This study by George Grosz will be on sale at Christie's New York on November 2. Grosz is one of the 20th century's most pungent satirists, but when he sailed to America from the Weimar Republic he suddenly and unexpectedly found himself unable to return home and he lost the primary target of his acerbic art. He also lost his audience and much of his original artwork. While he remained acutely concerned over the deteriorating situation in Nazi Germany, his American work was far tamer and he had to teach in order to make a living. This drawing, which will be offered at Christie's on November 2, shows his prodigious skill as a draftsman.
Woman: A Study in Texture
signed and indistinctly dated 'Grosz 39' (lower right); with Nachlass stamp (on the reverse)
charcoal and sanguine on paper
24 7/8 x 19 in. (63.2 x 48.3 cm.)
Drawn in 1939
Estimate
- November 2, 2011: Sold for $20,000
Sale Information
Provenance
Estate of the artist.
Serge Sabarsky Gallery, New York.
Saul P. Steinberg, New York; sale, Christie's, New York, 19 May 1981, lot 169.
Acquired at the above sale by the family of the present owner.
Saleroom Notice
Ralph Jentsch has confirmed the authenticity of this work.
Pre-Lot Text
Property from the Estate of Countess Consuelo Crespi
Literature
George Grosz Drawings, New York, 1944, p. 12, no. 25 (illustrated).
H. Bittner, ed., George Grosz, New York, 1960, p. 50 (illustrated, pl. 90; titled).
The same sale also includes two earlier European works by Grosz:
George Grosz (1893-1959)
Strassenszene, Berlin Hausmädchen
signed, dated and inscribed 'Grosz 1929 Berlin' (lower left)
watercolor and pen and ink on paper laid down on board
23¾ x 18 7/8 in. (60.3 x 48 cm.)
Executed in Berlin, 1929
Estimate
$60,000 - $80,000
November 2, 2011: Sold for $68,500
Sale Information
Provenance
Kunsthandlung Schöninger, Munich.
Private collection, Chicago (by 1950).
By descent from the above to the present owner.
Lot Notes
Ralph Jentsch has confirmed the authenticity of this work.
stamped with signature 'Grosz' (lower right); with Nachlass stamp (on the reverse)
watercolor and pen and ink on paper
26¼ x 19 in. (66.8 x 48.3 cm.)
Executed in 1929
Estimate
Sale Information
Provenance
Estate of the artist.
Anon. sale, Ketterer Kunst, Munich, 6 December 1982, lot 546.
Anon. (acquired at the above sale); sale, Christie's, London, 3 February 2010, lot 283.
Acquired at the above sale by the present owner.
Pre-Lot Text
THE PROPERTY OF A PRIVATE COLLECTOR
Exhibited
Varese, Chiostro di Voltorre, Le carte di Grosz, May-September 1995, p. 39 (illustrated in color).
Lot Notes
Ralph Jentsch has confirmed the authenticity of this watercolor.
Note: My most recent post on the art of George Grosz is here.
