STATISTISCH ("HUMAN ZIPPER, STATISTICAL"), 1998 Pencil, colored pencil and collage on paper, 15.4 x 11.8 inch (390 x 300 mm) Inscribed, signed and dated: Menschenreissverschluss, Statistisch G Brus 98 Interpretation Brus’ striking drawings are marked by creations in form, which often emerge from syntheses between body and machine, humans and animals, or extremities and objects. He continually expands the drawing repertoire and alphabet of bodies available to him, in order to depict his half-conceived, half-intuited images. Roman Grabner Provenance Private collection, Vienna. Exhibition - Günter Brus. The Loneliness of the Late Classical Artist, W&K - Palais Schönborn-Batthyany, Vienna 25.09.-22.11.2019. Literature - Wienerroither/Kohlbacher/Grabner, Günter Brus. The Loneliness of the Late Classical Artist, W&K - Palais Schönborn-Batthyany (ed.), Vienna 2019, p. 173 (ill.). 23.01.2020 • Seite 4 FEININGER, LYONEL 1871 - 1956 German-American School YACHT, 1938 Ink and watercolor on paper. 10 1/2” x 13 1/4” (26.7 x 33.7 cm). Signed in black ink lower left: Feininger. Dated in black ink lower right: 14. 7. 38. FEININGER, LYONEL 1871 - 1956 German-American School LOCOMOTIVE, 1942 Ink and watercolor on paper. 6 ¾” x 11” (17.1 x 28 cm). Signed in black ink lower leFt: Feininger. Dated in black ink lower right: 28. IX. 42. On verso: inscribed in black ink lower leFt: To Lux with love from Father. FUCHS, Ernst 1930 – 2015 Austrian School THE TEMPTATION OF ST. ANTHONY, 1949 Egg tempera and oil mixed with resin. 29 1/2” x 42 1/8” (75 x 107 cm). Signed and dated lower left: Fuchs Ernst/49. Provenance: From the artist to Manfred Mautner-Markhof; Private collection, Vienna. Note: The Vienna School of Fantastic Realism formed in 1946 included Ernst Fuchs, Rudolph Hausner, Wolfgang Hutter, and Fritz Janschka. Arik Brauer and Anton Lemden were all visionaries, born of the jagged ruins of post-war Vienna. The group saw itself as Surrealist although they were already moving away from the Surrealist painting of the 1930s towards a more visionary approach. Technically their work had the clarity and detail of early Flemish painting. The present painting, The Temptation of St. Anthony, is dated 1949. Already baptized during the war, Fuchs converted to Roman Catholicism in 1956. Between 1950 and 1961, Fuchs lived mostly in Paris, and made a number of journeys to the United States and Israel. His favorite reading material at the time was the sermons of Meister Eckhart. He also studied the symbolism of the alchemists and read Jung’s Psychology and Alchemy. In 1958, he founded the Galerie Fuchs-Fischoff in Vienna to promote and support the younger painters of the Fantastic Realism school. Together with Friedensreich Hundertwasser and Arnulf Rainer, he founded the Pintorarium. GEORGE GROSZ 1893 - Berlin - 1959 NACHTS ("AT NIGHT"), 1926 Watercolor and pen and ink drawing on firm, grainy watercolor paper, 23.7 x 18.8 inch (60.3 x 47.8 cm) Signed in pencil Grosz lower right. Numbered No 33 and titled Nachts lower left With a photo-certificate and expert report from Ralph Jentsch, Berlin/Rome, dated March 26, 2011. This work will be included in the forthcoming catalogue raisonné of the works on paper by George Grosz. Interpretation Grosz’ painted his watercolors of Berlin street scenes primarily between 1925 and 1932 and they make up an important part of his oeuvre. Grosz sees the metropolis as a panopticon populated by very different and contrasting people. He often depicts strolling couples or the coincidental meeting of young and old, usually showing an aging man lustfully staring at a young girl or a well- dressed business man on his way to the office or on a shopping spree. Stylishly dressed pedestrians contrast with haggard beggars who go unnoticed. Grosz’ hunting ground was mostly along the busy parts of Friedrichstraße, Kurfürstendamm and Tauentzienstraße, where all the facets of city life could be freely observed: poverty and affluence, misery and greed, the unrelenting flaunting of love for sale, embodied by well-dressed prostitutes on the lookout for customers in broad daylight. Grosz not only keenly observed these scenes –every figure captured here is characterized by fitting attributes - he also expertly composed them. What appears to be a chance arrangement in these pictures - the positioning of figures, the arrangement of architectural motifs such as house facades and shop window decorations – is actually carefully selected. Grosz opted for twilight as a time setting for this large-format watercolor. An elegantly dressed prostitute has managed to pick up an old man who, despite his age and feeble appearance, probably did not wander into the red light district accidently. In 1926 Grosz gave 36 works on paper on commission to the “Galerie Neue Kunst Fides” in Dresden, including this watercolor. Ralph Jentsch Provenance Artist’s studio, Berlin, 1926; Gallery Neue Kunst Fides, Dresden, 1926; Raphael Soyer, New York; Forum Gallery, New York; Private Collection, Vienna. 23.01.2020 • Seite 7 GEORGE GROSZ 1893 - Berlin - 1959 LADY HAMILTON, c. 1930 Indian ink on paper, 22 x 17.3 inch (560 x 440 mm) Signed (lower right): Grosz Provenance Private collection, Austria. Exhibition - Aging Pride, Lower Belvedere, Vienna 17.11.2017-11.03.2018. Literature - Rolling/Fellner (edt.), Die Kraft des Alters/Aging Pride, exh. cat., Lower Belvedere, Vienna, 2017, ill. p. 17. Note: Lady Hamilton or the Posturing of Emma or From Housemaid to Beefsteak a La Nelson. A fantastic and romantic travesty by Alfred Richard Meyer. Most industriously fleshed out by George Grosz was published by Fritz Gurlitt, Berlin, 1923. Alfred Meyer’s account of Emma, Lady Hamilton and her escapades was illustrated by George Grosz, reflecting the night life of the Weimar-era speakeasies and clubs. His illustrations chronicled the erotic side of Lord Nelson and Emma’s affair, which British writers often underplayed. HOFFMANN, Josef (1870-1956) Austrian School FLORAL DESIGN Ink on off-white wove paper. 11 ½” x 8 ¼” (29.2 x 21 cm). No watermark. Ink monogram on lower left: J H. Inscribed in graphite on backing: ④ Josef Hoffmann 275 x 195, with arrows to reverse the measurements. Collection of Johannes Spalt (1920–2010), Vienna. Note: After studying architecture at the Vienna Academy under Karl von Hasenauer and Otto Wagner, Josef Hoffmann became one of the most prolific and influential architects and designers of the early 20th century. He was professor at the Kunstgewerbeschule (School of Applied Arts), Vienna, where he taught architecture, metalwork, enameling, and applied art from 1899 to 1936. Many of Hoffmann’s designs were produced for the Wiener Werkstätte, which he founded along with Kolo Moser and industrialist Friedrich(“Fritz”) Waerndorfer. The simplicity of design and curvilinear forms seen in the present drawing may date to the early years of the 20th century when many artists and designers, particularly in Vienna, were still under the stylistic influence of Art Nouveau. Designs such as these were often multi-purposed, used for various decorative arts projects for the Wiener Werkstätte, including etched glassworks, end papers, screens etc… HOFFMANN, Josef (1870-1956) Austrian School FLORAL DESIGN Ink on off-white wove paper. 11 ½” x 8 ¼” (29.2 x 21 cm). No watermark. Ink monogram on lower right: J H. Inscribed in graphite on backing: ② Josef Hoffmann 275 x 195, with arrows to reverse the measurements. Collection of Johannes Spalt (1920–2010), Vienna. HOFFMANN, Josef (1870-1956) Austrian School FLORAL DESIGN Graphite on off-white wove paper. 11 ½” x 8 ¼” (29.2 x 21 cm). No watermark. Ink monogram on lower left: J H. Inscribed in graphite on backing: ① Josef Hoffmann 275 x 195, with arrows to reverse the measurements. Inscribed in ink: ⑧. Collection of Johannes Spalt (1920–2010), Vienna. HOFFMANN, Josef (1870-1956) Austrian School FLORAL DESIGN Graphite on off-white wove paper. 11 ½” x 8 ¼” (29.2 x 21 cm). Watermark with 3 stars. Monogram in bottom center: J H. Inscribed in graphite on backing: Josef Hoffmann 275 x 195 Spalt. Collection of Johannes Spalt (1920–2010), Vienna. HOFFMANN, Josef (1870-1956) Austrian School FLORAL DESIGN Ink on off-white wove paper. 11 ½” x 8 ¼” (29.2 x 21 cm). Watermark with 3 stars. Monogram in lower left: J H. Inscribed in graphite on backing: Josef Hoffmann 275 x 195 Spalt. Collection of Johannes Spalt (1920–2010), Vienna.