Still Life (with Mexican Figure)

by 1938 -
J. B. Neumann (1887-1961), New York, NY, USA, acquired from the artist [1]

by 1954 - 1955
Curt Valentin Gallery, Inc., (formerly Buchholz Gallery), New York, NY

1955 - 1983
Morton D. May (1914-1983), St. Louis, MO, purchased from Curt Valentin Gallery, Inc., New York, NY [2]

- 1983
Saint Louis Art Museum, bequest of Morton D. May [3]


Notes:
The main source for this provenance is Göpel's catalogue raisonné, cat. no. 342 [Göpel, Erhard and Barbara Göpel: "Max Beckmann: Katalog der Gemälde". Bern: Kornfeld & Cie., 1976]. Exceptions and other supporting documents are noted.

[1] Max Beckmann kept lists of most of his paintings which often included the dates that they were worked on and notes on who purchased them. This painting appears on Beckmann's Frankfurt and Paris list from 1931. The artist also noted that the painting was purchased by Neumann. In 1923, German art dealer J .B. Neumann (also known as I. B. Neumann) left Germany to open a branch of his Berlin and Munich galleries in New York. In 1924, Neumann opened his gallery called J. B. Neumann's Printroom, and later renamed New Art Circle. Neumann was Beckmann's art dealer until 1932 and sold paintings for the artist on commission; Neumann likely acquired the painting shortly after it was completed in 1931. He is listed as the lender of the painting in a 1938 exhibition catalog ["The Painters of Still Life." Hartford, CT: Wadsworth Atheneum, January 25 - February 15, 1938, cat. 30].

[2] According to the record sheets maintained by Morton D. May, he purchased the painting from the Valentin Gallery on December 5, 1955 [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.