Gray Day at the Sea
- Date
- 1907
- Material
- Oil on canvas
- depicts
- Europe
- made in
- Slawno, Slupsk voivodship, Poland, Europe
- Classification
- Paintings
- Collection
- Modern and Contemporary Art
- Current Location
- Not on view
- Dimensions
- 29 1/8 x 36 3/8 in. (74 x 92.4 cm)
framed: 35 1/4 x 43 1/8 in. (89.5 x 109.5 cm) - Credit Line
- Bequest of Morton D. May
- Rights
- Public Domain
- Object Number
- 834:1983
NOTES
In the vast expanse of sea, a tiny upended ship—perhaps sinking—is visible on the horizon beneath a menacing sky. This work, created in Schlawe (present-day Sławno, Poland), is one of a small group of marine paintings Max Beckmann produced on the Baltic Coast of Germany in the early 1900s. Grains of sand embedded in the paint indicate that Beckmann painted it outdoors, at least in part. Lively brushwork evokes the movement of the frothy blue and green waves.
Provenance
by 1910 -
Dr. Emil Schaeffer (1874-1944), Berlin, Germany, purchased from the artist
- 1959
Olga Eisner (1887-1982), Berlin, Germany; New York, NY, USA, given by Dr. Emil Schaeffer [1]
1959 - 1983
Morton D. May (1914-1983), St. Louis, MO, purchased from Olga Eisner [2]
1983 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, bequest of Morton D. May [3]
Notes:
[1] In a letter to Morton D. May, dated April 21, 1958, Olga Eisner states that her late husband, Dr. Emil Schaeffer, had acquired the painting from the artist in Berlin either in 1908 or 1910. Dr. Schaeffer was a writer and art critic in Berlin and owned several paintings by Beckmann. After his divorce from his wife Olga, likely circa 1922, the painting remained in the possession of his former wife. She later re-married and escaped Nazi persecution by emigrating to the United States in the 1930s [May Archives, Saint Louis Art Museum].
[2] According to record sheets maintained by Morton D. May, May purchased this painting from Olga Eisner on March 29, 1959 [May Archives, Saint Louis Art Museum]. Additional correspondence between Morton D. May and Olga Eisner, March/April 1959, further confirms this provenance [May Archives, Saint Louis Art Museum].
[3] Last Will and Testament of M. D. May dated June 11, 1982 [copy, May Archives, Saint Louis Art Museum]. Minutes of the Acquisitions and Loans Committee of the Board of Trustees, Saint Louis Art Museum, September 20, 1983.
Dr. Emil Schaeffer (1874-1944), Berlin, Germany, purchased from the artist
- 1959
Olga Eisner (1887-1982), Berlin, Germany; New York, NY, USA, given by Dr. Emil Schaeffer [1]
1959 - 1983
Morton D. May (1914-1983), St. Louis, MO, purchased from Olga Eisner [2]
1983 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, bequest of Morton D. May [3]
Notes:
[1] In a letter to Morton D. May, dated April 21, 1958, Olga Eisner states that her late husband, Dr. Emil Schaeffer, had acquired the painting from the artist in Berlin either in 1908 or 1910. Dr. Schaeffer was a writer and art critic in Berlin and owned several paintings by Beckmann. After his divorce from his wife Olga, likely circa 1922, the painting remained in the possession of his former wife. She later re-married and escaped Nazi persecution by emigrating to the United States in the 1930s [May Archives, Saint Louis Art Museum].
[2] According to record sheets maintained by Morton D. May, May purchased this painting from Olga Eisner on March 29, 1959 [May Archives, Saint Louis Art Museum]. Additional correspondence between Morton D. May and Olga Eisner, March/April 1959, further confirms this provenance [May Archives, Saint Louis Art Museum].
[3] Last Will and Testament of M. D. May dated June 11, 1982 [copy, May Archives, Saint Louis Art Museum]. Minutes of the Acquisitions and Loans Committee of the Board of Trustees, Saint Louis Art Museum, September 20, 1983.
We regularly update records, which may be incomplete. If you have additional information, please contact us at provenance@slam.org.