Portrait of Curt Glaser
- Depicted
- Curt Glaser, German, 1879–1943
- Date
- 1929
- Material
- Oil on canvas
- made in
- Berlin, Berlin state, Germany, Europe
- Classification
- Paintings
- Collection
- Modern and Contemporary Art
- Current Location
- Not on view
- Dimensions
- 37 in. × 29 1/4 in. (94 × 74.3 cm)
framed: 38 3/4 × 47 1/2 × 2 1/2 in. (98.4 × 120.7 × 6.4 cm) - Credit Line
- Bequest of Morton D. May
- Rights
- Public Domain
- Object Number
- 845:1983
Provenance
1929 - 1943
Curt Glaser (1879-1943), Berlin, Germany; later New York, NY, USA, commissioned from the artist [1]
1943 - 1957
Maria Glaser Ash (1901-1981, neé Milch), Basel, Switzerland; New York, NY, USA, by inheritance [2]
1957
Galerie Walter Feilchenfeldt, Zürich, Switzerland, acquired from Maria Glaser Ash [3]
1957
Friedrich Arnhard Scheidt (1916-1999), Kettwig, Germany, purchased from Galerie Walter Feilchenfeldt
1957 - 1983
Morton D. May (1914-1983), St. Louis, MO, USA, purchased from Friedrich Arnhard Scheidt [4]
1983 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, bequest of Morton D. May [5]
Notes:
[1] Curt Glaser commissioned Max Beckmann to paint his portrait in 1929. Curt Glaser was an art historian and author, who served as director of the Kunstbibliothek Berlin from 1924 until 1933, when the National Socialists forced him out of his position. Soon after, Glaser emigrated to Switzerland, Italy, and eventually to the United States [Göpel, Erhard and Barbara. "Max Beckmann: Katalog der Gemälde". Bern: Kornfeld & Cie., 1976, cat. no. 304; Bauhaus Archiv Berlin, et al, ed. "Berliner Lebenswelten der zwanziger Jahre. Bilder einer untergegangenen Kultur photographiert von Martha Huth." Frankfurt am Main: Eichborn Verlag, 1996, p. 61].
[2] Glaser's second wife, Maria Glaser, inherited the portrait from her husband upon his death [Göpel, Erhard and Barbara. "Max Beckmann: Katalog der Gemälde". Bern: Kornfeld & Cie., 1976, cat. no. 304].
[3] According to Feilchenfeldt gallery records, the painting was acquired from Maria Ash (previously Glaser) in 1957, and sold to Arnhard Scheidt the same year [letter from Walter Feilchenfeldt, dated July 25, 2003, SLAM document files].
[4] Bill of sale to Morton D. May from Friedrich Arnhard Scheidt, dated August 8, 1957 [May Archives, Saint Louis Art Museum].
[5] 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.
Curt Glaser (1879-1943), Berlin, Germany; later New York, NY, USA, commissioned from the artist [1]
1943 - 1957
Maria Glaser Ash (1901-1981, neé Milch), Basel, Switzerland; New York, NY, USA, by inheritance [2]
1957
Galerie Walter Feilchenfeldt, Zürich, Switzerland, acquired from Maria Glaser Ash [3]
1957
Friedrich Arnhard Scheidt (1916-1999), Kettwig, Germany, purchased from Galerie Walter Feilchenfeldt
1957 - 1983
Morton D. May (1914-1983), St. Louis, MO, USA, purchased from Friedrich Arnhard Scheidt [4]
1983 -
Saint Louis Art Museum, bequest of Morton D. May [5]
Notes:
[1] Curt Glaser commissioned Max Beckmann to paint his portrait in 1929. Curt Glaser was an art historian and author, who served as director of the Kunstbibliothek Berlin from 1924 until 1933, when the National Socialists forced him out of his position. Soon after, Glaser emigrated to Switzerland, Italy, and eventually to the United States [Göpel, Erhard and Barbara. "Max Beckmann: Katalog der Gemälde". Bern: Kornfeld & Cie., 1976, cat. no. 304; Bauhaus Archiv Berlin, et al, ed. "Berliner Lebenswelten der zwanziger Jahre. Bilder einer untergegangenen Kultur photographiert von Martha Huth." Frankfurt am Main: Eichborn Verlag, 1996, p. 61].
[2] Glaser's second wife, Maria Glaser, inherited the portrait from her husband upon his death [Göpel, Erhard and Barbara. "Max Beckmann: Katalog der Gemälde". Bern: Kornfeld & Cie., 1976, cat. no. 304].
[3] According to Feilchenfeldt gallery records, the painting was acquired from Maria Ash (previously Glaser) in 1957, and sold to Arnhard Scheidt the same year [letter from Walter Feilchenfeldt, dated July 25, 2003, SLAM document files].
[4] Bill of sale to Morton D. May from Friedrich Arnhard Scheidt, dated August 8, 1957 [May Archives, Saint Louis Art Museum].
[5] 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.